About

UABTeach

The UABTeach program is designed to nurture and train a new teaching force of highly qualified instructors in STEM subjects — science, engineering, technology, and math. A partnership between the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education, the School of Health Professions, and the School of Engineering, UABTeach lets undergraduate students majoring in STEM fields receive both their subject matter degree and full teaching certification in four years at no extra time or cost.

The first program of its kind in Alabama, UABTeach is designed to address some very specific problems facing the state. Alabama faces a critical time in science and mathematics teacher preparation. The ranks of veteran teachers continue to shrink while many undergraduates majoring in STEM fields find the traditional pathways to becoming a teacher unattractive. But many sectors of Alabama’s growing economy will soon demand a whole new influx of STEM workers to be successful. The state needs more talented middle and high school math and science teachers, including those knowledgeable about computer science and engineering, to teach and guide those future workers.

UABTeach is modeled on the very successful UTeach model first developed in 1997 at The University of Texas at Austin.

What is UTeach?

The UTeach Institute was established in response to national concerns about the quality of K-12 education in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and growing interest in the innovative teacher preparation program started in 1997 at The University of Texas at Austin, UTeach.

What Is the UTeach Model?

STEM-focused: A national model to prepare secondary mathematics, science, computer science, and engineering teachers.
National: Founded at the University of Texas at Austin and replicated at 40 universities nationwide.
Hands-On/Field-Based: Students are placed in mathematics and science classrooms starting in their first year of study.
Efficient: Students receive a bachelor’s degree in a STEM major and certification as a high school teacher in eight semesters.
Partnership: Local school districts are an integral part of the program, including their teachers as mentors of future teachers.
Successful: 88% of program graduates enter the teaching profession; 80% of them are still teaching after five years (exceeds national average by about 15 percentage points).
Quality Graduates: UTeach graduates are comparable to other science and mathematics graduates university-wide in terms of standardized test scores and GPAs.

You can learn more about the origins of UTeach, the UTeach Institute, and the growing UTeach community by visiting the UTeach Institute website.

Who benefits from UABTeach?

Everybody from students to Alabama businesses to UAB itself:

Students: By the end of Year 6, UABTeach will be graduating 30-40 highly qualified mathematics and science teachers each year, many of whom will have been supported by scholarships and internships.
Schools: UABTeach graduates will staff much of the high school science and mathematics teacher needs of Central Alabama and beyond, including high-needs schools.
Innovation: UABTeach will support the establishment in Alabama of high school certification in computer science and engineering.
Workforce: Well-trained STEM high school teachers will have positive long-term impact on Alabama STEM workforce preparation.
Donors: Compelling data from our national partners assure potential donors that their support will have impact.
STEM Major Departments at UAB: High school students with better STEM teachers will be better STEM students at university.