Des Moines Area Community College offers multiple levels of certification in its early childhood education program. While all students enrolled in the program will receive training and hands-on experience in the field, the more advanced degrees prepare students for positions of higher responsibility in early education. Students earning the early childhood education certificate are qualified to serve in a classroom as an aid, while earning the childhood education Associate in Science degree, which requires a 2.5 GPA minimum, qualifies students for employment as a teacher.
Undergraduate students at Drake University can select from two available major programs, based on their desired teaching level. The elementary education program prepares students for teaching in grades K through 8, while the secondary education program prepares students for a job as a teacher for grades 5 through 12. Drake also offers graduate programs by which students can earn a master's degree in fields such as elementary education, secondary education, special education and adult learning.
Grand View University's Education Department provides students with five options for their major selection. In addition to elementary and secondary education programs, Grand View offers several subject-oriented majors. Musically inclined students with an interest in teaching a chorus or band class can study music education, while artistically inclined students will enjoy their time in the school's art education major. Grand View also offers a physical education major through which students gain experience in planning and running gym classes.
While Upper Iowa University only offers an elementary education major for students looking to pursue a career as a teacher, the students have a wide array of teaching endorsements to pursue. The endorsements range from broad coverage such as a K through 6 classroom endorsement to more focused, such as PK through 3 special education endorsement or the English as a second language endorsement. Upon completion of their endorsements students are able to test for their certification in the subject.