Teacher Preparation Program

Teachers Make a Difference
Changing the World through Teaching
Armed with leading-edge best practices in education along with mastery in your chosen discipline, you’ll be prepared to become a new kind of teacher—a teacher who engages and challenges students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects to meets the future challenges in the field of education.
By joining the Teacher Preparation program at WPI alongside your 4-year undergraduate major program of study you will gain:
- A strong background and deeper understanding of your chosen STEM discipline
- Application of your subject matter knowledge in a secondary school setting
- Entry into a network of educators ready to shape young minds, direct tomorrow’s technologies and inspire the next generation of STEM learners
- A Massachusetts DESE approved Initial Teaching License for teaching middle or high school in one of the following areas:
- Biology 8-12
- Chemistry 8-12
- Physics 8-12
- Middle School Science 5-8
- Middle 5-8 or High School 8-12 Mathematics
- Technology/Engineering 5-12
- Leadership, collaboration and communication skills that extend far beyond the classroom
Open Positions in the STEM Education Center
Part-time job opportunity – Apply today!
Ever thought about working in Higher Ed? WPI's undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program is seeking an Operations Coordinator to support teacher candidates in their pursuit of MA state licensure. Come work with our dynamic team to help develop the next generation of classroom educators!
Job description, how to apply, and other important information are included in this document:

Program Requirements
Courses
In addition to the course required for your content major, you will need to take the following pedagogy courses:
- ID 3100 Teaching Methods
- ID 3200 Sheltered English Immersion
- PSY 2401 Psychology of Education
- PSY 2410 School Psychology or PSY 1404 Developmental Psychology (offered alternate years)
See the undergraduate catalog for course descriptions.

Application
Applications to the program are due in mid-November each year and are open to first year and sophomore students majoring in math, science, or engineering.
A completed application consists of
- Application form coming soon!
- 2 Letters of Recommendation
- Resume
Interviews are conducted in November by the program director and the operations management assistant.
Program decisions are made by December 31st.
Contact
Contact Jillian DiBonaventura for more information.
Field Experiences
Pre-Practicum I: K-12 Hours
- 10 hours completed in C or D term of first year or summer after first year
- Hours can be volunteer or paid
- Opportunities include
- Tutoring
- After-school or summer programs
- WPI coordinated events
- STEM tutoring at the YMCA
- Math tutoring at WPI
- Teacher assistant or tutoring at Worcester Tech High School
- Science Festival at the Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg & Leominster
- Summer employment with the Pre-Collegiate Outreach office
Pre-Practicum II: Present Lesson at Community-Based Organization
After our fall retreat in September, you will work together in a team to develop and deliver your first lesson at one of the following locations/events.
Location | Date | Details |
Girls, Inc Worcester | Last Monday in October | Present to 8th grade girls in the Eureka program. The theme is "Spooky Science" |
Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster | October and March breaks | Present activities to K-5 and 6-8 students in after-school programs on various STEM themes to be determined by Boys & Girls Club Director |
Pre-Practicum III: Central MA Classroom Visits
Teaching Practicum
In the teaching practicum, you are immersed in a classroom in which you complete your student teaching. You have the opportunity to do your student teaching as an IQP or an Independent Study. Physics majors may also count the practicum as their MQP.
Overview of the practicum
- 15 week experience in a local school. Our placements are most often in one of the following districts.
- at least 300 hours in the classroom, 150 hours as the teacher of record
- weekly seminar in which you are able to connect with other teacher candidates
Meet Our Students

Jonathan Han
Class of 2020
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Licensure: Middle School Math
Future Plans: Harvard Graduate School of Education

Marco Gomez
Class of 2019
Major: Chemical Engineering
Licensure: High School Chemistry
Current Occupation: High School Chemistry Teacher

Tom Young
Class of2019
Major: Physics
Licensure: High School Physics
Future Plans: Teach high school physics and complete and complete WPI's Master's in Physics for Educators (MPED) program
Class of 2020
Major: Computer Science & Psychology
Licensure: High School Math
Future Plans: Teach High School Math
- Kim
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Matthew
- Electrical and Computer Engineering