A bachelor degree in education, at least in the United States, is one of the most convoluted degrees you can possibly want to get. Unlike other bachelor degrees, where the criteria are pretty much up to the school itself, an education bachelor degree is actually controlled by the state. And to complicate matters, these requirements differ from state to state. So somebody living in New York may have different requirements from somebody living in New Jersey. Therefore, it is imperative that a person thinking about getting a bachelor degree in education carefully examine what those requirements are before jumping in with both feet. In this article we're going to cover some of the possible programs, depending again on where you live.

In some states to get a bachelor degree in education you need to simply take a certain number of education courses depending on what level of education you want to teach. Yes, there are levels. You just don't get a degree and then apply for a job at any school. There is elementary education, which is K through 8. There is secondary education, which is K through 12. In some states, you can get a degree that is only for teaching high school kids. So the first thing you want to decide is what level of school you want to teach. You will then have to take certain education courses to fulfill those requirements.

Then, there are some states that totally throw a monkey wrench into this whole equation. In those states you can't major in education. No, that's not a misprint. You can't get a bachelor degree in education. You have to get a degree in the specialty that you want to teach, such as math or history or science or whatever. What you then do is get what they call a minor in education so that you are certified to teach in a school. If it sounds confusing, imagine how confusing it is for the kids who want to become teachers.

Of course, in addition to the above, there are the other courses that you have to take in order to complete your bachelor degree. This also changes from state to state. For example, in the states where a person can major in education, the courses that the person has to take to fill out the rest of the curriculum are the subjects that the person wants to concentrate on while they are teaching. In other words, if a person wants to be a math teacher, even though they are majoring in education, they now have to take a certain number of math credits to get what they call "certified" by the state. And this changes from state to state. So make sure you find out how many credits you need for that math certification before you make your schedule.

In the states where you major in math and minor in education, that part is taken care of and all that's left is to fill your schedule with the required number of education courses and electives.

Yes, getting a bachelor degree in education is not like any other degree. No wonder teachers are so bum fuzzled.