Prepare for a fulfilling teaching career through Widener’s undergraduate secondary education (grades 7-12) certification program, where you’ll learn how to teach adolescents while gaining mastery in your chosen subject area.
Prepare for a fulfilling teaching career through Widener’s undergraduate secondary education certification program. You’ll learn the ins and outs of being a teacher through the College of Health and Human Services' Center for Education while majoring in your chosen content area in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Students have the option to pursue grade 7-12 Pennsylvania teaching certification in biology, chemistry, Earth and space science, English, mathematics, physics, and social studies (history), as well as pre-kindergarten to grade 12 certification in Spanish.
Students interested in obtaining Pennsylvania secondary education certification requirements would also pursue one of the following majors while completing their education course requirements:
*Students interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry, or physics also have the option to complete the education coursework required to complete certification and should consult with their advisor to develop a plan.
**Spanish teaching certification qualifies students to teach pre-kindergarten through grade 12.
View the Loading... for general curriculum and coursework requirements for the Pennsylvania Instructional I Teaching Certification.
View curriculum requirements for your chosen subject area(s):
Eight education courses are required for secondary certification, including appropriate courses in teaching methods for the selected certification area.
In addition, students must adjust his or her subject-matter academic work to meet the requirements for a full-time, 14-week student teaching experience during the senior year. This student teaching experience, open to seniors only, is under the supervision of a professor from the teacher education program and also experienced teachers from local cooperating schools.
Each state/jurisdiction has requirements that candidates must meet in order to obtain licensure and/or certification to teach. It is the student’s responsibility to seek appropriate guidance before beginning any academic program. If you intend to seek certification outside of Pennsylvania, the University recommends that you contact the appropriate state licensing agency to obtain specific licensure/certification requirements per state and the most up-to-date information.
To view Widener’s licensure eligibility by state/jurisdiction, please visit the Center for Education: Program Licensure page.
Our undergraduate program in secondary education gives you the skills and preparation to teach adolescents in grades 7-12 in your chosen subject area.
Gain a strong teaching foundation by earning a degree in your chosen content area through the College of Arts & Sciences while you learn how to teach adolescents through your course studies at the Center for Education. Plus, we’ll guide you through the requirements for secondary education certification in your particular subject.
Our class sizes are small, giving you the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with faculty at both the Center for Education and the College of Arts and Sciences. Our faculty are committed to engaging students in the learning process through active, hands-on learning, which optimizes your learning experience to meet your personal and professional goals.
You'll develop field experience gradually throughout your college experience, starting with one-on-one tutoring and small-group instruction and culminating with whole-class instruction through a semester-long student teaching placement. By the time you graduate, you’ll feel comfortable and confident in the classroom.
Our professors invest in your success through close mentoring and continual feedback. Get to know our secondary education faculty.
"My role as a mathematics teacher is to help students make sense of mathematics and develop conceptual understanding. I do this by helping students become actively involved in their learning through solving new and challenging problems rather than passively absorbing information."
"I want my students to feel nurtured by a professor who cares about their well-being, challenged by a professor who insists they ask hard questions, made a little uncomfortable by a professor who refuses to give the 'right' answer, and excited by a professor who is always looking for something new."
"Learning to be a teacher requires discipline and hard work. Learning to be great teacher requires passion and a deep dedication to the many and diverse children that we serve."
"My teaching focuses upon cognitive processing and application. In this regard, critical literacy complements the cognitive learning process. Critical literacy is the ability to actively read a text that promotes an understanding of social concepts and human relationships."
"I believe classroom culture should include opportunities to create community through social justice values, respect, and equality for everyone. Teachers must include students' needs and interests, their knowledge from personal experiences, interactions, opportunities to explore hands-on activities, social-emotional regulation through positive behavior supports, and self-constructed inquiry and knowledge through questioning."
"My interests include brain development, literacy development, and applications of technology in research and instruction. My greatest excitement in teaching comes from the way that working with graduate students spills over to my teaching of undergraduates and vice versa."
"Students become historians by "doing history" – they learn to think critically about the past, to develop research questions and conduct research, . . . and to have fun! History is an endlessly fascinating inquiry into the human past that can yield essential insights into the human present."
"I have authored or co-authored 15 publications in top-tier education journals and am honored to be a highly rated online professor of Widener students."
When COVID-19 forced the closure of K-12 schools in mid-March, Widener student teachers found themselves embarking on a new partnership with Agora Cyber Charter School.
With a Widener degree, you will take the inside track to a noble career as a teacher. You will shape the education and growth of future generations.
Kapelski Learning Center, Room 209
503 E. 13th Street
Chester, PA 19061
Room 113