Combined Biological Sciences, BA / Biology Education, EdM
The UB Teach biology education program is an accelerated, combined degree program that allows you to earn a biological sciences BA and a biology education EdM within five years. It provides you with content expertise in biology while preparing you to teach biology at the adolescence level (grades 5 to 12).
Why Biological Sciences and Biology Education at UB?
In this combined program, students study in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the Department of Learning and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education. While in the Department of Biological Sciences, you benefit from a dedicated focus on the discipline of biology; in the Department of Learning and Instruction, you will learn how to bring biology to life in a grades 5 to 12 classroom.
UB prepares highly-qualified teachers who lead their classrooms, shape students’ lives and positively engage with the communities they serve.
Students enrolled in this program will:
- Learn by doing. The instructional philosophy of “lead with the lab” trains biology students at every level to become intellectually curious and to develop critical thinking skills applicable in all life science disciplines.
- Engage in an interdisciplinary approach to life sciences enabling new discoveries that impact every major field of biological sciences.
- Complete intensive clinical education experiences in collaboration with Western New York schools across diverse settings, while learning the nuances of the teaching profession.
- Gain the skills, expertise and confidence to implement evidence-based practice in the classroom and co-teach alongside an expert teacher in a one-year residency.
Program Overview
| Academic credential granted | Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Master of Education (EdM) |
|---|---|
| Certification option | Successful completion of program leads to an institutional recommendation for New York State initial and professional certification in biology education |
| Grade levels | 7 to 12 with 5 to 6 extension |
| Credits required for completion | 161 to 163 |
| Time to completion | 5 years |
| Course delivery | On campus, online |
| Careers |
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| Experiential contact hours |
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| Application deadline | Early action: Nov. 15 Scholarship consideration: Dec. 8 Regular decision: Feb. 1 Students can continue to submit an application for fall consideration until capacity is reached. |
Important Fall Dates
See dates for open house, orientation, test submissions, tuition deposit deadlines and more.
Coursework Note
This is a sample course schedule. These courses are subject to change. As a student in the UB Teach program, you must work closely with your advisor before registering for classes.
Biology BA Courses
- BIO 200 Evolutionary Biology
- BIO 201 Cell Biology
- BIO 303 General Physiology
- BIO 305 Fundamentals of Biological Chemistry
- BIO 309 Ecology
- BIO 313 General Physiology Laboratory
- BIO 317 Medical Entomology/Parasitology Laboratory
- BIO 319 Genetics
- BIO 329 Genetics Laboratory
- BIO 387 Communicating in Biological Sciences
- BIO 500 Bioinformatics/Genome Analysis
- BIO 501 Advanced Biological Chemistry
- BIO 502 Advanced Cell & Developmental Biology
- CHE 101 General Chemistry 1
- CHE 102 General Chemistry 2
- CHE 201 Organic Chemistry 1
- CHE 202 Organic Chemistry 2
- GYL ###
- MTH 121 Survey of Calculus and Its Applications 1 or MTH 141 Calculus 1
- MTH 122 Survey of Calculus and Its Application 2 or MTH 142 Calculus 2
- PHY 101 College Physics 1 (lab PHY 151) or PHY 107 (lab 151)
- PHY 102 College Physics 2 (lab PHY 152) or PHY 108 (lab 158)
Progression to Graduate Coursework
You will not apply separately to graduate study; instead, there are a series of progression points that you must meet.
Advancement to the graduate portion of the program requires that you:
- maintain a 3.0 GPA
- earn a “C” grade or higher in content courses (courses in the major)
- earn a “B-” or better in all education and graduate level coursework
- complete an interview with the Office of Educator Preparation in year three of bachelor's program
Biology Education EdM Courses
- CEP 400 Educational Psychology
- ELP 405 Sociology of Education
- LAI 350 Introduction to Education
- LAI 414 Adolescent Writing across Curriculum
- LAI 474 Teaching the Exceptional Learner
- LAI 531 Science Curricula; Current Approaches
- LAI 533 Science Instruction Topics
- LAI 534 Measurement and Evaluation in Science Instruction
- LAI 552 Middle Childhood/ Adolescent Literacy Methods
- LAI 595 Supervised Teaching 2
- LAI 603 Developing Curricula for Emerging Adolescents
- LAI 619 Teaching Science in Grades 5-12
- LAI 667 Field Experience
- LAI 668 Supervised Teaching 1
- LAI 674 Seminar in Teaching
- LAI 698 Instructional Strategies in Secondary Schools
- LAI 700 Capstone
Questions?
For more information about coursework and requirements, please contact:
Office of Educator Preparation, ubedprep@buffalo.edu, 716-645-2461