Advisors are assigned when you declare your program. Advising information is kept up to date on advising Canvas pages. Appointments can be scheduled with your advisor using the meeting links indicated below. 

If students are interested in becoming a teacher, they should inform their first year or transfer advisor at orientation or contact the education coordinator for the licensure program they are interested in.

Teacher education candidates can apply to teacher education by completing a teacher education application form found on the ESC website.

The teacher education candidates will be notified via email from the ESC when they have been accepted into teacher education.

Acceptance into teacher education means that education candidates have completed the teacher education application process and are permitted to begin their upper level education coursework when instructed to do so by their education advisor.

The COE offers undergraduate majors, minors, and preprofessional education programs across a range of concentrations in both teaching and non-teaching areas. Majors in education lead to a Bachelor of Science that has been specially designed to meet a vital nationwide need for trained and committed teachers. To ensure that you gain the skills needed for this challenging profession, education majors may require additional content, such as a second major, a minor, or an area of emphasis. Students must apply after meeting program admission requirements. 

Students who wish to pursue a teacher education program of study are required to declare the appropriate major and complimentary areas as listed below. Students should apply to the specific teacher licensure program their first semester at JMU or as soon as possible. For a list of the major fields of study and education programs see the JMU Course Catalog.

The College of Education offers the following undergraduate minors:

• Educational Media
• Human Resource Development
• Military Leadership
• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) – Non-Teaching

For a list of all the minor fields of study, see JMU Undergraduate Minors. 

Depending on the field of study, initial licensure is earned at the bachelor's (4 year programs) or master's level (5 year programs; includes bachelor’s degree). Additionally, some initial licensure programs are post-baccalaureate programs completed at the master’s level.

A flag is given to students who are accepted into teacher education to allow them to register for classes. Candidates will be “blocked” from taking specific education classes (will not be given a flag) until they have been accepted into teacher education. A transfer or post-baccalaureate student who is not fully accepted can be temporarily unblocked to take courses during the first semester. After registering, they will be blocked from taking further education classes until they are fully accepted into teacher education. All other candidates who wish to take a block class prior to acceptance into teacher education must file an appeal.