Our dedication to Racial Equality and Social Justice (RESJ) spans decades. Learn more about our RESJ Initiative
STEM Certificate (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
-
Credits:
12
-
Degree:
Graduate Certificate
Program Description
The STEM certificate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics provides a comprehensive education to become highly qualified mathematics, science, and engineering teachers at the elementary and middle school levels. The 12 graduate credits include both face-to-face and online courses, offering a flexible and convenient learning experience.
What Is STEM?
STEM is a curriculum that takes an interdisciplinary and applied approach to educating students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Combining relevant academic training and hands-on learning, STEM programs help students understand and apply math and science content while developing critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative skills that can be applied to all types of careers. While STEM skills are in high demand, there is a shortage of students and teachers who are proficient in these crucial fields, driving a critical need for STEM educators in the United States.
Who Is the STEM Certificate Designed For?
The STEM program is designed for early childhood, elementary, special education, and middle school teachers who want to grow their professional skills as math, science, and engineering educators.
Cambridge College STEM Program Highlights
STEM skills are in high demand, and so is the need for qualified educators who can teach these skills to young learners. This certificate program offers an affordable, flexible option to advance your knowledge of STEM content and create new opportunities in your teaching career.
- Flexible course options. Take classes evenings, weekends, and online. Cambridge College programs are designed with flexibility to fit your busy schedule.
- Applied learning. As part of the Teaching Project-Based Science coursework, you’ll develop a unit of instruction for use with your own classes and to share with your colleagues online.
- Career advancement. After completing the STEM certificate program, you may wish to add a Massachusetts state certification in Mathematics (1-6), Mathematics (5-8), General Science (5-8), or Mathematics/Science (combo 5-8) by taking and passing the appropriate Massachusetts MTEL exam.
- Exceptional value. Cambridge College is one of the most affordable four-year private nonprofit colleges in the United States, giving you exceptional value for your education.
- Experienced faculty. Learn from top science and mathematics professors who are also dedicated, accessible teachers here to help you succeed.
STEM Learning Outcomes
Gain the specialized training to prepare tomorrow’s science and technology leaders. In the STEM program at Cambridge College, you will:
- Gain significant mastery of science content to prepare your students for the Massachusetts grade 5 and 8 MCAS exams and for science and technology challenges in their future.
- Integrate earth, life, and physical science concepts to solve engineering problems.
- Apply design process steps to solve engineering and science problems.
- Recognize and use connections, relationships, and patterns among mathematical ideas; and use representations to model and interpret physical and technical phenomena.
- Gain the mathematical skills in order to become a highly qualified teacher of elementary and middle school mathematics.
STEM Careers
This program prepares STEM educators to work with elementary and middle school students.
Example STEM Courses
Required courses for the STEM program include:
- Teaching Science and Technology in Early Childhood and Elementary Curriculum
- Teaching Project-Based Science
Download the STEM certificate program sheet.
STEM Scholarships and Financial Aid
You may qualify for grants, scholarships, loans, and other types of financial assistance to help pay for your STEM certification. Learn more about applying for financial aid at Cambridge College.
Many companies also offer tuition assistance programs that can help to pay for education. Find information about getting your company to help.
Related Programs at Cambridge College
If you’re still exploring degree options, you might be interested in learning more about these programs at Cambridge College:
Curriculum
Science and Engineering Required Courses
4
Credits
Teaching Science, Engineering, and Technology
ELE 653 • 3 credit(s)
This course provides the knowledge, tools and methods for making early childhood and elementary science an exciting, hands-on learning experience for children. Educators learn how to develop lessons that address student experimentation and design techniques using readily available materials. Safe laboratory practices for the classroom are also addressed. A standards-based approach to science education is our template for lesson development, covering the major domains in science: life, physical, earth, inquiry-applied and engineering technology; and historical scientific discoveries in each area. Alignment of curriculum is emphasized; national benchmark standards in elementary science are also supported. Analysis of elementary summative science assessments, based on the National Science Standards is incorporated in the coursework. Pre-practicum hours of directed field-based training required.
Teaching Project-Based Science
SCI 619 • 1 credit(s)
Online course: This course presents the advantages of project-based science, guidelines on how to succeed in using this instructional and assessment approach, and strategies for customizing for individual school settings. Week one presents comparisons between traditional and project-based science curriculum and includes management issues and requirements for student success. Week two deals with student projects that involve science, society and decision-making and connections to service learning. Assessment and evaluation of student projects are the focus of week three. In weeks four and five, teachers develop a unit of instruction for use with their own classes and to share with online colleagues.
Science Content Courses
2
Credits
Choose two courses
Aquatic Ecology
SCI 601 • 1 credit(s)
Online course. This course leads teachers to investigate principles of ecology through examples from fresh water, marine, and other water environments. Content includes interactions among living organisms, energy flow within and among living communities, dynamics of adaptive evolution, and survival strategies. Week one focuses on the variety of water habitats from rain puddles to oceans. Week two examines adaptations of organisms for survival in water. Energy flow and interactive relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers are featured in weeks three and four. The final course week considers the human impact on aquatic environments. Each course participant becomes an in-depth expert in at least one ecosystem.
Earth's Place in the Universe
SCI 613 • 1 credit(s)
This course examines Earth from the perspective of its place in space, its movements and examines Earth’s relationship to the sun and moon, its place in the solar system and beyond. The first week is an exploration of earth-bound celestial observations and the origins of modern astronomy. The second week we examine the movement of the Earth within our solar system including a look at gravity and orbits. Week three features an in-depth look at the moon and its motion including eclipses, phases and tides. In week four we explore the sun and the reasons we have seasons on Earth. Our final week we look beyond our solar system to explore that Earth and its solar system are one of many in the Milky Way galaxy. The course is cross-disciplinary when appropriate and is especially designed for teachers who are currently teaching or who are preparing to teach courses in earth science.
Earth's History
SCI 617 • 1 credit(s)
Online course. This course focuses on the basic geologic principles that have shaped the history of the earth, integrating thematic content in the life and earth sciences with a chronological approach. Week one sets the stage with a review of basic geological principles and field geology. Week two presents the earth's first billion years with the formation of the earth and moon. Reading the fossil record is covered in week three with evolution and extinction providing the major themes. The Proterozoic and Paleozoic eras are the focus of week four, and the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras are covered in week five.
Electricity and Magnetism
SCI 603 • 1 credit(s)
This course explores concepts in electricity and magnetism by addressing basic topics and fundamental misconceptions. Topics include electrostatic charging; charge separation and its role in electric pressure, current electricity, and the circuits through which it moves; Ohm’s Law; schematic diagrams; and current that flows from wall outlets—all leading to exploration of the intimate relationship between magnetism and electricity.
Structure of the Earth
SCI 607 • 1 credit(s)
Online course. This course examines the physical earth including its internal structure and the processes that make it an ever-changing place. Week one begins by looking at rock formation and its characteristics. The second week explores sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic processes and their contribution to the rock cycle. Week three takes a close-up look at constructive forces of earthquakes and volcanoes and at weathering, erosion, and other destructive forces that re-shape earth’s surface. Finally, in week four, the learner digs deep into the inner depths of the planet to examine plate motion and plate tectonic theory and in week five a geological locale project pulls together greater understanding of the forces which help shape and drive our dynamic earth.
Mathematics Courses
6
Credits
Technology in Mathematics Learning & Teaching (K-12)
MAT 605 • 3 credit(s)
Prerequisites: MAT607, 609, 611 & 613 or program chair’s approval. This course provides teachers with a strong foundation in effectively using technology in mathematics classrooms, K-12. They develop and implement comprehensive lessons for teaching mathematical concepts and skills using calculators, graphing calculators, computer graphing, algebra and geometry software, and internet resources. This course makes educational technology an integral component of the teaching, learning, and assessment of mathematics instruction and learning. Pre-practicum hours of directed field-based training required.
Discrete Mathematics
MAT 613 • 3 credit(s)
Prerequisites: MAT607 & MAT 609 or program chair’s approval. This course is designed to cover the major components of discrete mathematics by studying the connections among mathematics topics and real-life events and situations, emphasizing problem solving, mathematical reasoning, and communications. Major topics include: counting and number systems; combinatorics; codes; recurrence relations; graphs and networks; and matrix operations. Pre-practicum hours of directed field-based training required.
Admissions
-
Admission Test:
No standardized graduate school tests required for admission into non-licensure programs
-
Admissions Office:
1-800-829-4723
- Application Form:
-
Application Fee:
$50 ($100 for international students)
Health Requirements for Massachusetts Students
The Massachusetts Health Department and Cambridge College require the following of students in Massachusetts:
Immunizations – All students in Massachusetts are required to get certain immunizations before you can register for your first term. See form
Health Insurance – In Massachusetts, undergraduate students taking nine or more credits/term and graduate students taking six or more credits/term must enroll in the College’s health insurance plan. Students who have insurance with comparable coverage may request a waiver. See information and enroll or waive.
School Requirements
International Students
International students need to provide supplemental documentation:
- Official demonstration of English language proficiency
- Supplemental documentation for issuance of I-20
- International transcripts, evaluated by an accepted evaluation service
Transfer Credit
Please complete the transfer credit request form if you wish to have prior course work evaluated for transfer. Learn more about transferring credits.
Tuition
-
Credits:
12
-
Application Fee:
$50 ($100 for international students)
-
Health Insurance Fee:
$3,940 - Required for Massachusetts students only. See waiver details on Tuition & Fees page.)
-
Internship/Practicum Fee:
$400
Note: Rates are as of July, 2022, and are subject to change without notice. Rates apply to all students, unless otherwise noted.
Financial Aid
Cambridge College offers financial aid to students in our degree programs who are enrolled at least half time. Undergraduate students must be enrolled in at least 6 credits each term. Graduate and doctoral students must be enrolled in at least 4 credits each term. Learn more
Grants, Scholarships and Loans
Cambridge College welcomes the opportunity to support your efforts to pay for college. Federal, state and local resources in the form of grants, scholarships, loans and work-study, including Cambridge College Scholarships, are available to help defray the cost of tuition. Learn more
Getting Your Company to Help
Many companies have tuition assistance programs, designed to help their employees with their professional development. Learn more
Take the Next Step Toward Your STEM Certification
Take the Next Step Toward Your STEM Certification
