Undergraduate students working toward their B.S. in Educational Sciences now have an opportunity to also earn their California teaching credential! This pathway includes three semesters of graduate level coursework and field work through BSE's Berkeley Teacher Education Program (BTEP).
Eligibility
Complete your Educational Sciences Major before your senior year. Other majors may be eligible, as long as major requirements are also completed before your senior year.
Program requirements
Dedicate your final year of undergraduate studies to taking BTEP courses. Your BTEP year will be a full-time commitment, with approximately 20 hours of student teaching each week plus a full course load. Current course requirements for multiple and single subject pathways can be found here.
In order to get credentialed as an undergraduate through the Berkeley Teacher Education Program (BTEP) you will need to dedicate your final year of undergraduate study to participation in the program, including a full load of summer courses. Currently the Educational Sciences Major has a Credential Pathway that allows you to do this. For other UC Berkeley majors, you will need to satisfy all major requirements BEFORE your senior year, or work with your department to approve BTEP courses as elective options. All teaching credential candidates must satisfy state requirements for subject matter competency. This can be accomplished via an approved major, coursework review, and/or by passing relevant CSET exams for your credential pathway.
All interested students should fill out the Interest Form now, to connect with a BTEP advisor. Formal declarations of interest are due December 1, 2024.
Next Steps: Connect With BTEP
We invite prospective students to engage with one or more of the following informational opportunities:
- Review the Planning for BTEP Undergraduate Credentialing Document
- Watch our online informational video(link is external).
- Attend a Zoom Q&A Session(link is external).
- Attend a Brown Bag Lunch(link is external) with our Faculty Advisors.
- Meet with our BTEP Undergraduate Recruitment Mentor(link is external)
- We will also be setting up info sessions specifically for undergraduate Education Sciences majors(link is external) interested in the BTEP Year.
Credentialing Pathways Through BTEP
1. Undergraduate Educational Sciences Major: BTEP Credential Pathway *
Participate in the full BTEP program in your final year of undergraduate study. BSE’s undergrads will take all BTEP classes and fieldwork with the exception of MA-focused classes.
Timeline: June 2025 - June 2026 (summer, fall, spring)
Degree: BA degree plus teaching credential
Fall 2024 Deadline: Dec 1
2. Post-graduate BTEP Pathway
After earning a bachelor’s of science degree in Educational Sciences and a California teaching credential, students may consider applying to the 15-month BTEP MA/Credential program.
Dates: June 2025 - August 2026
Degree: MA degree plus teaching credential
Fall 2024 Deadline: Dec 17
* Other UC Berkeley majors may also be eligible.
About BTEP
BTEP offers California teaching credentials in the following pathways: Elementary/Multiple Subjects, Secondary History/Social Science, Secondary English, Secondary Math, and Secondary Science. In addition, qualified candidates in any pathway can earn supplementary Spanish bilingual authorization.
BTEP prepares teachers committed to co-creating powerful and enriching classrooms that embody the values, relationships, and experiences of a more just world. We believe that:
- Teaching Creates Humanizing Spaces
- Teaching Critically Examines and Strategically Addresses Systems of Power
- Teaching Entails Relationships, Ethics, and Technical Craftwork
- Teaching Fosters Lifelong Processes of Learning and Research
- Teaching Requires Intentional Effort in the Face of Complexities and Contradictions
- Teaching Transforms Oneself
We remind ourselves that at its core, teaching is an endeavor to be more fully human, to embody the fullness of human life in ourselves and our students. Teaching is simultaneously beautiful, joyous, amusing, awe-inspiring, difficult, painful, frightening, nerve wracking, and embarrassing; it entails every emotion that makes us human. Teaching displays our strengths and our shortcomings, which becomes an invitation for us to become better human beings. Read more about BTEP philosophy and identity.