Secondary Focus

Secondary Education Stream

Grades 7-12 Requirements:

Major Subject Field

Applicants must have a concentration of at least 30 credit hours of university coursework in one discipline of a subject field taught in Nova Scotia secondary schools as outlined below. For example, 30 credits of history is one discipline of the recognized subject field of social studies.

Minor Subject Field

Applicants must have a concentration of at least 18 credit hours of university coursework in one discipline in a second subject field taught in Nova Scotia secondary schools as outlined below. For example, 18 credits of biology which is one discipline of the recognized subject field of science.

In order to ensure applications as competitive as possible, secondary candidates are encouraged to diversify their teachable subject areas beyond one discipline/teachable. Please see the chart below for a list of the recognized public school disciplines and subjects that are included in each.

Note: A maximum number of six cognate courses are determined by the Nova Scotia Department of Education – Office of Teacher Certification and not by the university. Cognate coursework refers to work in a credited course that is significantly similiar, or analogous, in its content to the discipline for which credit is allocated. For example, anatomy as biology.

Recognized Public School Subject Fields and Their Related University Disciplines:

Secondary Education teachers are prepared to teach at least two subject fields
normally taught in the public secondary schools of Nova Scotia (English, French,
Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education/Health Education,
 Gaelic, Spanish, Business, Family Studies, Spanish, Art, Music, Drama).