• Learn effective teaching at the only undergraduate education degree program in the state of Washington that is housed at a major research university.
• You can join a math, science, and engineering community residence hall at WSU Pullman—share classes with your neighbors, study together, get free tutoring, and use the hall’s computer lab.
• Participate in faculty research projects and become familiar with research techniques and the operation of advanced equipment.
• Learn from experts in all the major subdisciplines of biology, including cell biology, molecular evolution, plant genetics, photosynthesis, crop engineering, ecology, electron microscopy, and more.
• Benefit from small class sizes in biology and easy access to modern and well-equipped instructional biology labs.
• Study and work with a diversity of young students that mirrors today’s classrooms.
• The U.S. Department of Education selected WSU for a grant of more than $11 million to create a model teacher preparation program centered on high-needs youths.
• WSU offers the state’s only teacher education program that provides practical classroom teaching opportunities in every region of Washington.

Here's a quick overview of the program. For more about the biology major, see the biology fact page. For the full sequence of teacher certification courses, see the Teacher Education Program's web page.

Core courses for biology teaching

The core courses in the biology major's teaching track prepare you for the topics you're likely to be teaching in your own classroom.

In the biology teaching track, you'll take courses like these:

Introductory Biology: Organismal Biology
Introductory Biology: Cell Biology and Genetics
General Genetics
General Ecology
Principles of Organic Evolution
Methods of Teaching Science
Introductory Biochemistry
General Microbiology
Principles of Chemistry I & II
Organic Chemistry
General Physics I & II

The biology major also includes room for science electives that can be helpful in teaching. You can choose from courses like these:

Calculus for Life Scientists
Calculus I
Science in Western Civilization through Newton
Science in Western Civilization from Newton to Einstein
Technology and Social Change to 1950
DNA and Society
Society and Technology
Domain of the Sciences
Elementary Statistics in Psychology
Introduction to Statistical Methods
Biometry

Graduation requirements

See the WSU Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about planning and scheduling your courses. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog in order to graduate.

To qualify to teach biology in middle school and high school, you'll need:

• A bachelor's degree in biological science. At WSU, the biology and zoology majors meet the degree requirement.
• Secondary education teacher certification.

The biology teaching option in the biology major integrates the major's requirements with teacher education courses that prepare you to pass the Washington state teacher certification exam and run a classroom of your own.

Secondary education core requirements

The professional education course work begins with three prerequisite courses:

Writing and Research
Learning and Development
Initial Practicum Experience

After successfully completing the prerequisites, you can apply to the teacher education program in the College of Education.

The teacher certification program includes courses like these:

Curriculum, Instruction, and Content Literacy Methods
Teaching English Language Learners for Secondary Teachers
Secondary Methods of Educational Technology

Adolescence, Community, and School
Classroom Assessment, Secondary
Advanced Practicum
Special Education, Transition, and Classroom Management for Secondary General Education Teachers

For the full sequence of teacher certification courses, see the Teacher Education Program's web page.

Graduation requirements

  See the WSU Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about planning and scheduling your courses. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog in order to graduate.

A variety of state, federal, and university-sponsored programs are available to help students with educational costs.

For all students at WSU

Washington State University awards millions of dollars in financial aid and scholarships to students every year based on financial need, academic merit, or a combination of the two.

To get all the financial help WSU can provide, start by doing these two things:

• Complete the University's general scholarship application when you apply for admission. This will make you eligible for scholarship consideration.
• Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) so WSU can consider you for aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) based on financial need.

More about scholarships and financial aid

For students in biological science majors

A number of special scholarships are available specifically for WSU students in biological sciences: the Leonard Kirschner, Herbert Eastlick, Fraser, and Van Fleet scholarships, the Outstanding Biology Junior Award, the Biology Undergraduate Research Award, Biology Merit Awards, and Zoology and Biology Merit Awards.

The College of Arts and Sciences also offers general scholarships that biology majors are eligible for, including scholarships in the pre-health sciences.

For teacher preparation students

The College of Education distributes funds from 13 endowed scholarships to approximately 100 teacher preparation students every semester. For more information about these scholarships, call the College of Education at 509-335-7843 or e-mail beateacher@wsu.edu.

As a biological science student at WSU, you have exceptional resources at your disposal:

• Owen Science and Engineering Library, the largest science and engineering library in the Northwest
• Conner Museum of Natural History, which contains more than 56,000 specimens in research and display collections
• Ownbey Herbarium, which contains 277,000 specimens of preserved plants
• The Science Learning and Instruction Center, a resource center for science majors that provides computer access, auto-tutorial programs, and other media-assisted learning programs
• Electron Microscopy Center
• The 800-acre Hudson Biological Preserve at Smoot Hill (15 miles from Pullman), which serves as a biological field station for students and faculty
• The James Entomological Collection, comprised of more than a million specimens of insects
• Mycological Herbarium, which contains more than 65,000 specimens of fungi

Recommended science and math preparation in high school should include at least three years of science course work, including biology, chemistry, and physics.

For biology, high school preparation should include experience in computers and skills in communication, including keen skills in reading, writing, and reasoning.

Students should take two years of a foreign language in high school, which will also meet a WSU graduation requirement.

Future teachers should care about children and have the desire to make a real difference in the world.

The Educators Club, Kappa Delta Pi, and the Alhadeff Future Teachers of Color are pre-professional organizations run by education students for education students. All future teachers are invited to join and participate.

More about education student organizations

With a biology degree and Washington state teaching certification, you're qualified to to teach middle school and high school biology anywhere the state of Washington.

Biology teachers also teach in public or private schools worldwide. Further study (for instance, a master of arts in teaching or a program in educational administration) opens up possibilities as a counselor, principal, or other administrative positions in schools.