Do I have to major in History and Social Sciences if I want to be certified to teach history and social sciences at the secondary level?
No, you can major in History, History/American Studies, or History and Social Sciences, so long as you meet all the state's history and social sciences certification requirements. There is no requirement that you have any particular major.
History and Social Sciences is designed to fill major and certification requirements with the most overlap in courses, but the other history majors work nearly as well.
What about certification for elementary teachers?
Elementary education certification requires an academic major other than Sociology or Psychology, so History or History/American Studies or History and Social Sciences will do just fine.
Contact Prof. Leslie Ricklin (Education) or Prof. Ann Higginbotham (History) for answers to other questions.
