Health and Physical Education Minors
Health and Physical Education PreK-12 The Virginia State University PreK-12 teaching program is state approved through the Virginia Department of Education and accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and prepares teacher candidates to teach health and physical education from Pre-kindergarten through 12th grades.
In addition to core curricular class preparation, students also receive extensive preparation in elementary and secondary pedagogy classes, and certification opportunities from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and United States Tennis Association. Student are also regularly involved in community service activities in surrounding school divisions.
Students participating in the PreK-12 HPER Teacher Preparation program must complete competency tests assigned from the Commonwealth of Virginia. This core assessments include the VCLA and Core math assessment as well as the Praxis 2 content assessment. Once completing and passing Virginia related assessments, successful candidates seek admittance to the School of Education. Accepted students must have a 2.5 GPA, a “C” or higher on all major courses. The culminating practicum experience for the candidate is the successful completion of student teaching.
The minor in Public Health is designed for students who wish to gain knowledge and skills for employment and graduate study in the field of public health. Competencies are designed to prepare students for careers that focus on protecting and improving the health and well being of the public on the local, state, national, and international levels.
Health Science Minor
The Health Science minor is designed to provide an opportunity for students to develop competencies that will prepare them for careers and graduate work in allied health fields. Students have furthered their education in graduate school and entered professional work in the areas of dentistry, nursing, physical therapy, among others. Recreation The Recreation minor prepares students for professional leadership roles in resorts, outdoor educational environments, municipal parks, recreational agencies, tourism departments, correctional institutions, youth service agencies, industrial settings, religious-based agencies, and state and federal governmental agencies.
Dance Minor
The Dance minor prepares students for a number of diverse employment opportunities in dance. Students may be employed as performers in a range of professional dance companies, public and private schools, colleges, private studios, drama departments, choreography, opera, musicals, broadway, television, videos, rehabilitation programs, dance critics, historians, and writers of movement notation. Students interested in the dance minor must audition to be accepted into the dance minor program; further, successful completion of the dance minor includes completing a minimum of two years of performing with Virginia State University's Sankofa Dance Theatre which is the performing arts component of the dance minor. Auditions are given in the Fall and Spring semesters. Dance students are required to perform with the dance company for a minimum of two years, or more, and are required to attend all performances such as those performed at community events, University activities, and dance recitals. Students are required to take one or two classes in dance per semester. A student can also double minor in dance, if feasible. The dance styles performed by VSU's Sankofa Dance Theatre are ballet, modern, and jazz; however, students minoring in dance include all sections of the performing arts including hip-hop dance and theatrical modeling/dance. Contact Dr. Benita Brown at 804-524-5624 for further information.