Version 1.0, Last Updated March 21, 2023.
This guide was adapted by Professor Christopher Carlsmith (History Department) from a document prepared by Assistant Professor Katherine Flowers (English Department) originally for English majors.
Most of this guide will focus on one path that may be a particularly good fit for many History majors: teaching middle or high school students in public schools in Massachusetts. UMass Lowell has a program that is designed for people who want to get an early start on that path, called the Bachelor to Master of Education program (B2MEd).
Whether you choose this option or a different one, one of the main things to be aware of is that for most kinds of teaching, you will need some additional training beyond your undergraduate degree in History. This training could take many forms, but often involves going to graduate school. And while undergraduate degrees are designed to take four years of full-time study, graduate degrees are much more variable: master’s degrees usually take 1–3 years, while doctoral degrees typically take 4–8 years, and it all depends on what you want to teach, and where, and whether you are attending full- or part-time.
Accordingly, this FAQ webpage will include information on a variety of options, depending on which grade levels, kinds of schools, and geographic locations are of interest.
Yes. The teacher preparation process varies a lot depending on whether you want to teach elementary school vs. higher levels. So, one of the most important things to consider early on is which grade levels you would be interested in teaching.
To teach History/Social Studies at the secondary level (middle school/high school), you usually will need a college degree in History. In addition, you also likely will eventually need a master’s degree from an institution that has been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to endorse teacher candidates of Social Studies grades 5–12. (Fortunately, the UMass Lowell School of Education is one of these approved institutions.) Part of that master’s degree process would include an Initial License. Alternatively, there are such things as Provisional Licenses and Emergency Licenses, but most of this guide will focus on the path to getting an Initial License.
The B2MEd program allows qualified (and admitted) students to begin their Master of Education degree while they are seniors, allowing them to save money and putting them in position to teach sooner after graduation.
The program is 30 credits total: 24 credits of coursework and 6 credits of practicum/student teaching.
Here is the language from the B2MEd program in the UMass Lowell Graduate Catalog: “The Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science to Master of Education program is designed for high achieving University of Massachusetts Lowell undergraduates who seek to pursue a career in teaching at the middle/secondary levels. The program leads to a master of education degree in curriculum and instruction, including initial Massachusetts teacher licensure. The program may be completed in one or two years.”
Admission to this program is rolling. You can apply during your junior or senior year. Students with GPAs of 3.0 and higher are eligible. There is a short application process involving a statement of purpose about why you want to become a teacher, an unofficial transcript, and one letter of recommendation.
Depending on your financial aid situation, graduate tuition may be more expensive than undergraduate tuition, which can make things complicated if you are an undergraduate taking a graduate course. When you apply to B2MEd, you are automatically considered for financial support that covers any differences in tuition between graduate and undergraduate courses.
It’s a mix. Currently, it’s a “blended” program, where most courses are online, and the Practicum (where you actually get to learn and practice in local public schools) is in person.
No. According to university policy listed on the B2MEd program page in the UMass Lowell Graduate Catalog, “Only courses of 5000 level or higher may count toward the Master’s degree.”
Yes. If you are accepted into the B2MEd program, then you will likely be able to take two 5000-level online courses in Education (six credits total) during your senior year, as a way to get a head start on your master’s degree. These courses do count toward the total number of credits you need for your bachelor’s degree. Your course schedule should be decided in consultation with an advisor in the School of Education, but may consist of the courses listed in the MEd degree pathway.
UMass Lowell also offers a more traditional way to apply for a Master of Education degree. You could apply for this program around the time you’re graduating from college, or a bit later in life. The application process is a little more involved than the B2MEd (two letters of recommendation vs. one, official transcript vs. unofficial transcript, etc.) but once you’re accepted, it is the same curriculum as the B2MEd. For more information, see the MEd program Curriculum & Instruction website.
Other universities have similar master’s degrees, with slight variations by university and by state.
The short answer is that almost any History course could be useful for future teachers. Over the course of their career, a History/Social Studies teacher might teach American, European, and/or non-western history; there might also be the opportunity to teach a class in diplomacy, economics, or related subjects. We suggest to take both halves of the American history survey (HIST.1110 United States History to 1877 and HIST.1120 United States History since 1877) and as many History credits as you can fit in your schedule (the maximum number is 54 credits but few students take that many).
Anyone looking to become a public school teacher in Massachusetts will likely encounter the acronym MTEL, which stands for “Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure.” To receive a secondary (middle or high school) teaching license here, you eventually need to pass two of these tests: the MTEL in History / Social Science.
Students in the B2MEd pathway receive ample MTEL support so that they are well prepared to pass.
Taking these tests around the time you graduate from college can be wise, since your historical knowledge and test-taking skills may be at their freshest. Indeed, in the past, master’s programs required students to take MTELs very early on, but the state is currently exploring alternatives to a licensure test. In the meantime, prospective teachers are expected to pass the tests. When you’re applying or starting any Education program, we strongly recommend asking the advisor or coordinator what the current MTEL expectations and timelines are.
Teaching elementary school generally will require an Education degree, whether at the college level or the graduate level.
One common option is to finish your college History degree, and then apply for a master’s degree program in elementary education. UMass Lowell does not have a program for this specifically, but other local universities do, like Elementary Education MEd. at UMass Boston, the Master of Education, Elementary Education, Initial Licensure at Salem State University, and others.
Alternatively, if you know you want to teach elementary school, and you want to begin as soon as possible, you could consider changing to a major in Education. Specifically, there is a major called Education, Elementary and Moderate Disabilities. Because this program requires a very specific curriculum, any student who switches their major from History to Elementary Education should meet with an advisor from Education first to discuss. Making that switch may require extending your undergraduate study by a year or more.
Private schools are sometimes attractive options for History majors in that they do not always require the same type of licensure requirements and/or degrees. Some schools may not require a teaching license at all, whereas others do expect teachers to obtain credentials and expertise in education. Salaries and benefits can also vary widely. In sum, private schools vary a lot because they range from the most humble to the most exclusive. Private schools often hire through placement services like Carney Sandoe, though jobs for private schools are also advertised on websites like: SchoolSpring and Indeed.
There are several avenues to teaching English language learners. Most local Education degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level will have some coursework on language acquisition, multilingualism, and what Massachusetts calls “Sheltered English Immersion” (SEI). In fact, an endorsement in SEI is currently a required component of initial teaching licenses in the Massachusetts. So, learning how to teach the English language is baked into most of the pathways described in this FAQ.
If you want language education to be your whole focus, however, there are also options for that. If you want to teach adults, one good option is a master’s degree or a graduate certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). UMass Amherst has a TESOL Certificate, for instance. Alternatively, if you want to teach classes specifically for multilingual children in K–12, there are also graduate degrees for that. Options include UMass Amherst’s MEd in Bilingual, ESL, & Multicultural Education and UMass Boston’s ESL Licensure option, etc.
There are opportunities ranging from teaching US K–12 students in an international school, to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) to children or adults, to anything in between. Some schools are public and others private. Some popular TEFL programs include JET in Japan and EPIK in South Korea, and other countries may have similar offerings. There are also Fulbright awards for English Teaching Assistant positions — this is a competitive application process where recent college graduates can receive funding from the US government to teach English in a wide range of countries. If you are interested in JET, EPIK, a Fulbright, or anything along those lines, the application process will take more than a year, so it is good to start planning and discussing with your advisor early.
This is a complicated question. More people are attending college than ever, so you might think that this would be a growing industry. At most colleges, though, it is difficult to find a sustainable job teaching at the college level, compared with K–12. When there are jobs at the college level, they are often part-time or temporary.
Full-time permanent jobs often go to candidates with terminal degrees (the highest possible degree in your field), usually MFAs (in the arts) or PhDs (in History and related fields). Universities and four-year colleges often hire based on research or creative work, and the competition for most History fields is really fierce–think of hundreds of very smart and accomplished people like yourself competing for one position. Candidates will be very lucky to get a position at all, let alone in their geographic region of choice.
Having said that, if humanities research or creative work is a passion you cannot deny, you might consider graduate school. Note that we have not mentioned anything about teaching yet! That’s because terminal degree programs in the humanities often do not emphasize learning how to be a teacher (they are often more about research and/or creative work).
Another option for college-level teaching is two-year colleges, also known as community colleges. Nationally, about 1 in 3 college students is attending a two-year college according to the Community Collège Research Center, and that number may continue to grow. To teach in this sort of institution, you would likely still need a terminal degree. Teaching at this level can include courses similar to what you might find at a four-year college (introductory writing, introductory literature, etc.), as well as courses that are designed to be more accessible, like Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language, Continuing Education, and so on. For more on this type of career, see this document from the Two-Year College English Association (TYCA): Guidelines for Preparing Teachers of English in the Two-Year College (pdf).
If you are interested in teaching college, please talk to your advisor!
Salaries vary widely depending on experience, the school, geography, etc. For information on public school teacher salaries in our state, see the Massachusetts Department of Education information on average salaries. For national data on several different teaching fields, see this salary guide on “Education, Training, and Library Occupations” from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also has a guide specific to postsecondary teaching salaries. To give a few data points from these sources, the average public teacher salary in Boston is $105,235, the average public teacher salary in Lowell is $78,200, and the median national salary for high school teachers is $61,820.
If you have general questions about the History major, what courses to take, and future career possibilities, those are great things to bring up with your departmental faculty advisor. Every History major and minor has an assigned advisor in the department. You may already be in touch with them, but if not, you can find out who your advisor is through SiS. It’s common to either set up a general advising appointment, or to ask something more specific in an email or in person, like, “I’m thinking of becoming a teacher. Could we meet to discuss how I could approach that process?”
For questions about the B2MEd Program, MTELs, and Licensure:
Patricia Fontaine, Coordinator of the B2MEd
School of Education
Coburn Hall 240A
Phone: 978-934-4622
Email: Patricia_Fontaine@uml.edu
For questions about the Education minor:
Eleanor Abrams, Coordinator of the Minor in Education
School of Education
Coburn Hall 240G
Phone: 978-934-4355
Email: Eleanor_Abrams@uml.edu
For general questions about careers teaching History:
John Brown
School of Education
Coburn Hall 270G
Phone: 978-934-4656
Email: John_Brown@uml.edu
The Career & Co-op Center’s whole goal is to help students think about how to navigate their career options after college. Talking to someone there could be especially helpful if you are still deciding between multiple possible career interests. They have a variety of different kinds of career advising appointments (virtual vs. in person, different buildings on campus, drop in vs. appointment, etc.).
Please use these links: