If I already have a bachelors degree in psychology?

Question

with a minor in sociology and social work...would I have to go to school to get another bachelors degree if I want to be a teacher?
I'm not interested in spending 5 more years in school. Would I be able to just take the required education classes, but not all the others I would need for another bachelors degree? My ultimate goal is to be a school social worker-or school counselor but I've been told you have to have a teaching certification also. How could I go about doing this without going to school for 5 more years?

Yes I plan on getting my masters in social work. I have 1 semester left until I graduate with my bachelors and then I start grad school a few months later. I guess I should have said that the first time :)

Answer 1

i think you just need to get a few units in teaching.. i'm also a b.s. general psychology graduate, and i just need a few units for teaching certification and i intend to take a masters degree in art therapy... well, it's not really that hard.. you don't need to take them all over again, they credit subjects from your previous units....

Answer 2

It depends where you are going to teach. Some states have very strict requirements for teachers while others are more lax.

Do remember though, if your goal is to help young people as a social worker or counselor, you want them to get the best education possible. To do that, you must bite the bullet and take whatever education and/or certification is required to do a good job and to do right by your students.

So get off the couch and seek out information from your local school district offices to find out what it will take to reach your goal! Good luck and thank you for wanting to do a hard but rewarding job that is so important in our society!

Answer 3

You may need to do a one year bachelor's degree in education to be able to teach in most places. In many places you need teaching certification to be a school counselor, but I believe it is different for a social worker - teaching certification is not required to be a school social worker in the places I am familiar with.

In any case, I don't think there would be any need for you to go to school for 5 more years. Check the teacher certification requirements in your area.

Answer 4

It TOTALLY depends on where you live.

Where I live, you can't go from Psychology to Education because Psychology isn't taught in schools. You need to do your undergraduate work in a field that is taught in schools (like Math, Science, Social Studies or English) and then go on to Education studies. If you have the necessary undergrad degree, you have the option of doing a one-year teaching certificate or a two-year B.Ed degree. That applies to Secondary Education. For Elementary Education, you could complete the necessary Education courses BEFORE you apply to graduate and declare a double-major. Elementary Education is a five-year degree program, so with your background you'd probably be looking at another three years of studies just in Education.

Where I live, if you want to work as a school counsellor you need an undergrad in Education and then a Masters in Educational Counselling or Educational Leadership. A degree in Social Work alone isn't enough.

You definitely need to talk to an academic advisor at your school, and look at the websites for school boards in your area to see what qualifications they are looking for in their employees.

Answer 5

I pretty sure with the degrees you currently have, you are more than able to avoid going for another full 5 years. Your best bet would be to go for your masters in education, which I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter what you got your bachelors in. A masters in education (assuming you qualify from all other perspectives) would probably take you two years or so.

Answer 6

you just have to have some credits on education (teaching) classes.
but the teaching certificate is needed.
if you want to become a social worker you need to do your master's on that.

Answer 7

you need a teaching certificate, and go get your masters in social work to work in the schools......