How to Become a Biology Teacher
Becoming a biology teacher requires a bachelor’s degree in biology or biology education, supervised student teaching, and passing your state’s certification exams. Teachers who already hold a biology degree can often pursue alternative certification, like the American Board, though acceptance and licensure rules vary by state. Most biology teachers work at the middle or high school level.
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A biology teaching career starts with subject-matter depth, not a general education degree alone. States expect certified biology teachers to combine a strong science background with formal teacher training, whether through a bachelor’s degree built for the classroom from day one or a biology degree paired with an alternative certification program completed while already teaching.
This guide covers how to become a biology teacher: the certification paths available, the topics biology teachers are expected to master, where these teachers typically work, and current salary and job market data.
Use the links below to jump to certification paths, classroom topics, career options, and current salary data for biology teachers.
- How to get certified as a biology teacher
- What biology teachers teach, by grade level
- Career applications for certified biology teachers
- Biology teacher demand, salary, and job outlook
How to Get Certified as a Biology Teacher
Getting certified as a biology teacher means proving you’ve mastered both the subject and the classroom skills to teach it. At minimum, that requires a bachelor’s degree in biology or biology education from an accredited college or university, plus the state licensure or certification exams required in the state where you plan to teach.
Traditional Certification Path
Candidates who know early they want to teach typically enroll in a bachelor’s program in biology education or secondary education with a biology concentration. These programs combine biology coursework with pedagogy classes and supervised student teaching, ending with the educator licensure exam(s) required by the state, which may include Praxis or another state-approved assessment, before the state issues a teaching license.
Alternative Certification Path
Candidates who already hold a bachelor’s degree in biology, but not a teaching degree, can often pursue an alternative certification pathway instead of returning to school full time. Programs such as the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE), where accepted by the state, may allow candidates to qualify for alternative teaching certification. Requirements for provisional licensure and when candidates may begin teaching vary by state. (See requirements for teaching certification in your state, here.)
All states recognize National Board Certification, awarded through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, although the incentives, reciprocity provisions, and salary benefits vary by state. Some states and school districts extend benefits, like higher salaries, to teachers who hold it, and some make it easier for nationally certified teachers to carry a license from one state to another.
Earning national certification requires compiling a portfolio of classroom work and passing a written assessment of teaching knowledge. Teachers can pursue certification in seven disciplines, organized by student age and, in some cases, subject area.
Some states also require certified teachers to complete a master’s degree within a set number of years after earning an initial license. That timeline varies by state, so check your state’s specific requirements before choosing a graduate program.
The same traditional-vs-alternative choice applies to other science subjects, including physics teacher certification, so it’s worth comparing paths if you’re weighing more than one subject area.
What Grade Levels and Topics Biology Teachers Cover
Biology teachers most often work with students in middle school and high school, teaching everything from an introductory life-science course to Advanced Placement Biology. The specific topics change with grade level, but every certified biology teacher needs command of a few core areas.
Plants and Animals
There are more than 375,000 species of plants, with new ones discovered every year. Certified biology teachers don’t need to know every species, but they do need to understand the basic categories, structures, and internal functions common to all plant life.
Effective teachers explain processes like photosynthesis and the Calvin cycle, plants’ internal process for producing sugar, in ways that make sense to students, often through field trips to botanic gardens or wildflower preserves.
Biology classes also cover the animal kingdom, from single-celled bacteria to the largest mammals. During certification, biology teachers demonstrate they can clearly explain how microscopic cells function and contribute to the life cycle of larger organisms, often through labs like growing bacteria in a petri dish or conducting specimen dissections.
Teachers pursuing certification also demonstrate knowledge of animal physiology, genetics, and ecology, sometimes bringing in guest speakers from a wildlife refuge, zoo, or hatchery to connect classroom concepts to real ecological work.
Human Biology and Physiology
Understanding what sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is a core part of biology certification. Teachers must show expertise in human anatomy, physiology, and cellular biology, and be able to design lessons that let students make discoveries on their own rather than memorize facts.
Certified teachers use visual aids like skeletons and scaled-up models of human cells to reinforce lessons on structures like DNA. A common example is an in-class DNA extraction lab, where students extract DNA from their own cheek cells and connect the steps to what they’ve learned about cell structure and replication.
Similar labs extend to other human systems, including the endocrine, cardiopulmonary, and reproductive systems. A high school teacher might have students design an experiment testing how activity affects heart rate, then analyze and present the results. Some teachers also arrange visits to a hospital for a lecture on human disease, giving students a closer look at how classroom biology applies outside school.
Career Applications for Certified Biology Teachers
Certified biology teachers do more than deliver lectures. Growing interest in forensic science, fueled partly by crime dramas, means many high schools now expect biology teachers to cover forensic science basics, which requires a strong grasp of human genetics and cellular biology.
High school biology classes build on students’ existing knowledge of microbiology and introduce more advanced scientific processes for collecting and analyzing samples. Certified teachers use their knowledge of DNA and other biomarkers to build in-class crime scenarios, sometimes arranging visits to a forensic crime lab. Hence, students see how classroom lessons translate to real investigative work.
Biology Teacher Demand, Salary, and Job Outlook
The BLS doesn’t track “biology teacher” as its own occupation code. Instead, biology teachers are counted within the Middle School Teachers and Secondary School Teachers categories, depending on the grade level they teach.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, middle school teachers earned a median annual salary of $64,370 as of May 2025, while secondary (high school) teachers earned a median of $72,040. Employment for both occupations skews slightly downward through 2034 nationally, though that trend varies significantly by state, so check your state’s own projections before assuming the national figure applies to you.
| Occupation | Median Annual Wage | Job Growth (2024-2034) |
|---|---|---|
| Middle School Teachers | $64,370 | -2.0% |
| Secondary (High) School Teachers | $72,040 | -1.6% |
The BLS projects a 2.0% decline in middle school teacher employment between 2024 and 2034, with 40,500 average annual job openings expected from retirements and turnover. Secondary school teacher employment is projected to decline 1.6% over the same period, with 66,200 average annual openings.
Science education has faced periodic staffing shortages in the U.S. for decades, and roles requiring specific subject certification, like biology, are often harder for districts to fill than general elementary positions. That makes qualified, certified biology teachers a consistently sought-after hire, even in years when overall teacher employment is flat or declining.
Frequently Asked Questions
What degree do I need to become a biology teacher?
Most states require at least a bachelor’s degree in biology, biology education, or secondary education with a biology concentration. If you already hold a bachelor’s in biology but not education, you can typically complete an alternative certification program instead of earning a second bachelor’s degree.
Do biology teachers need a master’s degree?
Not always to start. Some states require certified teachers to earn a master’s degree within a set number of years after their initial license, so check your specific state’s requirements early since the timeline varies.
What grade levels do biology teachers work with?
Most biology teachers work in middle school or high school classrooms, teaching students roughly ages 11 to 18. Course content ranges from introductory life science in middle school to Advanced Placement Biology in high school.
How much do biology teachers make?
Biology teachers fall under the BLS’s middle school or secondary (high school) teacher categories, depending on the grade level they teach. As of May 2025, middle school teachers earned a median annual salary of $64,370, and secondary school teachers earned a median of $72,040, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Can I become a biology teacher through alternative certification?
Often, yes. Programs like the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) let candidates who already hold a biology degree work toward certification while completing required coursework and exams. Still, ABCTE is only accepted in participating states, and provisional licensure rules vary by state.
- Two paths lead to certification – a traditional bachelor’s in biology education, or an alternative certification program for those who already hold a biology degree.
- Most biology teachers work in middle or high school – course content ranges from introductory life science to Advanced Placement Biology.
- National Board Certification can ease reciprocity in some states – it may help with license transfer or reciprocity in many states, but licensure requirements still vary by state.
- Pay varies by grade level – the median annual salary is $64,370 for middle school teachers and $72,040 for secondary school teachers, according to BLS data from May 2025.
- Some states require a master’s degree later – check your state’s timeline for post-licensure graduate coursework before choosing a program.
Find accredited programs that prepare you for biology teacher certification, whether you’re starting a bachelor’s degree or pursuing alternative certification with a biology degree in hand.
May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS wage estimates and 2024-2034 employment projections for Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers, Middle School Teachers, and High School Teachers reflect state and national data, not school-specific outcomes. State or district job-growth projections are sourced separately from national BLS outlook data. Conditions vary by school sector, subject area, and district. Data accessed July 2026.
