• 60 credit points of discipline studies units
• 20 credit points of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment (CPA) units

Refer to the resources below to guide you through your Secondary Teaching Area

• Discipline Units relating to your Secondary Teaching Area can be found in the 2027 Arts unit List (PDF)
• Information about studying history in NSW (PDF)

Undergraduate students at ACU participate in ACU Core Curriculum studies that support your learning and growth as a person.

This includes:

• Two coursework units
  Core Curriculum 1 and Core Curriculum 2 on your map
  • Please visit the ACU Core Curriculum site for information about the Core Curriculum, including the unit schedule for 2027
  • Core Curriculum 1 will be chosen from the list of 100-level units.
  • Core Curriculum 2 will be chosen from the list of 200-level units.


• One community engagement unit
  EDES206 Social Justice and Community Engagement for Teachers

The National School of Education endeavours to offer all units in alignment with the published course maps.

Depending on student numbers and needs, units might be offered in different modes (multi-mode, online scheduled or online unscheduled). If you are unsure which mode is the most suitable for you, please go to the 'Get Help?' Tab to seek further information prior to enrolling.

Some units may be offered in different semesters or study periods on different maps. You may be able to enrol in some of these alternative offerings of a unit. Some unit offerings are restricted to specific groups of students and are not available to all students.

Students must follow their course map to ensure timely course progression and completion.

You must enrol for the whole academic year for each year of your course. This means that you should enrol in all units for Semester 1 and 2 for the following year at the time of re-enrolment.

You must enrol for the whole academic year for each year of your course. This means that you should enrol in all units for Semester 1 and 2 for the following year at the time of re-enrolment.

Students wishing to over-enrol for any reason must seek approval from their Course Advisor.

You can change your enrolment up until the census date for each semester or Study Period. See the Academic Calendar for key dates.

International Students: You must select the multimode unit, whenever available.

Student visa regulations set minimum requirements for in-person attendance. Some units in your course will only be available online and these are monitored to ensure that your in-person attendance requirement will be met.

This means that you must enrol in the multimode offering of each unit in your course, whenever available. You should seek approval from your Course Advisor to enrol in an online unit.

Please note:

Minimum enrolment numbers apply to all units. The University reserves the right to cancel units with low enrolment numbers. Students will be advised of cancellations prior to the start of semester and offered an alternative unit if one is available.

The Bachelor of Education suite of courses is structured to provide you with relevant, up-to-date learning designed to prepare you to teach in your chosen school sector.

This course includes several types of units you will study. Units in these areas are designed to support your development over the course of your studies.

• Education Studies
  Foundational knowledge and skills units that support you to meet professional standards and expectations of teachers.
• Effective Teaching
  Professional practice units that build your skills and experience in teaching and learning in your chosen sector/s.
• Content, Curriculum and Pedagogy
  Developing content knowledge in relevant teaching areas alongside pedagogical knowledge specific to teaching and learning for each relevant teaching area.
• Catholic Tradition
  Engagement in thinking and acting in alignment with ACU’s mission; either through the University Common Core or Religious Education studies.

The unit codes indicate this progression as follows:

• 100-level (100-199) are designed as first year units
• 200-level (200-299) are designed as second year units
• 300-level (100-199) are designed as third/fourth year units
• 400-level (100-199) are designed as fourth year units

Generally, you should study units with a 100 code (100-199) before units with a 200 code (200-299) and so on.

Unit prerequisites are designed to ensure that your learning progresses smoothly.

Some units have prerequisites listed within the unit outline. This is a list of the units or activities that you must complete before you can study that unit.

To meet the prerequisites for a unit, you must have either completed the prerequisites, or be currently enrolled in the prerequisite. This means that you can enrol in a unit in Semester 2 so long as you are enrolled in any prerequisite unit required in Semester 1.

It is a regulatory requirement that all graduates from an initial teaching qualification must either pass the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Educators (LaNTITE) or meet the Australian First Nations language proficiency alternative.

ACU has processes in place to ensure that all students meet the regulatory requirements. You will need to (1) attempt LaNTITE within your  first year, and (2) pass LaNTITE before your final placement.

Please self-enrol in the Education LaNTITE Support site for up-to-date information about the LaNTITE requirement and links to support provided by ACU.

Please see the ACER website for information about the LaNTITE tests

LaNTITE Progression Requirements

There are two LaNTITE requirements that you must complete on time to avoid a delay in your course progression. These requirements cannot be waivered and if you do not complete them, your progress will be delayed as specific units will be unavailable to you.

Requirement 1: ATTEMPT LaNTITE in first year

You will need to have made at least one attempt at both tests - literacy and numeracy - to be able to complete EDET100 - Effective Teaching 1: Becoming a Teacher. LaNTITE is included as a Hurdle Task in EDET100.

EDET100 is usually studied in Semester 1 of Year 2. You will be removed from this unit if you have not attempted both ACER LaNTITE tests prior to the commencement of EDET100.

This means that you should plan to make your first attempt no later than Testing Window 4 (November/December) in your 1st year.

Requirement 2: PASS LaNTITE in second year

You will need to pass both tests - literacy and numeracy - to be able to enrol in EDET301 Effective Teaching 3: Engaging for Positive Learning and Environments (EDET200 or EDET211 in the old sequence). LaNTITE is included as a prerequisite in EDET301 (and EDET200/211).

This is the placement unit that is usually offered in Semester 1 or 2 of Year 3. Please check your course map to be sure.

This means that you must have completed ACER LaNTITE

• by Testing Window 4 (November/December) of the year before to enrol in EDET200 in Semester 1, or
• by Testing Window 2 (May) to enrol in EDET200 in Semester 2.

Community Engagement

All ACU undergraduate students engage in a Community Engagement unit as part of the 'Common Core'.

Community engagement is central to ACU’s commitment to developing graduates who recognise the dignity of the human person and can engage critically with societal issues that advance the common good.

Please check your course map for the location of this unit. You may find it in either Semester 1 or Semester 2. You will note that your community engagement unit is not offered in the same semester as a professional experience unit. Students should not enrol in a community engagement and a professional experience unit in the same semester. 

Your allocated Community Engagement unit is EDES206 Social Justice and Community Engagement for Teachers

Your community engagement placement will be managed via InPlace. Information about InPlace is available on the WIL site.

Professional Experience

This course includes an introductory observation unit, followed by a sequence of four Professional Experience Placement (PEP) units.

Professional Experience placements provide you with the opportunity to integrate your learning with real-world experience of the work of teachers. Each of these units include (1) lectures and tutorials, and (2) a placement experience within a school and/or early learning service. These experiences are interrelated and you must complete them both within the same semester offering.  

To support your enrolment planning, the calendar of placement dates is published in October of the year prior. The PEP placement dates are available on the WIL site. You must confirm that you are available to attend placement during the listed dates prior to enrolling in a placement unit.

All guidelines and information related to the Professional Experience Program is available on the WIL site. You should familiarise yourself with all the information in this site prior to your first professional experience placement. 

Your first year observation unit is:

• EDES106 Contemporary Learning Cultures and Contexts

 Your four placement units are:

• EDET100 Effective Teaching 1: Becoming a Teacher (15 days)
• EDET201 Effective Teaching 2: Curriculum and Pedagogies (20 days) (formerly EDET101)
• EDET301 Effective Teaching 3: Engaging for Positive Learning and Environments (20 days) (formerly EDET200)
• EDET402 Effective Teaching 6: Reflective Practice for Teaching and Learning (25 days) (formerly EDET401)

All students completing the Primary and Secondary course must complete placement in lower primary, upper primary and secondary. Please review the Factsheet available on the ACU WIL site for information about the required sequence of placement experiences to meet these requirements. 

1. apply for mutual recognition of their VIT registration with their relevant teacher registration body, or
2. apply directly to their relevant teacher registration body who will assess their completed qualification to confirm accreditation against the national standards. In both cases, additional application/assessment fees may apply