Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Licensure: Biology 8–12

Teach high school biology in Massachusetts

The Biology 8–12 track prepares you for the Massachusetts Initial Teaching License in Biology, grades 8 through 12. It's designed for people who already hold a bachelor's degree, whether in biology, a related science, or another field, and want to lead a high school science classroom.

You take the shared PBTL education core, a methods course for your subject with time in a real public school classroom, and finish with a full semester of student teaching. Depending on your transcript, you may also need a few biology courses to meet this license's subject-matter requirements.

Why choose Biology 8–12

Your background is in the life sciences. If your degree or career has centered on biology, this license lets you carry that knowledge straight into a classroom. If your science background is broader, look at General Science 5–8 or Middle School Mathematics/Science 5–8.
You want to teach teenagers. The 8–12 license prepares you for a high school classroom.
You want to teach one subject. Biology 8–12 is a single-subject license, so your teaching day centers on biology.
You already have a bachelor's degree. PBTL leads to your license without a second degree.

Program Requirements

Courses for this license

Course	Title
EDIL 802	Professional Preparation II: Special Needs and Educational Technology
EDIL 825	Secondary Methods with Field Study II: Science Grades 8–12
EDPS 865A	Secondary Professional Practicum A: Science 8–12
EDPS 865B	Secondary Professional Practicum B: Science 8–12

Methods courses run in the fall. Student teaching runs in the spring: Practicum A from mid-January to mid-March, then Practicum B from mid-March to mid-May. Your methods courses and both practicum courses must be taken at FSU.

Subject-matter requirements
Massachusetts requires candidates for this license to hold a bachelor's degree and to have completed broad coursework in biology. That coursework must prepare them to teach the full range of content in the state's Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework for Grades 6–8 Life Science and High School Biology.

Faculty in the Biology department review each applicant's transcript against the core coursework required of FSU undergraduates in the Biology major's teaching concentration. Coursework completed at FSU or another institution may satisfy some or all of these requirements, and the transcript review identifies any courses that remain.

Plan to finish any subject-matter courses you still need before student teaching. Exceptions need your coordinator's approval.

Admissions Requirements

To apply, you'll need a bachelor's degree, a statement of purpose, and two recommendations. Your transcript is reviewed course by course for the subject-matter preparation this license requires. Full admissions detail, including how transcripts from outside the U.S. are handled, is on the Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Licensure (PBTL) program page.

Core Courses

Every student on this track takes:

EDIL 900 Field Study I in Education and Seminar (spring), or a waiver if you qualify
EDIL 910 Education Foundations
EDIL 920 Learning and Human Development
TESL 910 Sheltered English Immersion

EDIL 910 and EDIL 920 are offered online three times a year. Take them before your methods courses, since they're prerequisites.

Field Experience

Field Study I is observation. Field Study II is part of your methods course, where you take on real teaching. Then comes a full-time, semester-long student teaching practicum. Already working in a school at this level? You can apply to use a semester of that job in place of the practicum.

Application details and deadlines are on the Field Placement & Licensure Information page.

Tests You Will Need

You do not need to pass the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) to apply. You do need these before student teaching and before the state issues your license: