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Major · Education

Licensure-track training for the secondary biology classroom

Biology Teacher Education (CIP 13.1322) prepares you to teach biology at the secondary level, ending in a state teaching license. About 331 students complete it each year across 295 colleges, with bachelor’s grads reporting $51,375 in median five-year earnings.

Schools offering
295
Annual completions
331
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$50k

About this major

Biology Teacher Education (CIP 13.1322) prepares you to teach biology at the secondary level — typically grades 7-12 — with the curriculum built around state teacher-licensure requirements. The program splits between biology content (cell biology, genetics, ecology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, plus supporting chemistry and statistics) and an education core covering adolescent development, classroom management, and science-specific pedagogy. A supervised student-teaching placement, typically a full semester in a real middle or high school biology classroom, is the capstone and the gate to your initial license. Most programs also require the Praxis II Biology Content Knowledge subject exam and the edTPA pedagogy assessment.

The major fits students who already know they want to teach and have a real interest in life-science content rather than biology research. Lab-safety instincts matter here in a way they do not for non-licensure majors — you will eventually be responsible for thirty teenagers handling scalpels, stains, and live specimens. The work rewards teachers who can translate concepts like meiosis or photosynthesis into something a fifteen-year-old will engage with.

On the destinations side, 331 degrees are awarded annually across 295 colleges, with bachelor’s completers reporting $51,375 in median five-year earnings. The standard path leads to Secondary school teaching ($64,580 BLS median, -1.6% projected growth) or Middle school teaching ($62,970 median, -2% growth). Both list a bachelor’s as the typical entry credential, which means the degree itself — paired with the state license it qualifies you for — is the working credential rather than a stepping stone. Western Governors University leads producers at 85 completions a year, with Illinois State (13), UC Irvine (9), Nevada-Reno (9), and BYU (8) trailing far behind.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education $65k -1.6% Bachelor's degree
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education $63k -2.0% Bachelor's degree
Education teachers, postsecondary $72k +2.1% Doctoral or professional degree
Biological science teachers, postsecondary $83k +7.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$50k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$34k

Bachelor's

$51k

Who this major is for

Good signs this major fits: you already know you want to teach biology rather than do biology research; you have tutored, coached, or run science demonstrations and enjoyed turning a complex idea into something a teenager could grasp; you are comfortable running a wet lab safely with thirty fifteen-year-olds in the room; and the structure of a school year — fixed schedule, summers off, defined progression on a union pay scale — appeals to you. Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness pays up to $17,500 for STEM teachers in low-income schools after five years, which improves the headline $64,580 BLS median meaningfully.

Reasons to pause: if your interest is in biology itself rather than teaching it, pre-med, PA school, lab research, and biotech all flow through General Biology (CIP 26.0101, 83,027 completions) instead, and Biology Teacher Education locks your bachelor’s into the K-12 track from the start. Reconsider if you cannot picture yourself doing classroom management at 7:45 AM, since student teaching makes that reality concrete fast. Verify your target program’s state approval and Praxis II Biology pass rates before enrolling. If you are uncertain about teaching specifically, General Biology plus a post-bachelor’s Master of Arts in Teaching keeps medical, research, and certification doors open simultaneously.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Biology Teacher Education

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT 0 85 85
Illinois State University Normal, IL 0 13 13
University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA 0 9 9
University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV 0 9 9
Brigham Young University Provo, UT 0 8 8
Talladega College Talladega, AL 0 7 7
Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI 0 7 7
SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY 0 7 7
Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ 0 6 6
Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID 0 5 5
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biology/Biological Sciences, General

83,027 completions/yr

Physical Education Teaching and Coaching

4,787 completions/yr

Secondary Education and Teaching

4,057 completions/yr

Teacher Education, Multiple Levels

3,430 completions/yr

Music Teacher Education

3,229 completions/yr

Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching

2,213 completions/yr

English/Language Arts Teacher Education

1,846 completions/yr

Social Studies Teacher Education

1,336 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Biology Teacher Education majors actually study day-to-day?
The major splits between biology content and education methods. You take introductory and upper-division biology — cell biology, genetics, ecology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology — alongside chemistry and statistics, then layer on educational psychology, classroom management, secondary-science methods, and a science-specific pedagogy sequence. The capstone is a semester or two of supervised student teaching in a real middle or high school biology classroom under a mentor teacher, plus laboratory-safety training that general biology majors typically skip.
Will this major lead directly to a teaching license?
Usually yes, when you choose a state-approved educator-preparation program. The standard package is a bachelor’s from an approved program, the Praxis II Biology Content Knowledge subject test, the edTPA or a state pedagogy assessment, a background check, and supervised student teaching. Verify state approval, exam pass-rate data, and reciprocity terms with your target school directly before enrolling.
What jobs do graduates land?
The packet names four occupations. The bachelor’s-coded entry destinations are Secondary school teachers ($64,580 BLS median, -1.6% projected growth) and Middle school teachers ($62,970 median, -2% growth). Doctoral-coded teaching destinations include Education teachers postsecondary ($72,090, 2.1%) and Biological science teachers postsecondary ($83,460, 7.3%). Realistic post-bachelor’s entry destinations are public and private high-school biology positions, sometimes paired with a second science (chemistry or earth science) on the certification.
How does this major differ from General Biology (CIP 26.0101)?
Biology Teacher Education is a state-licensure track that locks you into the K-12 classroom; General Biology (83,027 completions nationally) is a broader life-sciences degree that feeds pre-med, pre-PA, lab research, biotech, public health, and graduate study. If you already know you want to teach high-school biology, this CIP gets you license-ready by graduation. If you’re unsure, General Biology plus a post-bachelor’s teacher certification (often a Master of Arts in Teaching) is the more flexible path — you keep the medical and research doors open while still being able to credential later.
Is there a biology-teacher shortage, and what incentives apply?
STEM teachers are in chronic short supply in many states, particularly at Title I and rural high schools. The named secondary SOC projects -1.6% growth because total K-12 enrollment is declining, but biology-certified teachers remain undersupplied within that shrinking market. Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness pays up to $17,500 for STEM teachers who serve five consecutive years in a low-income school, and many states layer on signing bonuses or faster-track licensure for science fields. TEACH Grants and state-level loan repayment programs also skew toward STEM and special education.
What pivot lanes exist if classroom teaching doesn’t stick?
The training opens adjacent paths. Science-museum education, environmental and outdoor education, K-12 curriculum development at publishers like McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Savvas, and HMH, district science coordinator roles (mid-career, after several years in the classroom), edtech instructional design, and test-prep companies all hire former biology teachers. Graduate study in biology, science education, or public-health education is another common follow-on. The pre-med and PA-school path is not this CIP — those applicants typically hold a General Biology or related life-sciences degree.