Career Category: Teacher

For those interested in diving more deeply into the ESL/Bilingual field, this degree provides a strong foundation while allowing for the flexibility to explore other aspects of the education field.

Upon completion of the program, Illinois Licensed Teachers will earn a  ESL or BL endorsement to their license.

For admissions to this program, please visit the Graduate Admissions pages.

This degree offers a broad grounding in curriculum and instruction. Learn about cultural competence, behavior intervention, literacy, and more.  The variety allows your education to be well rounded.

For admissions to this program, please visit the Graduate Admissions pages.

K-12 specialist education majors must choose one of the following content areas majors:

• Art education
• Music education
• Physical education
• Spanish education

Through this program, you will receive the Secondary Education (9-12) teaching license in the state of Illinois in one of the following major areas:

• Biology education
• Chemistry education
• English education
• History education

The middle grades education major leads to the Professional Educator License with middle grades endorsement (grades 5-8). The content areas available for middle grades are:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social Science

And/or other minors:

• Diverse Learners
• English as a Second Language/ Bilingual Education
• Educational Technology

As a licensed teacher, you may have seen firsthand the growing need for teachers who can advocate and meet the needs of students whose first language is not English. With significant population changes in our community, teachers need to consider how to design classroom communities that support English language learners. Be successful and prepared to help those students flourish by adding an English as a Second Language or Bilingual Education (ESL/BE) endorsement to your teaching license. In 2017, the Illinois State Board of Education extended the ESL/BE endorsement to apply to teaching in Pre-K to Grade 12.

Our ESL/BE endorsement adult undergraduate program at Trinity focuses on advocacy as well as strategies, methods and appropriate assessments for teaching ESL/BE students. You will learn from experienced professors who have taught ESL/BE students and are familiar with the research-based methods and legislative developments.

The elementary education major leads to the Professional Educator License with elementary endorsement (grades 1-6). You choose from the following minors:

• Diverse Learners
• Educational Technology
• English as a Second Language/Bilingual Education
• Mathematics Education
• Science
• Special Education
• Spanish
• Urban Studies

Classes meet at night from 6 pm-10 pm. Classes begin every fall and spring on our main campus in Palos Heights.

Tuition is $613 per credit hour. Learn about financial aid and scholarship opportunities HERE.

Learn about the Admissions process HERE.

When you choose to minor in special education from Trinity, you will learn the skills you need to encourage and grow students with special needs, and Trinity can get you ready to meet your passion.

The global community needs you—whether you are interested in pursuing a career in a biology-related field, or you are preparing for entrance into an advanced training program. Trinity offers a Bachelor of Science in Biology to prepare you for your future.

The biology major opens the door to many opportunities, whether you are interested in research, teaching, environmental science, or health. Health-related opportunities include medicine, dentistry, podiatry, optometry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and more.

The Bachelor of Science in Biology major offers three tracks to prepare students for their area of specialization. The below offers examples of what Trinity students can do with a degree that has followed each track. As Trinity offers an education in the Liberal Arts, the below are just some of the many ways Trinity graduates have used their B.S. in Biology to build a life that makes a difference.

After graduation, students who follow the General Biology track:

• Find jobs where they can apply a general Biology background—this can be anything from pharmacology to research or forensic science to nature conservation and more.
• Pursue medical school.
• Enter a graduate school program requiring a general background in biology.

After graduation, students who follow the Environmental and Ecological track:

• Pursue ecological careers in the area of environmental justice, natural resource management, lab and outdoor research, and government policy advisement.
• Enter graduate school to pursue ecological post-graduate studies.

After graduation, students who follow the Allied Health Science track:

• Take post-graduate studies to become physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, or occupational therapists.
• Pursue medical technology work.
• Find work or pursue post-graduate studies in other allied-health science-related fields, like athletic training, emergency medical sciences, health administration, and more.

At Trinity, we know that an historical understanding is crucial to teaching students about what has happened in the past, and how those events shapes the world today. When you earn a social sciences minor, you will learn to communicate the scope of history to students and help them apply it to their lives. Students with a history education major are required to minor in education and to double major in middle grades education with a social science education minor. With this course of study, you will be eligible for an Illinois Professional Educator License in two endorsement areas: secondary (9-12) social science: history and middle grades (5-8) social science.