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UW in the High School

Info for Teachers

In addition to the numerous benefits students receive, there are also positives for UWHS teachers. So much so that 55% of our current instructors have been with the UWHS program for more than five years, with many holding a tenure of more than 10 years!

Participants often cite engagement with UW faculty and other teachers of the same course as a highlight of the program. Teachers receive an administrative stipend from their school or school district to support their additional tasks related to UWHS, and are paid for the yearly professional development. Teachers can also earn clock hours at our training sessions and workshops.

How to Become a UWHS Teacher

Applications for the 2025-26 academic year are now open! Updated application materials requirements and course statuses can now be viewed on the Teacher Application Process page. If your course of interest is not open for this cycle, email us at uwhs@uw.edu to be placed on our email list.

Teacher Responsibilities

In addition to teaching a course that meets college-level requirements, all approved UWHS teachers are required to engage in the following:

  • One-time online new teacher orientation (after approval)
  • One-time new teacher training offered on the UW campus (late Spring)
  • Yearly professional development offered on the UW campus or virtually (May–June)
  • Obtain course syllabus approval by UW faculty (August–September for first-semester and yearlong courses, December–January for second-semester courses)
  • Support students in registering for the UW course (September–October, separate from high school registration in spring)
  • Course observation with UW faculty visiting your classroom (any time in the year, depending on course length)
  • Support administration of end-of-course evaluations (administered on the last day of the course)
  • UW grade submission (dependent on the last day of the course)

Teacher Qualifications

Check the required qualifications below for the course or courses you're interested in teaching.

At a minimum, ALL prospective UWHS teachers must:

  • Have a master’s degree (can be in education or teaching)
  • Be currently teaching in a Washington state public or private high school
  • Have at least two years of teaching experience in the subject area at the high school and/or college level
  • Meet the minimum qualifications below for the UW course(s) you would be teaching
     
Course Minimum Qualifications for Courses 
ASTR 101: Astronomy
ASTR 150: The Planets
  • B.S. or B.A. in astronomy, physics, chemistry, earth sciences or related field
  • Ability to teach astronomy at the college level as demonstrated by relevant coursework, professional development experiences and/or other significant background in the field
ATM S 100: Climate, Justice, and Energy Solutions
  • M.S. or M.A. in physics, chemistry, biology, earth science/geology, oceanography, atmospheric science or engineering, or B.S. in one of the above fields and recent significant involvement in climate or environmental justice literacy, or research experiences in these areas
  • Strongly recommended: College-level coursework in climate science, climate solutions and/or environmental justice
ATM S 111: Global Warming: Understanding the Issues
  • M.S. or M.A. in physics, chemistry, earth science/geology, oceanography, atmospheric science or engineering, or B.S. in one of the above fields and recent significant involvement in climate change literacy or field-based research experiences related to climate change teacher efforts
  • Strongly recommended: College-level coursework in climate science
BIOL 100: Introductory Biology: Addiction and the Brain
  • B.S. in biology or chemistry
  • M.S. or M.A. in teaching or education
  • At least two years teaching biology at the high school or college level
BIOL 118: Survey of Physiology
  • B.S. in biology, chemistry or closely related field
  • M.S. or M.A. in teaching or education
  • Experience teaching physiology at the high school or college level
CHEM 110: Preparation for General Chemistry
  • B.S. or B.A. in chemistry (preferred) or a physical or life science
  • Five total years or three consecutive years of experience teaching high school chemistry
CHIN 103: First-Year Chinese for Non-Heritage Learners
  • M.A. in Chinese linguistics, Chinese literature, education or related field (master’s degree in another field considered if you have training in college-level Chinese instruction)
  • At least three years of Chinese language teaching experience
  • Strong Chinese language skills
  • Familiarity with conversational language teaching
C LIT 240: Writing in Comparative Literature
  • M.A. in English or closely related field, including education or teaching
  • Experience teaching writing, especially at the junior and senior level
CSE 121: Introduction to Computer Programming I
  • B.A. or B.S. in STEM–related field, or B.A. in any field with two or more years of experience as a software engineer
  • Must have taken UW CSE 121, CSE 142 or completed equivalent coursework, or taught at least one year of an approved AP CS A curriculum 
CSE 122: Introduction to Computer Programming II
  • B.A. or B.S. in STEM–related field, or B.A. in any field with two or more years of experience as a software engineer
  • Must have taken UW CSE 121 & 122 or CSE 142 & 143 or completed equivalent coursework
CSE 163: Intermediate Data Programming
  • Master's degree in a STEM-related field or three or more years of experience as a software engineer
  • Must have taken UW CSE 163 or completed equivalent coursework
CSE 180: Introduction to Data Science
  • College degree in a STEM field or three years teaching a STEM course at the high school level
  • Demonstrated knowledge of descriptive statistics including linear regression, confidence intervals and p-values
  • Experience using software to produce scatter plots, confidence intervals and geographic visualizations (e.g., Tableau, Excel, R Studio)
ENGL 111: Composition: Literature
ENGL 131: Composition: Exposition
  • M.A. in English or closely related field, including education
  • Experience teaching writing, especially at the junior and senior level
  • Strongly recommended: New teachers to the UWHS program teach English 131 at least once before teaching English 111

Note: All teachers approved to teach UW English courses must attend an in-person English 131 new teacher training, which covers the foundational course information for both English 131 and 111. Teachers planning to teach English 111 must also attend an in-person English 111 new teacher training, which covers additional information specific to that course.
ESRM 150: Wildlife in the Modern World
  • B.A or B.S. in biology, environmental science, forestry or closely related field
  • M.S. or M.A. in teaching or education
  • Experience teaching environmental science coursework at the high school or college level
FRENCH 103: Elementary French
  • M.A. in French, education or related field
  • Advanced Low (ACTFL) or C1 (CEFR) language proficiency
  • Familiarity with conversational language teaching
FRENCH 201: Intermediate French
  • Approval, training and experience teaching FRENCH 103
GERMAN 103: First-Year German
  • M.A. in German, education or related field
  • Advanced Low (ACTFL) or B2 (CEFR) language proficiency
  • Familiarity with conversational language teaching
GERMAN 201: Second-Year German
  • Approval, training and experience teaching UW GERMAN 103
G H 101: Introduction to Global Health: Disparities, Determinants, Policies and Outcomes
  • No specific degree requirements; interest and background in interdisciplinary study of global health
JAPAN 103: First-Year Japanese
  • M.A. in Japanese, education or related field, such as TESOL, Asian studies or Japan-related humanity subjects (master’s degree in another field considered if you have substantial training in or experience teaching Japanese at the secondary and/or post-secondary level)
  • Advanced Low (ACTFL) language proficiency
  • Familiarity with conversational language teaching
JAPAN 201: Second-Year Japanese
  • Approval, training and experience teaching UW JAPAN 103
MATH 120: Precalculus
MATH 124: Calculus with Analytic Geometry I
MATH 125: Calculus with Analytic Geometry II
  • B.A. or B.S in math (not math education)
PSYCH 101: Introduction to Psychology
  • B.A. or B.S. in psychology or related field, such as biology or sociology
  • College-level coursework and recent training and teaching experience in psychology, such as AP Psychology
PSYCH 206: Human Development
  • Approval, training and experience teaching UW PSYCH 101
SPAN 103: Elementary Spanish
  • M.A. in Spanish, education or related field
  • Advanced Low (ACTFL) language proficiency
  • Familiarity with conversational language teaching
SPAN 201: Intermediate Spanish
  • Approval, training and experience teaching UW SPAN 103

Potential Courses

The UWHS program works with campus partners to launch additional UW courses to be offered in high schools for college and high school credit. Below is a link to a document describing UW courses that are under review and discussion to potentially be added to UWHS offerings in the coming years.

If your school district or school may be interested in one or more of these courses, contact the UWHS office at uwhs@uw.edu for more information.

Questions?

Contact the UWHS Team.