How To Apply

If you are currently a sophomore or junior majoring in math, biology, chemistry, physics, or environmental science, we strongly recommend that you apply to the five-year STEM Pathway program and earn your master's degree and become a certified teacher at the end of your fifth year.

STEM teachers are needed now more than ever--especially in high-need schools. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the number of teachers will grow approximately four percent from today to 2029—like that of other sought-after professions.* Further, BLS reports that many school district personnel find it difficult to fill teaching positions for certain subjects, including math, biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science. So, teachers who specialize in STEM subjects should have some of the best prospects in securing a teaching position. Highly qualified teachers in STEM disciplines across all K-12 grade levels, especially in high-need districts (i.e., districts whose students are children from low-income households), are in extremely high demand.  

The STEM Departments of St. John’s College and The Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education offer a five-year combined degree program in which students earn a B.S. in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Environmental Science, or a B.A. in Mathematics and continue for their M.S. in either Adolescent Education (Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics) or Childhood Education (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, and Mathematics). All required workshops and assessments needed for teacher certification are completed during the senior year and fifth year of graduate study. 

Qualifying undergraduates complete nine credits in graduate level education coursework during their senior year. The bachelor’s degree will be conferred once all undergraduate requirements are met. While taking undergraduate coursework as majors in one of the STEM disciplines, students are enrolled in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Once the undergraduate degree is conferred at the end of the senior year, students then matriculate into the Adolescent or Childhood Education master’s program in Education and receive a master’s degree at the end of the fifth year.

• The bachelor’s degree is conferred once all undergraduate requirements are met. 
• Qualifying undergraduates should possess and maintain the required minimum 3.2 cumulative GPA. 
• The Childhood/Adolescent Education Master’s program is 33 credits and will be completed at the end of your fifth year. 
• Students must receive a minimum grade of B in graduate level coursework in Adolescent or Childhood Education. 
• Qualifying students will immediately matriculate into the master’s program upon completing the bachelor’s degree at the end of the senior year. 

Scholarship recipients are expected to be undergraduates who have attained at least a junior status in a STEM baccalaureate degree program. Candidates are selected primarily based on academic merit, with consideration given to financial need and the diversity of participants in the program. NOYCE scholars must graduate with a major in a STEM discipline and be eligible to obtain teacher certification or licensing. STEM majors who may not have considered a career in Grades 1–12 STEM teaching are particularly encouraged to apply.

Benefits of the five-year STEM/Education Pathways programs include, but are not limited to, the following:  

1. Time efficiency: Earn both an undergraduate and graduate degree within five years 
2. Cost efficiency: The tuition for graduate courses taken during undergraduate study is at the undergraduate tuition rate 
3. Possible Funding: Qualifying students may be eligible for an NSF Noyce Scholarship or Stipend 

Graduate students of Adolescent Education who have earned a bachelor’s degree with a STEM major are eligible to apply for a National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program stipend recipient award. The stipend award amounts to $36,000 toward the academic year when student teaching takes place, which is the last year in the program. 

All students who have earned a bachelor’s degree with a major in biology or chemistry must take EDU 7292. All students who have earned a bachelor’s degree with a major in mathematics must take EDU 7293. If awarded, stipend recipients must take a minimum of 15 credits in the year of the award.

Graduate students of Childhood Education who have earned a bachelor’s degree with a STEM major are also eligible to apply. Like the Adolescent Education program, those enrolled in Childhood Education who are accepted as stipend recipients will receive a stipend award that amounts to $36,000 toward the academic year when student teaching takes place, which is the last year in the program. If awarded, stipend recipients must take a minimum of 15 credits in the year of the award.

Adolescent Education Career Change, 33-Credit Program

FOUNDATIONS COURSES

REQUIRED SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASS

REQUIRED METHODS COURSES

REQUIRED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (taken in last six credits of the program)

STUDENT TEACHING (taken in last six credits of the program)

Childhood Education Career Change, 33-Credit Program

FOUNDATIONS COURSES

REQUIRED SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASS

REQUIRED METHODS COURSES

REQUIRED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (taken in last six credits of the program)

STUDENT TEACHING (taken in last six credits of the program)

¹ Prerequisite: Must pass EAS and CST and complete required workshops 

² Prerequisite: Must pass EAS and CST and complete required workshops

Stipend recipients are expected to be STEM professionals or recent STEM graduates who, while receiving the stipend, are enrolled in a graduate career-change education program with an emphasis on a STEM discipline that is eligible for teacher certification or licensing. STEM professionals who may not have considered a career in grades 1–12 STEM teaching are particularly encouraged to apply.