Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I be interested in UTeach?

• Students pursuing math and science degrees at our nation’s universities represent the single largest pool from which to recruit and prepare excellent STEM teachers. Expanding UTeach programs to more universities across the country is one of the best strategies for addressing this shortage.
• UTeach has been recognized as a model for STEM teacher preparation reform by President Barack Obama and prominent organizations like the National Research Council, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. UTeach was featured as a model program in a 2010 report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Prepare and Inspire: K–12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) for America’s Future, which highlighted a need to provide students a strong foundation in STEM subjects and inspire them to pursue STEM careers.
• UTeach expansion is a wise investment. Approximately $2 million of external funding is matched by approximately $1.4 million by each university partner to permanently establish new UTeach secondary STEM teacher preparation programs that will continue to produce excellent teachers well beyond an initial five-year, grant-funded implementation period.

What impact is UTeach replication having?

• More than 6,938 math and science majors are enrolled in UTeach secondary STEM teacher preparation programs being implemented at 45 universities in 21 states and the District of Columbia.
• Thirty-two percent of all UTeach students enrolled nationwide come from underrepresented Hispanic, African American, and American Indian populations.
• As of Spring 2016, 32 UTeach programs have produced 3,272 graduates—998 from the University of Texas at Austin, where the program began, and another 2,274 from UTeach partner programs. Graduates entering teaching: 86% Graduates currently teaching: 85% Graduates teaching in schools with majority economically disadvantaged populations: 67%
• ​By 2022, UTeach programs nationwide will have graduated nearly 8,000 STEM teachers, close to 10% of the President’s stated goal for the nation of 100,000 new STEM teachers.

For more information, please see our UTeach Austin and National Expansion Data presentation at uteach.utexas.edu/about/uteach-data.

How is UTeach different from other teacher preparation programs?

• UTeach is a university-based, secondary STEM teacher preparation program designed specifically for undergraduate STEM majors.
• UTeach students earn degrees in their content areas (e.g., chemistry, biology, mathematics) along with teaching certification within four years. They take challenging science and mathematics coursework leading to a degree in a STEM major.
• UTeach expands post-graduate possibilities for students, offering "one degree, two career options"—with no additional time or cost required.
• UTeach is a unique collaboration between the colleges of science, education, and liberal arts at a university.
• UTeach combines extensive, individualized coaching with intensive field-based teaching opportunities and relevant content. Students begin teaching their first semester in the program.
• UTeach actively recruits STEM majors to try out teaching with no strings attached. All students in the College of Science are invited to join UTeach every year, and UTeach pays the cost of the first two 1-hour courses.
• UTeach pairs master teachers (former secondary STEM teachers who become clinical faculty at the university) with research faculty throughout the program.
• UTeach offers a streamlined, field-intensive curriculum that is firmly situated within the STEM domains. All courses in UTeach are discipline-specific, based on current research, taught by research faculty, and focused specifically on STEM teaching and learning.
• The UTeach instructional program is designed to:
  • Develop deep conceptual understanding and mastery of subject-area content
  • Make explicit the underlying connections between mathematics and science
  • Develop proficiency in core mathematics and scientific practices
  • Develop research and information analysis skills
  • Integrate content and pedagogy
  • Build strong connections between educational theory and practice
  • Emphasize inquiry- and project-based instructional approaches
  • Integrate themes of assessment, equity, literacy, and technology
  • Cultivate reflective practice
• UTeach continues to offer support to students after graduation, both in person and online.
• UTeach graduates become a part of UTeach Nation, a national network of professionals with content knowledge and similar pedagogical training. They meet annually at the UTeach Alumni Conference.
• UTeach program co-directors, faculty, master teachers, staff, and students meet annually at the UTeach Conference to share successes and challenges and collaborate to make all UTeach programs better.

Where is UTeach being implemented?

• In 1997, UTeach began at the University of Texas at Austin. As of Spring 2017, UTeach is being implemented at 45 universities in 21 states and the District of Columbia.
• Louisiana Tech was in the sixth cohort of universities receiving grants to replicate UTeach.  We began enrolling students in the Fall 2015 quarter.

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UTeachTech is supported by a $1.45 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in partnership with the National Math and Science Initiative and the UTeach Institute at the University of Texas, Austin