How to Become a Science Teacher
Science teacher degree requirements typically call for a bachelor's degree in education or a science subject, teacher preparation, and passing your state's required licensure assessments. Some states offer alternative or provisional pathways that let a science-degree holder start teaching before finishing preparation. Your state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency decides which programs, pathways, and exams count.
Most people who land on this page already have a science background and want to know if science teacher degree requirements ask for more than that. Usually they do, but how much more depends heavily on your state and the pathway you use. Traditional routes pair a bachelor's degree with a teacher preparation program and licensure assessments, the same basic shape used across the wider education profession. Alternative, provisional, and residency pathways exist in many states and can let you start teaching sooner while you finish requirements.
How to Become a Science Teacher
The traditional preparation route looks like this in most states, even though exam names, score cutoffs, and how strictly each step is sequenced all vary:
- Earn a bachelor's degree. Many science teachers major in Secondary Education with a science endorsement. Others major in biology, chemistry, physics, or earth science and add teacher preparation coursework on top of a Bachelor's Degree in Education. Either path can work, and the right one depends on whether you already know you want the classroom or you're keeping options open.
- Complete a teacher preparation program. This is where classroom management, lesson planning, and content-specific methods courses live, and it's where your state verifies your training, not just your degree. Traditional programs include supervised clinical or student-teaching experience, and their length and timing vary by state and program.
- Pass your state's required licensure assessments. Depending on the state and pathway, this can mean a content test, a pedagogy test, a basic-skills test, a performance assessment, or some combination, with exemptions and alternatives that vary widely.
- Apply for your teaching license. Your state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency, not the college, is the body that actually issues it. Some states call this agency a department of education, while others use a professional standards board or an independent licensing commission.
That's the traditional sequence. Alternative, provisional, and residency pathways exist in many states and work differently: a candidate may be authorized to teach on a provisional or residency license while completing preparation requirements, rather than finishing everything before stepping into a classroom. Whether that's available, and what it requires, is set entirely by your state.
Accreditation shows up here too, but it's worth being precise about what it does. CAEP, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, is one of the major national accreditors for teacher-prep programs, and a CAEP-accredited program is a solid signal of quality. It isn't a universal state requirement, though. Your state's educator-licensing agency is the body that actually decides which programs count for licensure, and that list can include programs CAEP hasn't touched.
What Does a Science Teacher Do?
Day to day, a science teacher plans lessons, runs labs, grades work, and handles the same attendance and parent-contact duties as any other teacher. What's different is the lab: setting up equipment safely, walking students through a procedure before they touch anything, and being responsible when a dissection or a reaction goes sideways.
Elementary science is usually folded into a generalist's curriculum, so certified science teachers work almost entirely with sixth through twelfth graders. The subject narrows as students get older: general or life science in middle school, then biology, chemistry, and physics as separate high school courses, sometimes with AP sections layered on top.
Certification Exams and State Requirements
What you're required to pass varies more than most guides let on. Depending on the state and your science endorsement, the required assessments can include a content test, a pedagogy test, a basic-skills test, a performance assessment, or some mix of these, and exemptions or alternatives differ by state and by pathway. Washington is a good illustration of the range: the state uses WEST-E, NES, or ACTFL exams depending on which endorsement you're pursuing, and it offers multiple ways to satisfy the basic-skills requirement rather than a single fixed test.
The required content assessment, if any, depends on the state and the specific science endorsement you're pursuing. States use Praxis, NES, and a range of state-specific testing systems, and even within a single state, the assessment can differ by endorsement area. Your state's educator-licensing agency is the only reliable source for which exams apply to you and what alternatives exist.
Alternative Certification for Science Teachers
In high-needs districts, a handful of states open a faster lane specifically for math and science candidates. Under this route, a four-year science degree without an education background can qualify you to start teaching while you finish licensure coursework on a condensed timeline, usually with a mentor teacher assigned for the first year or two. It isn't available everywhere, and where it exists, the details vary enough that you'll want your target state's actual rule, not a generic description of it.
Each state sets its own licensing requirements, and the map below is a starting point for finding yours.
Find Information About Becoming a Teacher In Your State
Each state has different requirements for becoming a certified teacher. To find out specific requirements, click on your state.
Where Science Teachers Work
Public school teachers follow the state-adopted curriculum. Charter schools split into two flavors: independent charters operate outside a district's direct control, while affiliated charters stay closer to standard public-school rules. Private schools set their own curriculum and sometimes carry a religious affiliation that shapes what you can teach, worth knowing before you apply.
Science Teacher Salary and Job Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national median annual wage across all industries was $64,370 for middle school teachers and $72,040 for secondary school teachers as of May 2025. The mean annual wage for the same national, cross-industry group was $72,030 for middle school teachers and $76,320 for secondary school teachers.
| Occupation | Median Annual Wage | Job Growth (2024-2034) |
|---|---|---|
| Middle School Teachers | $64,370 | -2.0% |
| High School Teachers | $72,040 | -1.6% |
Employment in both roles is projected to decline slightly rather than grow: about 2% for middle school and 1.6% for high school between 2024 and 2034, according to Projections Central. That's not the number to focus on, though. Retirements and turnover still open around 40,500 middle school teaching positions and 66,200 high school teaching positions every year nationally, so the honest read is a flat-to-shrinking field with steady openings, not a growing one.
Read the Teacher Salary page for how district, region, and advanced degrees typically move that number.
Science Teacher Organizations and Resources
- NSTA (National Science Teachers Association)
- AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
- ASTE (Association for Science Teacher Education)
- NESTA (National Earth Science Teachers Association)
- NARST (National Association for Research in Science Teaching)
Frequently Asked Questions
What degree do you need to be a science teacher?
A bachelor's degree is the minimum, either in education with a science endorsement or in a science field with teacher preparation coursework added on. Some states also allow a science degree alone to qualify for alternative certification, with the education coursework completed afterward.
Do you need a master's degree to teach science?
No. A bachelor's degree plus teacher preparation is the standard traditional route to licensure, though alternative and specialized pathways in some states work differently. A master's degree isn't required for initial licensure.
What test do you need to pass to become a science teacher?
It depends on your state and your specific science endorsement. Requirements can include a content test, a pedagogy test, a basic-skills test, a performance assessment, or some combination, and exemptions or alternative options vary by state and pathway. Your state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency is the source for exactly which assessment or assessments apply to you.
Can you become a science teacher without an education degree?
Yes, through alternative certification, which several states offer specifically for science and math candidates in high-needs districts. You'll teach on a conditional or provisional license while completing the required coursework, usually with a mentor teacher assigned for the transition.
What grade levels do science teachers usually teach?
Mostly middle and high school. Elementary science is generally taught by an elementary-certified generalist as part of the regular curriculum, so certified science teachers work almost entirely with sixth through twelfth graders.
- The degree is only step one. A bachelor's degree in education or science is the starting point on the traditional route, which adds a teacher preparation program and licensure assessments before a license is issued.
- Preparation and testing pathways vary by state. Traditional routes pair a bachelor's degree with a preparation program, while alternative, provisional, and residency pathways can let candidates teach sooner in states that offer them.
- Required assessments depend on state and endorsement. Content, pedagogy, basic-skills, and performance assessments all show up depending on where and what you're certifying to teach, with exemptions that vary by state.
- CAEP accreditation is a quality signal, not a licensing gate. Your state's educator-licensing agency, not a national accreditor, decides which programs count.
- Alternative certification exists for high-needs districts. A science degree without an education background can qualify you to start teaching while you finish coursework, where the state offers this route.
- The job outlook is flat, not growing, and that's fine. Middle and high school teaching positions are both projected to decline slightly through 2034, but tens of thousands of openings still open every year from retirements and turnover.
2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers, Middle School Teachers, and High School Teachers. Job growth projections (2024-2034) are from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, Projections Central. Figures reflect state and national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed August 2026.
Certification requirements are only half the decision: the other half is finding a program that actually offers a science endorsement track and fits how you need to study. The sponsored programs listed here include options for candidates who already hold a science degree and are looking specifically at the education coursework, not a full second bachelor's.