Secondary Education: Bachelor’s, Master’s & Doctorate Options Degree
A secondary education degree prepares you to teach grades 7 through 12, and you can enter the classroom with a bachelor's degree alone in most states. A master's or doctorate adds subject-area depth, curriculum leadership, or research training, but isn't required to start teaching. Licensure requirements, exams, and practicum hours vary by state, so check your state's educator-licensing agency before choosing a program.
The "secondary" label spans grades 7 through 12 in the NCES/ISCED classification system used for statistical comparison, but that's not the same as any single state's teacher-license grade bands. States set their own secondary credential ranges, and some split "middle grades" and "high school" into separate credentials with their own requirements. The degree that gets you into a secondary classroom comes in three tiers: bachelor's, master's, and doctorate, and which teaching degree to choose depends on where you already are in your career. Most people teaching in a middle or high school classroom right now started with a bachelor's: the higher degrees exist for people who want to specialize, move into curriculum work, or teach future teachers.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. treats lower secondary as grades 7 through 9 and upper secondary as grades 10 through 12. Internationally, the same age range gets sorted a little differently, which is worth knowing if you're comparing programs or credentials from outside the U.S.
ISCED LevelDefinitionU.S.
| Equivalent | ||
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Preprimary | Kindergarten and below |
| 1 | Primary | 1st-6th grades |
| 2 | Lower Secondary | 7th-9th grades |
| 3 | Upper Secondary | 10th-12th grades, or the first three years of vocational education |
| 5 | Higher Education | Community or junior colleges and vocational-technical institutes leading to an associate's degree |
| 6 | Higher Education (university) | A four-year university program leading to a bachelor's degree |
| 7 | Higher Education (university) | A university or professional institute leading to a master's or doctoral degree |
A secondary education degree program combines subject-matter coursework with the teaching methods, classroom management, and adolescent psychology you need to work with 12- to 18-year-olds specifically. It's a different skill set from the one an elementary program builds, since abstract reasoning, peer dynamics, and subject specialization all show up differently once students hit middle school.
You'll pick a content area alongside the education coursework. Common options include:
- English
- Mathematics
- Biological science
- Physical science
- General science
- Social studies
- Physical education
- Foreign language
Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education
If you're aiming at a middle or high school classroom, the bachelor's is where nearly everyone starts. Programs award either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science, and which one you get depends more on the institution and your content area than on anything you control directly, though a science major is more likely to land a B.S., for instance. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas offers both a B.A. and a B.S. in Secondary Education, with the B.A. version requiring two extra courses in the same foreign language.
A bachelor's degree is the minimum most states require to become a licensed secondary teacher, though the specific coursework, exam, and practicum requirements are set by each state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency, not by this page. Confirm the details with your state before enrolling.
Admission Requirements
Some programs or states require an assessment or other demonstration of basic competency before admission, on top of the usual college application materials. Some schools also ask for letters of reference, a minimum GPA, and specific prerequisite courses.
Time Commitment
A full-time bachelor's degree runs about four years, with the first year or two mostly spent on general education requirements before the education-specific coursework picks up.
Graduates must meet the applicable state's requirements for the appropriate secondary or content-area credential before teaching in a K-12 classroom.
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.
Courses Common to Bachelor's Programs
Every program builds its own curriculum, but a few courses show up almost everywhere.
Secondary Teaching Methods
Teaching seventh through twelfth graders takes a different skill set than teaching younger kids. This course covers techniques suited to older students and more abstract thinking.
Classroom Management
Secondary classrooms have their own management challenges: this course covers the basics of keeping a room of teenagers on track without losing them.
Adolescent Psychology
You'll study the developmental changes happening during the teen years, and how to support students through them without treating a 14-year-old like a smaller adult or a bigger child.
Program Objectives
A four-year bachelor's requires mastery of your content area plus supervised clinical or student-teaching experience, the specific structure and length of which is set by your state and program rather than by a universal standard. Across programs, you can expect to work toward:
- Building differentiated, evidence-based lesson plans efficiently enough to sustain year after year
- Assessing student work objectively against stated learning objectives
- Deepening subject-matter knowledge in your teachable content area
- Understanding the developmental milestones specific to secondary-age students
- Practicing inclusive teaching principles across a range of ability levels
- Building working relationships with fellow teachers, administrators, and support staff
- Handling conflict with students, families, or colleagues without it derailing the classroom
- Getting real reps at classroom management through practicum placement
Online Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education
An online bachelor's can work well if you're also working or raising a family, though most programs still require in-person classroom observations, so you can't fully avoid the commute; you can just cut it down.
The main advantage is scheduling: coursework happens when it fits your day instead of when a lecture hall is booked. For students already juggling a job, that flexibility is often the difference between finishing the degree and not starting it.
Example: Bachelor's Program
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
Bachelor's in Secondary Education
Program Overview: Prepares secondary teachers to step into the classroom, designed to prepare graduates for Nevada teacher licensure.
Required Courses: Core education courses for all majors, plus content-area courses specific to your chosen subject.
Admission Requirements: A 3.0 GPA and proof of high school graduation, plus a complete application. Without the needed high school credits, an ACT composite of at least 22, an SAT score (EBRW and math) of at least 1120, or a Nevada Advanced High School Diploma can substitute.
Tuition: Roughly $4,629 per semester for a full-time resident student, with additional charges above 12 credit hours.
Master's Degree in Secondary Education
A master's makes sense once you're already teaching and want to specialize, move toward curriculum work, or add an endorsement your state requires for certain assignments. It's not the entry point. It's the next step.
Requirements
You'll need a bachelor's degree to apply, and some programs also expect a valid teaching license. Common prerequisites include:
- A GRE score from within the last three to five years
- Any educator assessments required by the program or your state's credential, where relevant
- Documented professional experience in a related field
Time Commitment
Most master's programs take about two years full-time. Some accelerated tracks compress that to closer to one.
Accreditation
Look for institutional accreditation at minimum. If the program is intended to lead to a state credential or endorsement, verify that the specific program satisfies that state's educator-credentialing requirements. Programs accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) may carry extra weight with hiring committees, but CAEP accreditation alone doesn't guarantee a program meets a given state's licensing requirements.
Courses Common to Master's Programs
Law and American Education
Covers the legal issues that come up in secondary schools: the ones that matter most once you're the adult in the room, not just the student teacher.
Language and Culture
Looks at language through a cultural lens (phonology, morphology, syntax) and how cultural and linguistic differences play out in a classroom.
Technology Applications for Learning Environments
Covers the classroom technology you're expected to know how to use, in and out of the building.
What a Master's Prepares You For
Completing a master's can open paths beyond the classroom-teacher role, including instructional leadership or research-oriented tracks, depending on your program. It may also support preparation for school leadership, but licensed administrator positions typically require a separate, state-specific credential beyond the master's itself. Coursework across programs tends to cover:
- Leadership across educational and community organizational settings
- Meeting students' social, cultural, and digital needs in the classroom
- Program and performance evaluation, including standardized assessment
- Curriculum and education policy in historical and global context
- How societal and cultural factors shape secondary education outcomes
- Second-language acquisition and its effect on English language learners
- Educational technology's classroom impact
- Special education services within inclusive secondary classrooms
Online Master's Degree in Secondary Education
Online master's programs suit self-motivated learners who don't need a set classroom schedule to stay on track. If you're already balancing a teaching job with grad school, the flexibility to do coursework at 9 p.m. instead of during a Tuesday evening seminar matters more than it sounds.
Example: Master's Program
California State University, Fullerton
Master of Science in Education, Secondary Education Concentration
Program Overview: Designed for practicing secondary teachers looking to move into curriculum leadership.
Required Courses: At least 31 units, advisor-approved before scheduling.
Admission Requirements: An acceptable bachelor's degree from an institutionally accredited college or university, good academic standing, and a GPA of at least 2.5 on the last degree or the most recent 60 semester units.
Tuition: Roughly $2,000-$4,000 per semester, depending on residency.
Doctorate Degree in Secondary Education
A doctorate is for educators aiming at research, policy, or the top tier of school leadership. Most programs award either a Ph.D., which leans academic and research-focused, or an Ed.D., which stays closer to applied practice and administration. Some programs also offer an Education Specialist (EdS) credential: a shorter option, usually 30 to 45 credit hours beyond the master's, for teachers pursuing advanced study toward roles like administration or school psychology. Actual certification as an administrator or school psychologist has its own state-specific requirements, including approved programs, field experience, and exams, separate from the EdS coursework itself.
Admission Requirements
You'll typically need a master's degree and a GPA of 3.0 or higher. A few programs accept a bachelor's if they offer a combined master's-doctorate track, but most still expect teaching experience, an active certification, and the master's already in hand.
Time Commitment
With a master's already completed, expect roughly six to nine semesters. Without one, add another two to four semesters.
Financial Aid
Doctoral study is expensive, but FAFSA, grants, loans, and assistantships are all realistic options. Some districts will also reimburse tuition for teachers in high-demand subjects such as math, science, and foreign language who commit to staying a set number of years afterward.
Career Advancement
A doctorate opens doors in school administration, academic coaching, and other leadership tracks with more room to move up than a classroom-teacher role typically offers.
Courses Common to Doctorate Programs
Educational Research Methods
Covers qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research methods: the groundwork for your dissertation.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Educational Process
At the doctorate level, you're often the one evaluating a classroom or a whole school system's process, not just executing it.
Faculty Leadership
Prepares you for leadership roles within a school system through established leadership frameworks.
What Doctoral Study Covers
Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs are individualized, but most require declaring a specialty, such as curriculum and pedagogy, cognition, literacy, assessment, policy, leadership, or special education, and researching within it. Common threads include:
- How power, culture, and socioeconomic background shape secondary education outcomes
- Education policy and decision-making from the secondary-school vantage point
- Student growth and achievement assessment through cross-cultural research
- Secondary-level leadership and governance practices
- The historical and social forces that shaped institutional secondary teaching
- Political and funding trends driving education policy
Online Doctorate in Secondary Education
Most online doctorates are actually hybrid: online coursework plus periodic in-person seminars during the dissertation phase. It's a real time-saver if you're working full-time while you finish the degree, but expect at least some travel.
Example: Doctorate Program
Kennesaw State University
Ed.D. in Secondary Education - Mathematics
Program Overview: For candidates with a master's degree who want to develop as learner-centered specialists.
Required Courses: A minimum of 30 credit hours, pre-approved.
Admission Requirements: A master's degree in education or a related field, an active and renewable teaching certificate, at least three years of professional experience, a competitive GRE score, letters of reference, and a $60 non-refundable application fee.
Tuition: Roughly $2,000-$4,000 per semester for a full 12-credit course load.
Specialty Secondary Education Degree Programs
Math
Secondary math teachers cover everything from general math to algebra, geometry, and calculus, often teaching several levels in the same year. Math is a high-need subject in most districts, and certification grants are frequently available to offset the cost.
Sciences
Science teachers may cover general science or specialize in biology, chemistry, or AP-level coursework. High-need status here, too, means grant money is often on the table.
English
Secondary English teachers work across a wide range of reading and writing skill levels and often prepare students for AP English or standardized placement exams. Strong writing and reading-instruction skills matter more here than almost any other content area.
Social Studies
Covers world history, civics, and often AP-level coursework, layered on top of the standard education and curriculum requirements every secondary program includes.
Physical Education
PE-focused programs add coursework in growth and development and safety education on top of the standard curriculum, and PE teachers typically also coach school sports.
Secondary Education Degree Scholarships
A secondary education degree is a real financial commitment, but there's scholarship money aimed specifically at this field.
Cortland's Urban Recruitment of Educators (CURE) Scholarship
For education majors with strong academic records who commit to teaching in high-needs urban schools. Priority goes to applicants from groups traditionally underrepresented in the field.
Barbara Lotze Scholarships for Future Teachers
Aimed at undergraduates on track to become high school physics teachers, the American Association of Physics Teachers awards up to $3,000 plus a one-year AAPT student membership, renewable across four years of undergraduate study.
Explore more Scholarships and Grants for teachers.
Career Pathways with a Secondary Education Degree
A secondary education degree plus a subject-specific credential qualifies you for a classroom role in middle or high school. From there, some teachers move into AP-level instruction or academic coaching without leaving the classroom entirely.
Middle School Teacher
Middle school teachers work with sixth through eighth graders, usually in a single subject area across grade levels, introducing the more advanced thinking and problem-solving skills students need before high school. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, middle school teachers earned a median annual salary of $64,370 as of May 2025.
Learn more about becoming a Middle School Teacher.
High School Teacher
High school teachers typically own a single subject area across several grade levels. A master's or doctorate can open doors to curriculum leadership or department-head roles, though it isn't required to teach. Employment of high school teachers is projected to decline about 1.6% between 2024 and 2034, according to Projections Central, but the field still adds roughly 66,200 openings a year as teachers retire or move on - that's the number that actually matters if you're wondering whether there'll be a job. BLS data puts the median annual salary at $72,040 as of May 2025.
If you're interested in becoming a high school teacher, that page covers the role in more depth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a master's degree to teach secondary school?
No. A bachelor's degree plus your state's licensure requirements is enough to teach in most states. A master's adds subject depth and may support a move toward curriculum work or school leadership, but it isn't the entry credential, and it doesn't by itself confer an administrator license.
What's the difference between a Ph.D. and an Ed.D. in secondary education?
A Ph.D. is research-focused and academic, aimed at people headed toward university teaching or research roles. An Ed.D. is applied, built around leadership and practice, and tends to suit people staying in K-12 administration or policy work.
How long does a secondary education degree take?
A bachelor's runs about four years full-time. A master's adds roughly one to two more years. A doctorate typically takes six to nine semesters on top of a master's, or two to four semesters longer if you're starting from a bachelor's.
Is job growth good for secondary school teachers?
Not in the way "job growth" usually gets used. Projections Central expects both middle school and high school teaching positions to shrink slightly through 2034, but tens of thousands of openings still open every year from retirements and turnover, so the jobs exist even though the field isn't expanding.
Can I teach without a degree in secondary education specifically?
Often yes, through an alternative certification route, though the details (which content-area degrees qualify, what coursework you still need) vary by state. Check with your state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency before assuming a related degree will transfer directly into a secondary license.
- A bachelor's is the entry point. Most states let you start teaching secondary school with a bachelor's degree and a state license - a master's or doctorate is optional specialization, not a requirement to get in the door.
- Requirements vary by state. Exam names, practicum hours, and licensure specifics are set by each state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency, not by a single national standard.
- Both core secondary occupations are shrinking, not growing. Projections Central expects middle and high school teaching positions to decline slightly through 2034, but combined openings still run in the tens of thousands a year from retirements and turnover.
- An EdS is a shorter alternative to a full doctorate. It's usually 30-45 credit hours beyond the master's, but it supports advanced study toward roles like administration or school psychology. Actual certification in those roles has its own separate, state-specific requirements.
- Subject-area choice affects your job prospects as much as the degree level does. Math and science teachers, in particular, tend to have access to more certification grants because of persistent high-need status.
2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for 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.
Degree level is only one piece of the decision: program format and content-area fit matter just as much once you're comparing options. The programs listed here include several with online and hybrid formats, along with tracks built for career-changers who already hold a degree in another field.