Info for Teachers

On This Page: How to Become a UWHS Teacher | Teacher Responsibilities | Teacher Qualifications | Potential Courses

About UWHS Teachers

In addition to the numerous benefits students receive, there are also positives for UW in the High School teachers. Nearly half of our current instructors have been with the UWHS program for more than five years, and about 80 instructors hold 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

Teachers must apply to teach a specific course and be approved by the UW department sponsoring the course.

Applications for the 2026-27 academic year are now open. Check out the Teacher Application Process page to learn about important dates and deadlines, how to prepare your application materials, and to find out if your course of interest will be accepting new teachers during this application cycle.

Teacher Responsibilities

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

Teacher Responsibility	Timeline
One-time online new teacher orientation	March-April
Participate in a new teacher online training specific to the UW course(s)	Varies
Attend professional development sessions at least once every two years	Most professional development opportunities are offered in April-May. The UWHS professional development for Spring 2026 will bring all disciplines to the UW Seattle campus on April 25, 2026.
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	Registration depends on start day of course and is 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	Final two weeks of instruction
UW grade submission	Dependent on the last day of the course

Teacher Qualifications

Check the required qualifications below for the course(s) 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
ASL 103: Elementary American Sign Language III ASL 201: Intermediate American Sign Language I	2+ years teaching experience in the subject area (high school and/or college level) Rating of 3+ on ASL Proficiency Interview exam via Gallaudet Diagnostic Center.
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
ATMOS 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
ATMOS 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
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, or have significant industry experience with data science
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 Note: New teachers to the UWHS program must teach English 131 at least once before teaching English 111. 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
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. Check out this list of 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, email the UWHS office for more information.