ACE is ideal for students who start college knowing that they want to be Social Science teachers. 

To qualify for ACE, you must fulfill all of your undergraduate graduation requirements by the end of your junior year. Those requirements include general education courses, the foreign language requirement, and the Social Science major. You also must fulfill the prerequisite courses for admission to the School of Teacher Education’s Preliminary Credential Program by the end of your junior year. Fitting all these courses in your first three years greatly limits the number of elective courses you can take unless you come in with advanced standing.

Example path for a new student without advanced standing:

First year

Take lower-division general education courses (called “GE Foundations”); take foreign language; start lower-division Social Science courses. 30-33 units total.

Second year

Complete lower-division general education courses, the foreign language requirement, and the lower-division requirements for Social Science; start prerequisites for admission to the School of Teacher Education’s Preliminary Credential Program. 33-36 units total.

Third year

Complete upper-level general education courses (“GE Explorations”), the Social Science major, and the prerequisites for admission to the preliminary credential. 33-36 units total.

Fourth year

This year is exclusively dedicated to coursework for your preliminary teaching credential. At the end of this year, you will have earned your preliminary credential. 40 units total.

For more information, please contact the Social Science major advisor at [email protected] and the School of Teacher Education at [email protected].

ACE is best suited for transfer students who come to SDSU having already fulfilled their lower-division general education requirements, their lower-division preparation courses for the Social Science Major, and their foreign language requirement. It is best suited for those students because ACE requires you to fulfill all of your undergraduate requirements by the end of your junior year. These requirements include your general eds, the foreign language requirement, and the Social Science major.  You also must fulfill the prerequisite courses for admission to the School of Teacher Education’s Preliminary Credential Program by the end of your junior year.

Future transfer students can also position themselves for ACE by cross-enrolling in upper-level SDSU courses while community college students. (Cross-enrolling allows you to take courses–including online courses–for reduced tuition). These students should focus on taking upper-level courses that fulfill the Social Science major and/or taking the courses that preliminary credential programs require for admission. 

For more information, please contact the Social Science major advisor at [email protected] and the School of Teacher Education at [email protected].

ACE may or may not be the right choice for you. To qualify for ACE, you need to fulfill all of your undergraduate graduation requirements by the end of your junior year. Those requirements include general education courses, the foreign language requirement, and the Social Science major. You also must fulfill the prerequisite courses for admission to the School of Teacher Education’s Preliminary Credential Program by the end of your junior year.

For help in deciding if ACE is right for you, please contact the Social Science major advisor at [email protected] or schedule a meeting.

Switching into ACE from another major is very difficult. This difficulty is due to the many courses that need to be completed in a short time frame. You need to fulfill all of your undergraduate graduation requirements by the end of your junior year. Those requirements include general education courses, the foreign language requirement, and the Social Science major. You also must fulfill the prerequisite courses for admission to the School of Teacher Education’s Preliminary Credential Program by the end of your junior year. Students who entered SDSU with advanced standing and/or who have focused on completing their general education requirements are more likely to be able to meet this tight schedule.

For more information, please contact Christina Weinert, the Social Science advisor, at [email protected].

No, you should complete the traditional post-baccalaureate preliminary credential program instead.

It depends. Normally for ACE, you would have to complete 100 units in your first three years at SDSU. If you take a normal laid of 15-courses per semester, you would have completed only 90 units at the end of your junior year. Therefore, you would have to take an additional 10 units of courses before the end of your junior year. Students typically take those courses in their second or third year, either by taking more than 15-units in a semester or by taking courses in the summer. 

However, if you entered SDSU with advanced standing or having already completed your foreign language requirements, you may not need to take those extra 10 units.

Not necessarily, but summer courses can help you fulfill the required coursework by the end of your junior year.

No, the preliminary teaching credential is exactly the same.

With ACE, you save on a year of tuition and can start working–and earning money–a year early. There is, however, a potential disadvantage. School districts have pay bands based on how much post-baccalaureate work a teacher has completed. With the ACE program, you graduate with 20 units of post-baccalaureate work; with the traditional program, you graduate with 40 units. ACE graduates may make less than non-ACE graduates, depending on the school district. If you want to maximize your salary, follow ACE with a one-year master’s program like SDSU’s online Master of Arts in Teaching. Four years of ACE plus a one-year master’s usually will lead to a higher salary than the five-year traditional program.

1. ACE requires you to take more than the normal 15-unit load most semesters in order to complete your requirements on time unless you come in with substantial advanced standing.
   
   
2. ACE leaves you no or limited time to take elective courses outside of your major.

No, students completing the ACE pathway must still submit an application to the credential program.

Yes.

No. The major is exactly the same for ACE and non-ACE students. If you are in ACE, you still must fulfill all the courses required for the regular Social Science major.