undergradly.
Major · Education

Multi-subject licensure training for the middle-school science classroom

Science Teacher Education (CIP 13.1316) prepares you to teach combined biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics at the middle-school and lower-secondary level, ending in a state teaching license. About 294 students complete it each year across 230 colleges, with bachelor’s grads reporting $51,375 in median five-year earnings.

Schools offering
230
Annual completions
294
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$50k

About this major

Science Teacher Education (CIP 13.1316) prepares you to teach general science — a combined sequence of biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics — typically at the middle-school and lower-secondary levels, with the curriculum built around state teacher-licensure requirements. The program splits between multi-disciplinary science content (introductory and intermediate biology, chemistry, physics, and earth or environmental science, plus supporting mathematics) 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 lower-high-school science classroom, is the capstone and the gate to your initial license. Most programs also require the Praxis II Science: Content Knowledge or Praxis Middle School Science subject exam and the edTPA pedagogy assessment.

The major fits students who already know they want to teach and prefer breadth across the sciences to a single-subject specialization. Lab-safety instincts matter here in a way they do not for non-licensure majors — you will eventually be responsible for thirty middle-schoolers handling chemicals, microscopes, and live specimens. The work rewards teachers who can move between a unit on plate tectonics one week and one on chemical reactions the next without losing the thread.

On the destinations side, 294 degrees are awarded annually across 230 colleges, with bachelor’s completers reporting $51,375 in median five-year earnings and associate’s completers reporting $34,368. 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. Central Michigan University leads producers at 21 completions a year, with Western Governors (14), NC State (11), Wisconsin-Eau Claire (9), Georgia (7), Auburn (7), Kent State (7), Northern Michigan (7), and Western Washington (7) trailing.

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
Chemistry teachers, postsecondary $86k +2.2% Doctoral or professional degree
Physics teachers, postsecondary $97k +2.5% Doctoral or professional degree
Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary $101k +2.6% Doctoral or professional degree
Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary $86k +4.1% 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

You may thrive here if you already know you want to teach science rather than do science research, if you prefer breadth across biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics to going deep in a single discipline, if you have tutored or run after-school science clubs and enjoyed turning a complex idea into something a twelve-year-old will engage with, if you are comfortable running a wet lab safely with thirty middle-schoolers in the room, and if 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 for secondary teachers meaningfully.

Think twice if your interest is in a single science discipline rather than integrated middle-school science, since the single-subject CIPs (Biology 13.1322, Chemistry 13.1323, Physics 13.1329, Earth Science 13.1331) train for upper-division high-school content with more depth. 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 pass rates before enrolling. If you are uncertain about teaching specifically, General Biology (CIP 26.0101, 83,027 completions) plus a post-bachelor’s Master of Arts in Teaching keeps medical, research, and certification doors open simultaneously — pre-med and PA school flow through life-sciences majors, not this CIP.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI 0 21 21
Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT 0 14 14
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC 0 11 11
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI 0 9 9
University of Georgia Athens, GA 0 7 7
Auburn University Auburn, AL 0 7 7
Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH 0 7 7
Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI 0 7 7
Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 0 7 7
University of Mississippi University, MS 0 6 6
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biology/Biological Sciences, General

83,027 completions/yr

Chemistry, General

12,173 completions/yr

Education, General

8,583 completions/yr

Physics, General

7,501 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
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do General Science Teacher Education majors actually study day-to-day?
The program splits between multi-disciplinary science content and education methods. You take introductory and intermediate biology, chemistry, physics, and earth or environmental science — broader breadth than a single-subject specialization — alongside educational psychology, classroom management, secondary-science methods, and a general-science pedagogy sequence. The capstone is a semester or two of supervised student teaching in a real middle or lower-high-school classroom under a mentor teacher, plus laboratory-safety training that disciplinary science 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 Science: Content Knowledge or Praxis Middle School Science 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 eight 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%), Biological science teachers postsecondary ($83,460, 7.3%), Chemistry teachers postsecondary ($86,220, 2.2%), Physics teachers postsecondary ($97,360, 2.5%), and Atmospheric and earth sciences teachers postsecondary ($101,390, 2.6%). Realistic post-bachelor’s entry destinations are public and private middle-school general-science positions and lower-high-school assignments covering integrated science.
How does this CIP differ from Biology, Chemistry, or Physics Teacher Education?
General Science Teacher Education credentials you to teach combined science across biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics — typically at the middle-school and lower-secondary level, where one teacher covers integrated science. The single-subject CIPs (Biology 13.1322, Chemistry 13.1323, Physics 13.1329, Earth Science 13.1331) train you for a high-school classroom with deeper content in one discipline. If you want middle-school flexibility or your target district hires generalists, this CIP is the right fit. If you want to teach upper-division high-school chemistry or physics specifically, a single-subject CIP is the cleaner path.
Is there a science-teacher shortage, and what incentives apply?
STEM teachers are in chronic short supply in many states, particularly at Title I and rural middle and high schools. The named secondary SOC projects -1.6% growth and the middle-school SOC projects -2% growth because total K-12 enrollment is declining, but science-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, NSF-funded informal-science outreach, environmental and outdoor education, K-12 curriculum development at publishers like McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Savvas, HMH, Amplify, and OpenSciEd, district science coordinator roles (mid-career, after several years in the classroom), and edtech instructional design all hire former science teachers. Graduate study in science education or a discipline (biology, chemistry, earth science) 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.