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As a member of the ACS Committee on Professional Training (CPT), I was pleased to see the article in which Diana Mason summarized new requirements for the Chemistry Education option for an ACS certified bachelor's degree (1). Her article was based on the Fall, 2002 CPT Newsletter, which indicated that these requirements were under final CPT review. I am writing to let readers know that this flexible and feasible Chemistry Education option has now been implemented along with a completely new Chemistry Education Minor. The minor has been designed for students preparing for a career in pre-college teaching in a science discipline other than chemistry. The modified requirements for the option and the new minor should make it relatively easy for ACS-approved chemistry departments to include these degree tracks for potential high school teachers within their existing programs. The details of the requirements for both programs are described in the 2003 publication of the Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures by the ACS Committee on Professional Training (2). The Committee is grateful for the many helpful comments from current high school teachers, as well as college and university faculty members, in shaping the final version of these requirements. I look forward to seeing a substantial increase in the number of departments offering their students the opportunity to prepare for pre-college science teaching by including both the chemistry education option and the chemistry education minor in their programs. Literature Cited- Mason, D. S. J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 233.
- American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training. Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry. Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures. American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, Spring 2003. This publication is available as a PDF file at the CPT Web site (accessed March 2004).
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