Beginning this summer, the University of Kentucky College of Education is expanding options for those who want to change careers to teach in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and early childhood. 

The Kentucky Professional Education Standards Board’s university-based alternative pathway to certification, known as Option 6, allows qualified teacher candidates to work in a full-time teaching position within a Kentucky school while enrolled in a participating teacher preparation program. Through this option, teacher candidates obtain a temporary provisional certificate valid for one year. The provisional certificate must be renewed each year, up to a total of five years. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are eligible to apply for a Kentucky teaching certificate.