Frequently Asked Questions
The College of Education and Human Development sometimes references a Content Area Review (CAR) as a prerequisite checklist of content knowledge earned through course work or exams. These prerequisite courses are also known as content area prerequisites.
Students must submit a request for CAR through the following links:
All Content Area courses must be completed and approved prior to the application for Internship. It is strongly recommended that all students have an initial Content Area Review prior to starting their licensure program.
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) references a license as the document that gives you the authority to teach and an endorsement area as the grade level or subject area that you may teach and is printed on the actual license.
- Courses must be 100 level or above
- Courses must be taken for a grade (no pass/fail)
- No duplicate content is permitted
- Courses must be content specific to the domain
- Grades must be a C or better (3.0 GPA in content is desired by the programs)
- There may be other requirements associated with your degree and endorsement area
Students should expect a turn-around time of at least two weeks (longer during peak periods) from the point at which all documents have been received by the Office of Teacher Preparation. Students will be notified by email upon completion of the initial review or update.
The Content Area Review evaluates transcripts based on content to determine if the student has met the prerequisite requirements for the licensure program. This process does not transfer courses or credit to Mason. It does not matter when the courses were taken if they meet the prerequisite requirements.
Current students are required to obtain preapproval on all content courses. Students who do not obtain preapproval prior to taking a course or exam are not guaranteed approval upon completion.
Courses preapproved by the Content Area Review Team may be taken at any college or university which is recognized by one of the Regional Accreditation Organizations. If you are a current George Mason student and take a pre-approved course outside of George Mason to satisfy a CAR requirement, the credit hours may not transfer, even if the course counts towards your CAR requirement.
Your Content Area Review Form, once reviewed by the CAR Team, has an expiration date of two years if left dormant.
Students should update their CAR each semester or as often as courses/CLEP exams are completed.
The College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP) offers students the opportunity to receive college credit for what they already know. CLEP exams must be preapproved in advance of registration for the CLEP exam because not all exams are accepted at George Mason. CLEP exam scores range on a scale of 20-80 with a 50 or above as passing. Students may visit clep.collegeboard.org for more information.
Though it is unlikely, students may appeal a course if they feel strongly that the content matches the content area prerequisites. Appeals can be made one time only and are reviewed by the team on a case-by-case basis. Please submit all information for the appeal in one email, to include the course syllabus, for review. You will be contacted via email when a decision has been made.