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You’re passionate about reaching the next generation of learners and are keenly aware that excellent science education empowers young people for a lifetime. If you hold a STEM degree and/or have worked in a STEM field, your community needs dedicated professionals like you to take middle and secondary science teaching beyond the expected. Choose to further your career with the University of Missouri’s (Mizzou) 100% online master of education in learning, teaching and curriculum with an emphasis in science education certification. Get certified to teach science while you work or prepare to switch careers.
This 100% online program will equip you with everything you need to become a state-certified instructor in middle or secondary science. You’ll be immersed in the latest pedagogy throughout your course work. To complete your studies, you can intern in a school district that is convenient for you, or if you’ve been hired to teach under temporary authorization, then you can complete your internship at your home institution. Mizzou’s Department of Learning, Teaching & Curriculum will prepare you for this next chapter. In 30 credit hours, you can earn your degree online in a year and a half. Course work prepares students to sit for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education exam. See state certification information for those outside Missouri.
Quick facts
Official name
Master of education in learning, teaching and curriculum with an emphasis in science education certificationCampus
Program type
Master's degreeAcademic home
College of Education & Human Development | Department of Learning, Teaching and CurriculumDelivery mode
100% onlineAccreditation
Higher Learning Commission, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)Credit hours
30Estimated cost
$16,854.00*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.
Career prospects
Graduates will be prepared to teach science in middle or secondary education and be prepared to sit for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) certification exam.
Program structure
Delivery of this program is 100% online: no campus visits are required. Since this program does not include science content course work, program admission requires a passing score on the Missouri Educator Content Assessment for the science discipline in which you wish to obtain science teaching certification:
- General science (for middle school only)
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Earth science
- Physics
Courses are cohort and semester-based. Most students study part time, taking two to three classes each semester and finishing in a year and a half.
Course work includes
- Teaching, learning, and research in middle and secondary science
- Reading and writing in science content areas
- Foundations of science teacher preparation
- Teaching exceptional learners
- Advanced internships in curriculum and instruction
Delivery
100% onlineCalendar system
Semester-basedTypical program length
1.5 yearsTypical course load
2–3 courses per semesterAccreditation
The University of Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.
This program is accredited by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
Faculty spotlight
Laura Zangori teaches and works with students and teachers from elementary through undergraduate classrooms. Her work focuses on how to support teachers and students’ in constructing scientific explanations to understand biological phenomena.
Gary Wright (he/him/his) is an assistant professor of science education in the Department of Learning, Teaching & Curriculum at the University of Missouri. Dr. Wright’s research centers on justice-oriented science teaching and gender and sexual diversity-inclusive science education, with a focus on preparing pre-service and in-service science teachers to engage with and learn from LGBTQ students. His scholarship has been recognized through several awards and fellowships, including the National Association for Research in Science Teaching Outstanding Doctoral Research Award and the Jhumki Basu Scholars Fellowship. A first-generation college graduate and former North Carolina Teaching Fellow, he earned his doctorate and master of education in science education from North Carolina State University, and a secondary science teaching license from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He also has three years of experience teaching high school science in rural North Carolina communities.
Ayça Fackler is a bilingual researcher and educator. Dr. Fackler brings together concepts that inform teaching and learning practices from science education, literacy and linguistics. Her research focuses on the reconceptualization of language, multimodality and science practices to support learners with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in learning scientific ideas. Her research supports marginalized learners such as heritage language speakers, English language learners, multilingual learners and students with disabilities and special needs and aims to decentralize the (scientific) language-centric view in science education to make science accessible to all learners.
She is a Jhumki Basu and Sandra Abell Fellow and has been recognized by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching for her commitment to pursuing equity issues in science teaching, learning and research. She previously taught K–12 science and science teaching methods for preservice elementary teachers at the postsecondary level.