Program for Alternative Certification in Secondary Science

New Gwinnett campus; Undergraduate programs phased out

Georgia Gwinnett College now occupies the former Gwinnett University Center location at Highway 316 and Collins Hill Rd. The new UGA at Gwinnett campus is located at 2530 Sever Rd. in Lawrenceville, just southeast of I-85 at the Old Peachtree Road exit.

The University of Georgia no longer has undergraduate programs in Gwinnett. If you are interested in pursuing a B.S.Ed. in Science Education at our Athens campus, please consult the Science Education Programs web site for specific requirements.

Program for Alternative Certification in Secondary Science (PACSS)

The University of Georgia Program for Alternative Certification in Secondary Science (PACSS) is designed to allow those who already have a bachelors or graduate degree in a science or a related field to obtain their clear and renewable teacher certification. Many students in the program have already secured full-time employment as beginning high school or middle school science teachers, either on the basis of non-renewable (formerly “provisional”) certification or in private schools. Others are placed by the program in a part-time, full-year internship in lieu of the traditional semester of full-time student teaching.

All coursework for the program can be taken through the University of Georgia at the Gwinnett Center, and some courses may be taken online. Clear Renewable Certification can be completed through field experiences plus evening and summer classes over a 12- or 15-month period. The PACSS program can be pursued as a non-degree graduate student, or can serve as the beginning of a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) degree to be finished, also on a summer and evening schedule, primarily at the Athens campus. Currently it is possible to complete certification, but not the entire M.A.T. degree, exclusively at Gwinnett campus.

Qualified candidates will be certified to teach in grades 6-12 in one of the specific secondary science subject areas: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Earth Science. In accordance with rules established by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, initial certification in Broad Field Secondary Science is not available directly through our program but can be added to any of these subject-specific certification by means of an additional standardized science content test.

Students may begin the program in any semester, although Summer or Fall Semester is preferable to Spring. Due to the typically unpredictable and often short-notice time schedule of the hiring of teachers working on the basis of non-renewable certification, we accept applications on a rolling basis with no fixed deadline. Please contact Dr. David Jackson, Graduate Coordinator, djackson@uga.edu, for initial inquiries and admissions information, or Dr. Sajin Chun, PACSS Program Director, sjchun@uga.edu.

Further detail about PACSS may be found at
http://www.coe.uga.edu/mse/science/programs/pacss.html

Why UGA at Gwinnett?

The University of Georgia is one of the nation's top 20 public research universities. The newly relocated Gwinnett University Center campus was opened in 2008 and offers a high-tech facility which houses state of the art technology for teaching and learning. Multiple computer labs and a library are available for students. Teacher certification and degrees earned by PACSS students are identical to those earned by students at the main campus in Athens.

The campus is conveniently located at 2530 Sever Road in Lawrenceville, just off I-85 at the Old Peachtree Road exit. Students in the metropolitan Atlanta area can pursue science teacher certification and take a limited number of courses toward a UGA master’s degree without a lengthy commute or relocation. Academic year courses are offered in the evening on order to accommodate those students who would like to continue working while earning their certification.