Science Teaching Certification

We offer programs for Maryland State teaching certification at middle and secondary levels in biology, chemistry, physics, and earth/space science.  For more information than you see here on any of these programs, contact the EDCI advising office, (301) 405-3120 or www.edci-adv@umd.edu. 

If you're an undergraduate...

• The middle/secondary undergraduate major in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction (EDCI) requires a double major, in EDCI and in the field you want to teach.  The EDCI major consists of 35 credits in the College of Education (including 12 for student teaching); science department requirements are summarized in program advising sheets.  Interested students should speak to an advisor in the Science Teaching Center as well as in Biology, Chemistry, Geology (for earth science credentials) or Physics.

• Perhaps a better option is to finish your degree in the science discipline, and then apply to the Master's Certification Program.  Or to move a little more quickly than that, enroll in a Five-Year Integrated Bachelor's/Master's Program.  This is still a five-year plan, but it allows you to begin work toward the M.Ed. and certification during your undergraduate program, with up to 9 credits counting toward both degrees.  

If you already have a degree in science...

• If you have an undergraduate degree in or close to the field you want to teach, you could apply for the Master's Certification Program. This is a one-year, full-time program leading to an M.Ed. and Maryland certification.  In some cases—people teaching in shortage areas—it may be possible to begin the year as a paid, part-time teacher. 

• If you are a scientist and are considering a career change, please contact Kathleen Travers for information about a specialized program.

And if you don't yet have a background in science...

...but you want to be a science teacher, that's great!  Your first step is to get that background.  To be credentialed through any of our programs, you'll need to have the equivalent of an undergraduate major in the field you want to teach.  One option, of course, is to enroll in an undergraduate major, here or at another institution.  Other options are to take courses through continuing education.  We'd be happy to help you think about possibilities...

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Last updated 6/22/05 by David Hammer