Germanna/JMU IdLS Academic Advising Guide
Designed for students who want to pursue licensure in Inclusive Early Childhood (birth-age 5 and pre-K-3), Elementary (pre-K-6),
Middle (6-8). See notes for specific Middle Education requirements. Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies is the required major for these
programs. It is also one of the recommended majors for Special Education (pre-K-12). This guide is a checklist of all courses required
to earn the appropriate Reynolds degree while incorporating IdLS major courses. Please note courses do not have to be taken
in the order listed below.
Education Specialization K-8 Associate of Arts & Sciences (A.A. & S.)
Student Name: _______________________________ Student ID: _______________________________
GERMANNA REQUIRED
COURSES
COURSE TITLE
CREDITS
SDV100 or SDV101
ENG111
MTH151 or 152
BIO101
HIS121
College Success Skills
College Composition I
Mathematics for Liberal Arts I or II
General Biology I
United State History I
1
3
3
4
3
HLT110 or 116
3
BIO102
ENG112
MTH240
Concepts of Personal and Community
Health or Introduction to Personal
Wellness Concepts
General Biology II
College Composition II
Statistics
HIS122
United States History II
3
CST110
ENG(Literature)
HIS111
Introduction to Speech Communication
English literature
History of World Civilization I
3
3
3
GEO210
3
ITE115
People and the Land: Introduction to
Cultural Geography
Introduction to Computer Applications
HIS112 Transfer Elective
History of World Civilization II
3
PLS135
ECO201 or 202
4
3
3
3
American National Politics
3
Principles of Macroeconomics or
3
Principles of Microeconomics
HUMANITIES ELECTIVE
Art or Music Appreciation
3
EDU200
Introduction to Teaching as a Profession
3
PSY230 Transfer Elective
Developmental Psychology
3
Total Minimum Credits for Education Specialization K-8 A.A. & S. Degree = 62
PLAN TO
TAKE
JMU EQUIVALENT
GRADE
None
WRTC 100
Math103
ISCI173
HIST000 – See
Notes
HTH100
BIO000
WRTC103
Math220 – see
notes
HIST225 – See
Notes
SCOM121
See Notes
HIST101 – See
Notes
GEOG280
None – See
Transfer Elective
Notes
HIST102 – See
Notes
POSC225
ECON200 or
ECON201
See Notes
EDUC300
PSYC160
Updated 3/1/16
Advising Notes for Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies (IdLS)
(Inclusive Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle & Special Education)
Humanities Elective: One of the following: ART 101, ART 102, ART 106, MUS 121, or MUS 122
History/Government
IdLS requires both U.S. History and U.S. Government. In order to get credit for U.S. History at JMU (HIST 225), students must take
both HIS 121 and 122. Both HIS111 – 112 are required for early, elementary, and special education areas. Students should request a
substitution from a Germanna Counselor to take HIS111 in lieu or HIS101 or 102.
Literature Options
 ENG 241
 ENG 242
 ENG 243
 ENG 244
 ENG246
 ENG 251
Survey of American Literature I
Survey of American Literature II
Survey of English Literature I
Survey of English Literature II
Major American Writers
Survey of World Literature I
Mathematics
MTH 151 or 152 + 240 will fulfill the MATH 207 requirement at JMU. Students will still need to take MATH 107 and 108, Fundamentals
of Mathematics I and II at JMU. Students should request a course substitution from a Germanna Counselor to take MTH151 or 152
and MTH240 in lieu of the required sequence (MTH151-152) or (MTH163-240)
Science
IdLS requires three science courses (ISCI171, 172, and 174) so students must take a second or third science at JMU if BIO102 cannot
be substituted for CHM101/ISCI172 or GOL105/ISCI171 at GCC.
Students interested in Middle School Education
 HIS 111 is not required (only HIS 112).
 ECO 201 is required (not ECO 202)
 Either U.S. Government (PLS 135 or 211) or U.S. History (HIS 121 and 122) may be taken. Both are not required.
 GEO 210 is not required.

Transfer Electives: HIS112 and PSY230 are required for IdLS majors. PSY230 is also required to apply to the education
program at JMU. Students passing the Germanna ITE115 computer competency exam will need to take an additional transfer
elective course in place of ITE115. Additional lab science to fulfill the IdLS major requirements is recommended.
Admission to the College of Education
Once admitted and enrolled in courses at JMU, all students must apply to teacher education and be accepted before they
can take the required education courses. Conditional admission to teacher education programs requires the completion of
ENG112 (must transfer to JMU as WRTC103), a math class, PSY 230 and EDU 200 with a grade of C or better, and a
passing scores on the Praxis Core Mathematics and the Virginia Communication Literary Assessment (VCLA) test or
passing scores on the Praxis Core Math, Reading, and Writing assessments (or minimum required SAT or ACT scores),
see http://www.jmu.edu/coe/esc/assessmentsadmission.shtml for more information. Students are strongly encouraged to
take and pass the Praxis Core Math and VCLA assessments or the Praxis Core Math, Reading, and Writing
assessments prior to transfer with an associate’s degree. Students cannot have any record of felony convictions or
misdemeanors involving children or drugs.
Other admission requirements include a cumulative JMU GPA of at least 2.5, satisfactory completion of training modules in universal
precautions and child abuse prevention, and submission of two reference forms. These requirements should be completed by the end
of a transfer student’s first semester at JMU.
Updated 3/1/16
Progression in the major/education program at JMU
IdLS majors must make at least a C- in MATH 107 (taken at JMU) in order to progress to MATH 108. In addition, students are required
to test into MATH 107 through JMU’s math placement test, regardless of the math classes completed at GCC.
Students in Elementary Education alternate semesters between IdLS (major) coursework and Elementary Education (teacher
education program) coursework. Students are expected to take a full semester of IdLS coursework during their first semester at JMU,
followed by a full semester of ELED coursework. Because of the alternating schedule, students who transfer in the spring may find that
they complete their required undergraduate coursework in December, but cannot start the graduate portion of their program until the
following summer session. Spring transfers should talk to their education advisor about coursework options should this situation arise.
Students in Inclusive Early Childhood and Special Education typically take major (IdLS) and education program
coursework concurrently during all semesters of undergraduate enrollment. Because of the education program course
sequences in both programs, students may require an additional semester in order to complete the required undergraduate
education coursework. Students in these programs should take EXED 200 in their first semester at JMU.
Middle Education students take IdLS and education coursework concurrently during each semester of enrollment, and must earn at
least a B- in all required education classes at JMU in order to progress.
In order to progress in the education programs, all students must make at least a C in all required pre-professional coursework,
demonstrate professional behavior, and perform satisfactorily in practicums and key assessments.
Graduate Program
Most of JMU’s education programs require that students complete a one year Master of Arts in Teaching degree after successful
completion of the undergraduate program.
JMU Transfer Advisor – Regina Adams adamsrx@jmu.edu
Updated 3/1/16