B. S. in Physics With an Education Minor

Teaching experience prior to entering the Secondary Education Minor program

The Department of Physics offers two programs where you can gain teaching experience and modern physics pedagogical knowledge prior to entering the secondary education minor program.

After completing one of the introductory physics lab courses (PHYS 101, PHYS 102, PHYS 211, and PHYS 212), you can apply to the Learning Assistant (LA) program. As an LA, you will assist in one lab section while concurrently enrolled in PHYS 394, a course on physics teaching. Following your first semester as an LA, you may continue in the LA program as an Expert LA. Expert LAs assist in one lab section while enrolled in PHYS 395, a more advanced course on teaching physics.

The Physics Department supports the student organization Future Leaders in Illinois Physics Teaching (FLIPT). All students interested in a career teaching physics are welcome at the monthly FLIPT meetings, where you can hear and learn from high school physics teachers, Illinois students who are studying to become high school physics teachers, and faculty members in the College of Education. FLIPT also organizes visits to high schools, where FLIPT students have the chance to observe physics teaching in action.

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How to apply to the Physics High School Teaching Track


Apply to the physics major in The Grainger College of Engineering and check "pre-secondary education" as an educational goal. This will put you in communication with an advisor from the Secondary Education Minor program.

As a sophomore or junior, apply for the secondary education minor through the College of Education.

After you have been admitted to the Secondary Education Minor, your professional-education course sequence will begin in the spring semester of your junior year. This three-semester sequence must be completed in order.

You will complete student teaching in the spring semester of your senior year, totaling a 15-credit hour course load. You will be teaching full school days in accordance with the school/district’s calendar, so you should plan to complete all other courses by the end of the fall semester of your senior year.

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