Become A Teacher – Bachelor’s Degree Programs

At the top-ranked education school in Kentucky and highly ranked among institutions across the United States, you will prepare to be an effective leader in the classroom. Our programs provide hands-on, real-world experiences in schools, as well as a comprehensive understanding of best practices in education. 

Teacher Education Major Options

If you’re interested in becoming a teacher, UK has a variety of options. Most of these programs are located in the UK College of Education, except where otherwise noted.

Elementary Education: The Elementary Education Program prepares you for teaching positions in P-5 classrooms. You will be shaped to be an effective teacher as you discover better ways to teach, to manage a classroom, and to help a child learn.

Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education: This program prepares you for a variety of careers working with families and their young children, birth through age 4, including those with disabilities. Graduates of the program are employed in public preschool, early intervention (First Steps), kindergarten classrooms, childcare, research, state government and other career settings. The program prepares you to consume, critique, and apply research as a foundation to become a leader in your chosen profession.

Kinesiology & Health Education: Earn a double major in physical education and health education and teach primary through 12th grade. In addition to teaching, you may use this degree to direct youth physical activity programs, manage health-related grants, supervise programs and camps for youth, personal train, and coach, among other careers. Students are strongly encouraged to pursue the double major since school systems frequently hire employees who can teach both health and physical education classes.

Middle Level Education: The Middle Level Teacher Education Program is a personalized, innovative program that emphasizes the development of professionally trained specialists in teaching early adolescents. As such, the program models team teaching and collaborative learning. You will experience active learning and real-world connections in this curriculum. Completing this program leads to teacher certification in 5-9 in two content areas (English, Math, Social Studies, Science).

Secondary Education: An undergraduate secondary education program without teacher certification is available in English and Social Studies. To be eligible for teacher certification in these areas, you must first complete the undergraduate secondary education program in English, social studies, or another approved program and then complete the master’s with initial certification program.

Special Education (Learning and Behavior Disorders/Moderate to Severe Disabilities): The Special Education program will prepare pre-services teachers to use specialized, evidence-based instructional skills to teach students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities in preschool through 12th grade. This program prepares teachers to meet the needs of many classrooms in which these students are taught together. Graduates of this program will receive certification in both Learning and Behavior Disorders and Moderate to Severe Disabilities.

STEM Education: The STEM Education program is an undergraduate certification program housed within the College of Education and the STEM Education Department. It represents a unique approach to teacher education and is the first STEM Education major in the United States. Through this program you will earn a double major in STEM Education and a content major of your choice (biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, or geological sciences) with secondary teaching certification (grades 8-12) in one or more state-certifiable STEM subjects.

Agricultural Education*: You can specialize in becoming an agriculture teacher in one area, such as horticulture, or may study to be a generalist and teach several different areas. The broad technical agricultural background obtained in the Agricultural Education option is also good preparation for employment in the public and private sectors. The Agricultural Education degree is available through the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Art Education**: The undergraduate program in Art Education is built on a strong foundation in art studio and art history. The program prepares you for a career in art teaching from primary through 12th grades. The Art Education degree is available through the UK College of Fine Arts.

Music Education**: As a Music Education major, you may choose between a vocal/elementary general music track or an instrumental (band/orchestra) track. Both tracks will prepare you to teach music from primary to 12th grade. UK subscribes to the philosophy that training in music education should be as practical and hands-on as possible, Consequently, the curriculum includes a series of undergraduate seminars that integrate the real experiences of the music teacher in elementary or secondary schools with the development of skills for becoming and outstanding teacher. The Music Education degree is available through the UK College of Fine Arts.

World Languages***: Majors in world languages are available at the undergraduate level through the UK College of Arts and Sciences. Teacher certification in each language (Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Russian, Spanish) is available through the Masters of Arts in Teaching World Languages degree in the UK College of Arts and Sciences.

* Offered in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
** Offered in the College of Fine Arts
***Offered in the College of Arts and Sciences

How to Apply

Early Action Deadline: December 1

Priority Deadline: February 15

First time freshmen (first-year students) can apply by filling out one of two application options: UK application or the CommonApp.

Make sure you have:

• Copy of high school transcript
• Copy of college transcript with any college level work
• Emergency contact information
• Resume or list of activities
• Ready to apply? Watch this step by step tutorial on how to apply for admission to the University of Kentucky.

Already applied to the University of Kentucky?

Check your status. Once you are admitted to the University of Kentucky, don’t forget to apply for College of Education scholarships!

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