How do I become a physical education teacher?
To become a secondary school physical and health education teacher through UVic, you'll need to:
- Complete a Bachelor degree and/or required courses through one of the pathways below
- Apply to the BEd Post-Degree Professional Program (PDPP) in secondary education
- Finish your PDPP and apply for certification as a teacher in British Columbia
Pathways to becoming a Physical Education Teacher
At UVic, there are multiple pathways for competing the courses you need to teach physical education in schools. These include:
- Completing a Major in Physical and Health Education at UVic
- Completing a Major in Kinesiology at UVic and taking additional courses associated with physical and health education teaching and potentially, an additional teachable subject area
- Completing a degree in another department and a Minor in Physical Education
- Completing an undergraduate degree at UVic or elsewhere, and then completing courses related to physical and health education teaching as a non-degree student at UVic
Upon completion of one of these pathways, you can apply to the BEd Post-Degree Professional Program (PDPP).
Learn more about each pathway below.
I want to major in physical and health education
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Physical and Health Education Program is offered by the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education and includes all of the courses needed to meet the requirements of the physical and health education teachable area, as well as electives that can be used to meet the requirements of a second teachable area. For more information about teachable areas, see the Secondary PDPP website.
You can't apply for direct admission to the Physical and Health Education Program. Instead, you'll need to apply for initial admission to the BA in Recreation and Health Education Program. You'll then complete first year courses before requesting to transfer into the Physical and Health Education Program.
Since the two programs share a common first year, transferring from Recreation and Health Education into Physical and Health Education won't delay your graduation.
For more information on applying to the Recreation and Health Education program, see our admissions page.
I want to major in kinesiology
The Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Kinesiology Program is offered by the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education. Through the program's required courses and electives, you can not only meet the requirements to teach physical and health education, but potentially gain a second teachable area as well. For more information about teachable areas, see the Secondary PDPP website.
If you wish to complete a major in kinesiology as a pathway to becoming a secondary school physical education teacher it is important to make this decision as early as possible and to plan your elective selections carefully. Following this pathway, you may need to take extra courses as part of your degree.
For info on how to apply to the BSc in Kinesiology Program, see our admissions page.
I want to minor in physical education
If your end goal is to become a physical and health education teacher and you're already completing a degree in another department at UVic, you can add a minor in physical education to your program. This means that when you finish your degree, you'll be able to apply to the BEd Post-Degree Professional Program (PDPP) and be on your way to teaching physical education in secondary schools!
To declare a minor in physical education, you can submit a program declaration request through an advisor in your current faculty. That advisor will make any necessary adjustments to your degree evaluation and notify you that your degree program has been updated.
Note: You can only request to add the minor in physical education to your degree program once you have completed EPHE 141.
I want to complete a teachable area in physical and health education
If you have already completed an undergraduate degree and are looking for a pathway to becoming a physical and health education teacher, this option might be right for you.
For current UVic non-degree students
If you're a current non-degree student at UVic, you can complete the physical and health education teaching area self-assessment form and email it, along with a list of the courses you want to register in, to epheprogasst@uvic.ca.
For non-UVic students
If you're not a current UVic student, complete the physical and health education teaching area self-assessment form to determine which courses you need to fulfill the requirements of the physical and health education teaching area.
You'll then need to apply to UVic as a non-degree student in order to take the courses and qualify for the BEd Post-Degree Professional Program (PDPP), which will allow you to later become a certified teacher.
Additional information about UVic’s BEd Post-Degree Professional Program (Secondary) is available on the Faculty of Education website or from Education Advising.
Questions?
If you have questions about the use of specific courses in your self-assessment worksheet you should contact Education Advising.