This study is based on a concern that secondary education students, when preparing to teach in the broad field of social studies, typically major in a narrowly defined discipline such as psychology, economics, history, or political science. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to determine how well students are academically prepared to teach in the broad area of social studies, and (2) to examine students' courses of study to determine patterns of preparation that better prepare them for the student teaching experience. If one assumes that the social studies specialty area examination reflects a broad field of studies, then successful achievement on the test would mean that students are adequately prepared to teach these subjects. However, it is possible that high scores on the National Teacher's Examination (NTE), recorded for the secondary social studies student teachers enrolled in the University of Washington Teacher Education Program, result from completion by these students of nearly twice the required number of courses for the major. Given the results of this study, the rigorous admission requirements for the University of Washington's Teacher Education Program, the preponderance of fifth-year students, and the social studies core requirement, it is reasonable to assume that the narrowly defined academic majors do not present a serious problem for University of Washington students who are preparing to teach in the broader field of social studies. (BZ)