Health and Physical Education
For Prospective Health and Physical Education Students—
Apply for Admission; Learn about Careers
Earning a degree in Physical Education and teacher licensure in Health and Physical Education from Mason qualifies you to teach 13 grades (k-12) at 3 levels (elementary, middle and high school).
Teaching positions are available in our surrounding counties for the highly qualified teacher.
Admission Information
Be part of this great profession. Join us in our cutting edge curriculum with meaningful school based experiences supervised by university professors and some of the best teachers in the country.
For 1) Entering Freshman, 2) Transfer Students, and 3) Students with a degree:
Prospective students must be admitted to George Mason University. Online application forms and additional information are available through the Admissions Office. As early as possible, admitted students should declare BPRE as their major. This will automatically enroll them in a listserv that sends critical information about the program and the various courses within the program. Also, students that declare their major in the school of RHT get a free membership at the Freedom and Aquatic Center located on the Manassas Campus. Once admitted to the university, students must attend an RHT orientation meeting. Please contact Lisa Reeves at 703-993-2098 for the schedule of meetings.
For 4) Students changing their major to Health and Physical Education
Current Mason students may change to or declare a major in Health and Physical Education by completing and submitting the Change/Declaration of Academic Program form. When completing the form, use BPRE as the Major code. Circle ‘BPRE’ on the New Degree line. See Dr. Cindy Waddell to obtain her signature as your new advisor.
For all students:
Once students have declared BPRE as a major they need to successfully complete certain courses, exams, and the appropriate application form to be admitted to the BSED Status.
Careers in Health and Physical Education
A Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed.) degree in Physical Education, with Virginia Teacher Licensure in Health and Physical Education, Pre K-12 prepares professionals for teaching health and physical education. George Mason University graduates look forward to earning licensure in BOTH health and physical education at BOTH the elementary and secondary levels. This dual licensure makes Mason graduates much more marketable than graduates with licensure in one area and/or at one level. An add-on endorsement in Driver Education (6 credit hours) is also available in the School of RHT.
Job opportunities are abundant, and the health advantages of being in an activity oriented profession are priceless. You will be physically active on the job. Also, you will continue to learn new and improved ways of teaching students to pursue physically active lives through your school system. You will get to know your students well and watch them grow and develop due to your school program. At no time has physical education and physical activity been more important to children and youth!
Career options for graduates of this B.S. Ed. program include:
- Health and physical education teacher at the elementary level
- Health and physical education teacher at the middle or high school level
- Driver’s Education Teacher (with the add-on endorsement, available at Mason)
Many graduates go on to earn a masters degree. These graduates have chosen some of the following careers:
- Administrative positions in a school (i.e. department chair, assistant principal, principal)
- College-level instructor
- Leaders in the profession (i.e. local and national professional associations)
Salaries in the Field:
Entry level teachers in northern Virginia average a starting salary of $41,000. Entry level teachers with a Masters Degree earn an average of $46,000 in Northern Virginia public schools. Salaries increase with each year of teaching experience.
Read about our graduates who are star teachers!
Feature article: RHT Graduates Take Innovative Approaches to Teaching (College of Education and Human Development Magazine, Fall 2006)
This article introduces you to two of our graduates and the new physical education that they are teaching in the elementary and middle school levels. Both teachers work with our students in field experiences and student teaching that are part of our courses.