Teaching Subject Guide

Intermediate/Senior Teaching Subject Requirements

To clear up a common misconception, please note that the term "Teaching Subjects" refers ONLY to Intermediate/Senior (I/S) requirements. Teaching subjects do not apply to Primary/Junior (P/J). For those in I/S who intend applying to Trent for your B.Ed., you need to be certain that your undergraduate program will give you the necessary credits for two of the teaching subject areas offered by Trent, once you get to the level of the B.Ed. program. The 14 teaching subjects currently offered by Trent are: Mathematics; Biology; Chemistry; Environmental Science; Physics; First Nation, Metis and Inuit Studies; Anishnaabemowin (Ojibwe); English; Geography; French as a Second Language; History; Visual Arts; Dramatic Arts; and Health & Physical Education. Trent has chosen to focus on providing a set of teaching subjects options that are in strong demand in the schools. It is important to keep the list of teaching subjects in mind if you are considering applying to Trent for a B.Ed. in I/S teaching. Other universities may offer teaching subjects in other subject areas, for example in Social Studies – General, which includes sociology and psychology, but Trent does not.

All applicants are required to have:

• five (5) full course equivalents in the first teaching subject, AND
• three (3) full course equivalents in the second teaching subject.

*Note:  French as a Second Language requires five full course equivalents as a first teaching subject and four full credit equivalents as a second teaching subject.

As a general rule of thumb, courses that are offered by a specific subject department are usually accepted as meeting the requirements for a secondary teaching subject, however there are a few exceptions. If you are thinking of a teaching subject in math for example, courses that are listed as, “Not for credit towards a major or minor in Mathematics” will not count towards a teaching subject. The same is true for certain courses in Physics, Biology and French here at Trent.  

Course Listing

Visual Arts, Drama, and Health & Physical Education

Three teaching subject areas (Health & Physical Education, Drama and Visual Arts) are available in the B.Ed. program at Trent despite the university not having undergraduate academic departments in each of these areas.  As such there are no courses listed exclusively for each of these subjects.  However, there are a number of courses offered by other departments that serve to meet the requirements of each of these areas.  The lists of courses acceptable for application to Trent’s B.Ed. program in each of these subjects can be found here.  Remember if you are applying to universities other than Trent for your B.Ed. to check the acceptability of these courses with them for their B.Ed. programs. 

French Instruction

For those interested in teaching French at the Primary/Junior level, you will need to take an “Additional Qualification” (AQ) course, which can be taken after you have later completed your B.Ed. program.  Entry to that course will be granted upon successful completion of a French proficiency test.  If you are at a B2 DELF level, you will very likely be successful on that test, while those at a B1 level MAY be successful.

Although there is no set number of undergraduate credits in French that will be required at that time, we recommend you take at least a few credits in French during your undergraduate degree, both to maintain/improve your French level, and to provide a strong foundation pedagogically for your later instruction in French.

Those wanting to teach French at the Intermediate/Senior level will need to make French one of your two teaching subjects, which will require at least 5.0 credits in French (first teaching subject) or 4.0 credits (second teaching subject) to join the B.Ed. program with that as one of your teaching subjects.

For teaching French at either the P/J or I/S level, please note that future teaching opportunities will likely be guided by your individual capacity level in French.  For those at a high B1/low B2 level, you will likely be given the opportunity to teach only at the Core French level, while those at a high B2 or C1/C2 level may get the opportunity to teach at the Immersion level.