Computer Science K-12 Teaching Graduate Certificate

Our CS K-12 teaching graduate certificate is for professionals wishing to start teaching or enhance their knowledge and skills to teach computer science. The cohort-based program begins every Fall semester. Certificate students come from diverse educational contexts and backgrounds with varying preexisting CS knowledge. Our courses are designed to consider each student’s needs and existing knowledge and skills to help them achieve their career goals.

The program is intentionally designed for people working full-time jobs. In fact, all students in the online computer science education certificate are working professionals.

All UF certificate program students must complete 12 hours beyond their bachelor’s degree. The online certificate in computer science education is structured so that students take the required courses together as a cohort.

Graduates of the program typically take 1 year (Fall and Spring semesters) to complete the program.

For complete information on the computer science education master’s process, please review our program-specific application instructions. Please also familiarize yourself with the application information for the School of Teaching and Learning.

When you’re ready to start your application, follow the graduate instructions in the UF application portal. Our application deadline is July 1 for domestic applicants and December 1 for international applicants.

Submitting GRE scores is not required to apply for this program. However, if you choose to include them, please note that the University of Florida Office of Admissions will only accept scores sent directly from ETS. Use code 5812 to send your scores.

A completed bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution is required for acceptance into the K-12 computer science education certificate. Additionally, we require prospective students to be currently working as educators. You may be engaged in education in any context.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required by UF for international applicants unless: 

They have successfully completed one academic year in a degree-seeking program at a recognized/regionally accredited university or college in the United States or a country where English is the official language.

OR

They hold an earned equivalent of associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. degree from a recognized/regionally accredited college or university in the United States or country where English is the official language.

OR

They hold an earned equivalent of associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. degree from a recognized/regionally accredited college or university in the United States or country where English is the official language.

No. Our K-12 computer science education certificate is fully online, and we do not have campus-based requirements.

This is a cohort-based program, and all requirements and activities have to be completed as an online cohort. The curriculum can be found here. Students are required to take two courses a semester that total six credits in both Fall and Spring semesters.

Our online courses are time-limited. Most involve 16-week semesters. Some classes provide synchronous sessions, yet mainly they are not mandatory with a purpose of supporting those in need of help.

Faculty decide whether synchronous sessions are advantageous based on the content of their courses. These sessions are announced at the beginning of the semester and held during evening hours.

A primary concern for working professionals studying part-time is the tuition cost of an advanced degree. Completely online students who take no face-to-face courses receive an out-of-state fee waiver, therefore our costs are very reasonable.

For more information on the graduate cost of attendance, please view the most recent graduate tuition costs and distance learning fees at the College of Education Online Tuition and Fees page.  This information may also be found on the UF Bursar’s website.

Program faculty cannot answer questions about tuition. Further questions can be answered by the Admissions office at 352-392-1365.

This waiver, which applies to online students enrolled in our certificate, MAE, or Ed.D. programs, is applied after the end of the drop/add period for each semester. It is only applied once per semester, so you must be registered for all courses by the end of drop/add. You can not receive the flat rate waiver if you enroll in a course after the drop/add period. Please note this waiver is not necessary for Florida Residents or EEP students.

The AY flat rate waiver is college-specific. At the end of drop/add, when we are certain that everyone has registered, a staff member sends a list of all those students who qualify to the Bursar’s Office, and then the waiver is applied. Be assured that if you are in a completely online program (certificate, MAE, or Ed.D. programs), then the tuition rate will eventually reflect our tuition page.

 Since this waiver is college-specific, meaning the College of Education bears the financial costs of these waivers, the Bursar’s Office cannot give you accurate information since they typically quote from standard tuition rates, which are higher than the waiver. We know this can be frustrating, but this is the only way we can apply the waiver.

Yes! Most of our courses are eligible for the Employee Education Program at UF.

The College of Education awards scholarships to graduate and undergraduate students through an annual scholarship process. For more information on current scholarships, please visit the college student affairs scholarship website.

A primary concern for working professionals studying part-time is the tuition cost of an advanced degree. Completely online students who take no face-to-face courses receive an out-of-state fee waiver, therefore our costs are very reasonable.

For more information on the graduate cost of attendance, please view the most recent graduate tuition costs and distance learning fees at the College of Education Online Tuition and Fees page.  This information may also be found on the UF Bursar’s website.

Students are required to complete 12 credits to complete the program.

Program faculty cannot answer questions about tuition. Further questions can be answered by the Admissions office at 352-392-1365.

The process to sign up for online classes is not the same as signing up for classes on campus at UF. After you are officially admitted into the program, you will receive emails at the University level to prompt you to set up a UF email account. After you complete this task, you will receive course registration instructions from the College of Education in your UF email account.

The university handles Gatorlink accounts. Neither the College of Education nor our program faculty can help with this issue. UFIT offers resources related to Gatorlink accounts, and newly admitted students can find information about setting up their accounts on the UF Admissions website. 

Online students are not required to have the same immunization documentation as campus-based students. However, students are sometimes incorrectly coded when admitted. If you have an issue with your record, please email Tom McMorrow, Ph.D., at mcmorrow@coe.ufl.edu and copy Kara Dawson, Ph.D., at dawson@coe.ufl.edu. Dr. McMorrow will be able to fix the error.

Everyone in the UF community is required to complete online training courses. The courses you are required to take are determined at the university level. All students will receive emails about completing these training sessions at the beginning of their degree programs. Please be mindful of the deadlines and expectations associated with these course

If you have questions about the admissions process, please contact GradAdmissions@coe.ufl.edu. If you have questions about the program, please contact Dr. Rui Tammy Huang at coe-cseducation@coe.ufl.edu.