aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences has special opportunities for students in many departments and colleges within the university. The program has collaborations campus wide and can help configure degree plans that align with the Teaching Field Plans. Our goal is to help students to complete their degree and obtain teacher certification in the traditional four years of college. Upon successful completion this would allow students to teach in grades 7-12 in Texas.
Middle and high school teachers are in high demand in the state of Texas and as such, earning a valid Texas Teaching Certificate will expand the employment options available to students upon graduation. For the last five years, 100 % of aggieTEACH graduates who chose to teach after graduation have been employed – oftentimes they secure employment before they graduate from Texas A&M University. Also, some of our graduates find employment in school districts that offer a starting salary of $50,000 or more plus a monetary bonus just for teaching high needs fields such as math or science. Texas school districts love to have Aggie teachers in their schools and they often hire Aggies before anyone else.
Teaching is a noble and rewarding profession. aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences will allow your students to impact future generations by teaching a subject they love and expanding high school students’ science content. aggieTEACH-Math & Science is an excellent way to for your students to give back to society, help others, and influence young lives. We encourage you to educate your students on the opportunities aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences offers and how it can impact their career options upon graduation.
While in aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences, students will have the opportunity to observe and teach in a number of diverse settings. Most aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences students work within the local school districts, but there are opportunities to complete the Clinical Teaching experience in many areas of Texas. We also encourage students to get involved in leadership positions within aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences. By the time our students start their first teaching job they will have logged over 120 hours of observations and 560 hours of clinical teaching. We do our best to ensure they are ready for the profession.
First Steps and Admission Requirements
All aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences students start by taking ARSC 201 (formerly SCEN 201). This is a one credit-hour introductory class that allows students to explore the teaching profession and make a more informed decision on whether they want to pursue profession. Those who wish to continue complete an application and meet all of the following requirements:
- B average or better in introductory courses of certification area (i.e. intro science, math, history, or English courses)
- An overall GPA of 2.75 or higher
- Complete ARSC 201 with B or better
- Have at least three semesters left at TAMU as an undergraduate
- Have a minimum of 15 hours in the content courses required for certification
- Have 2.5 GPA in content courses
- Have between 30 and 80 college credit hours
Secondary Education (SEED) Minor
Most students who are accepted in aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences declare the Secondary Education (SEED) Minor. This is an 18 hour minor with the following required coursework
- INST 222
- RDNG 465 (or RDNG 372)
- INST 210
- TEFB 322* – 1st semester junior year (DOES NOT apply to ELAR 7-12 certification seekers)
- TEFB 324* – 2nd semester junior year
- A Senior Methods course(s)* specific to your certification area the last semester of coursework, just before clinical teaching (typically 1st semester senior year)
- TEFB 406 (Science), TEFB 407 (Math), RDNG 470 & 490 (English), MEFB 450 (History and Social Studies)
*Membership in aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences is required for enrollment in TEFB 322, TEFB 324 and TEFB 406/407
Clinical teaching is not part of the SEED minor, but is is required for teacher certification.
Use this planning tool for the SEED minor courses.
Clinical Teaching
The culminating phase of aggieTEACH-Arts& Sciences is the Clinical Teaching experience, typically completed the 2nd semester of the senior year. This is a full time 14 weeks (or 70 full time days) experience in an assigned Texas school working side by side with a cooperating teacher. This apprenticeship-type opportunity allows our students to gain beneficial insight into the teaching profession while getting much-needed hands-on classroom experience that enables them to feel the real impact and true excitement of teaching! It is pivotal to note that during this phase students cannot take any other classes during clinical teaching. The credit hours they earn in their student teaching experience can be used as elective hours toward the student’s degree.