Do you need to major in education to become a teacher?

Depends on what you wanna tach, but if you wanna be an elementary or high school teacher, it might be a good idea.

In most states, you can get a teaching license after a bachelors in anything. It’s usually not as simple as a course- it’s generally a whole program geared to what grade level you want to teach. Then you take the certification exam and student teach.

For example, I have a BS in Human Development and now I’m working toward a teaching license in elementary ed with an M.ed.

You should definitley ask your high school career counselor as well as your adviser at whatever college you attend.

I know a lot of our teachers in my high school didn’t major in anything but Bull S.T. I guess it depends on how much in demand a school system needs teachers because they will bypass certain requirments depending on the demand.

@Tenpinmaster That’s generally not the case now, expect in severely undesirable districts. The economy is encouraging many people to get into teaching- in fact, in many areas the demand for teaching jobs is greater than the positions available.

@OP- out of curiosity, what level do you want to teach? And why major in something that might have no application in the career you want to get into? Don’t get me wring, I’m all for education and college is a time to pursue your interests.

Yes, if you know when you start college that you want to teach. In most states, you can get teacher credentials with a couple of courses if your Bachelor Degree is an academic major.

Yes.

My daughter was an English major with a teaching credential.

My old roommate got a B.S in physics and did this to get a teaching certificate. He taught high school.

To get a teaching certificate in California you must complete a professional teacher preparation program, including successful student teaching, at the level you wish to teach. Programs will vary slightly from college to college, but all programs will include specific requirements established by the California Commission on Teacher Credentials.

No. Liberal Studies is the usual major if you are planning on getting your teaching credentials. At least in California it is. That was both my wife’s and my major for teaching. I no longer teach but she still does.

Note – for high school science & math teachers are in high demand and other subjects (especially social studies & humanities) are in much, much lower demand.

Sadly, no.

Er… nevermind… I so read this question as “Do you need major education to become a teacher?

Not at university level. All I have to do is sober up long enough to finish my PhD thesis in history and find a comittee sympathetic to this dinosaurs defense of it.

You need a Master’s in Education if you teach in the NYC public schools, but if you have the right BA (Biology, Physics, Chemistry , Maths, English, History, etc.), they’ll pay for that Master’s if you work for them and take graduate classes at the same time, but to qualify, your undergrad cumulative GPA has to have been at least a 3.0.

I have 3 friends who are NYC teachers, my roommates’ mom is a teacher and their father just retired from being a budget director for the New York City Department of Education, so I have some insight. Everyone tells me I should teach kids, but, A) I don’t want to, and B) my undergrad cumulative GPA was a 2.7 in C) a degree that doesn’t qualify one to be a NYC teacher. It’s not like they hire people off the street, no matter what folks think about the public schools here.

Yes you do.

It will depend on what your state has for licensure or certification requirements for high school. Many, many years ago in Ohio, you had to major in a subject and there were 3 education courses that you had to take. Then you did student teaching. Poof! High School teacher. I don’t know what the requirements are now.

This varies greatly from state to state and even district to district within a given state.
I believe that you are more likely to get a position teaching a high school level course without and education degree than primary grades. This is primarily because teaching primary aged kids is so much more structured.

Your best bet is to research where you want to teach and see what the requirements are. Of course also discuss with both your high school and college guidance counselors. They will be able to help you with these very questions.

Congratulations by the way for being a high school student who is actually looking to the future and making a plan!

In California you do NOT need to major in education, on the contrary if you want to teach high school you first need a BA in the subject (e.g., English) that you want to eventually teach. Teaching credential programs then give you the additional content and pedagogical knowledge to prepare you to be a teacher, but you need to start with an undergraduate degree in your subject area. So definitely, as others have advised, check out the requirements of your state and local districts.

In most places you’ll need a teaching credential. There are programs you can apply to after you’ve gotten your bachelors degree that will get you your credential. I know you need one for high school teaching and teaching at lower levels. If you want to teach at junior colleges and higher, I’m not sure if a credential is still required.

No. Here is TX we all major in our fields. For example, I majored in Biology and teach high school biology. I just took additional education classes (many of which counted as electives for me) to work on my certification.

This is good because it leaves more options if you decide to leave teaching later.

You do have to take some education classes in order to teach regardless if you already have a BA degree.

I think that Teaching requires a bachelor’s degree in most cases.