Why should you become a College in the Schools teacher?
By becoming a CITS teacher, you will join UMD faculty as a Teaching Specialist and benefit from:
- Collaboration with discipline-specific UMD faculty liaisons
- Coaching on using college syllabi, rubrics and examinations for your classroom
- Participation in professional development opportunities
- Having the opportunity for in-person discussions with peers from other schools regarding best practices, challenges and teaching strategies
- Training and access to UMD online resources: computer lab, UMD licensed software, and the library
- Ongoing assistance from CITS program staff.
Interested in becoming a UMD CITS teacher? Learn more about the required qualifications and the application process.
UMD CITS Teacher Minimum Qualifications:
- Minnesota teacher's license.
- Earned master's degree (dependent upon specific UMD department's requirements).
- Significant graduate-level course work or equivalent experience in the subject area of CITS instruction.
- Demonstrated excellence in teaching advanced high school students.
- Support from the school principal or a chief administrator.
- Five years of consecutive teaching experience in the subject area.
UMD CITS Teaching Requirements:
In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications, teachers who are interested in applying to the CITS program must meet one of the following Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requirements:
- A PhD in the discipline of the field to be taught, OR
- A master’s degree in the discipline of the field to be taught, OR
- A master’s degree in any field and 18 graduate credits completed in the discipline of the field to be taught, OR
- A master’s degree in any field and “Equivalent Experience Factors” equal to 18 graduate credits in the discipline of the field to be taught as determined by each college/department.
Any teacher who does not meet the 18 credit hour equivalency, MAY still be approved, but they will be approved with a development plan in place. The development plan must be completed by September 1, 2025, in order for that instructor to remain eligible to teach UMD CITS courses at your high school starting with the 2025-2026 school year. When this is completed, the instructor will be fully approved to teach this course at your high school for the remainder of their teaching career. UMD Faculty Qualifications Policy.
Apply to be a UMD CITS Teacher
Interested teachers must submit the following application materials via email to [email protected]:
- Application Form and Application Instructions
**NOTE: If you are applying to teach a CITS Foreign Language class, you will need to complete an oral proficiency exam and also schedule a classroom observation with the UMD Faculty Liaison before submitting the application packet. Please contact us at <[email protected]> for more details.
The application packet is reviewed and approved (or denied) by the UMD Faculty Liaison, UMD Department Head, UMD College Dean, and the UMD Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. The entire application review time is approximately three to four weeks. The UMD CITS Coordinator will notify the applicant and the high school principal when the review process is complete along with approval status.
CITS Teachers who have been approved are UMD Teaching Specialist faculty members.