Join the top 0.1% of institutions across the United States that graduate five or more physics teachers in a single year. Each year, PhysTEC Member Institutions who meet this high bar may apply for admission to the 5+ Club!
Apply for the PhysTEC 5+ Club
Applications for the 2024 PhysTEC 5+ Club are open through February 16, 2025
If your U.S.-based institution graduates high school physics teachers, be sure to apply for national recognition. Joining the 5+ Club places your institution in the 99th percentile for graduating physics teachers, and the work is vital to ending the severe physics teacher shortage.
How are 5+ Club Awardees Recognized?
PhysTEC will:
- Send a letter of commendation co-signed by presidents of the American Physical Society (APS) and American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) to the university president and other appropriate institutional leaders
- Present a certificate of achievement at the awards ceremony of the next PhysTEC Conference
- Congratulate new members of the 5+ Club in APS News and the AAPT eNNOUNCER
- Mark the institution as a 5+ Club in the Member Institution directory, and provide a web badge that may be placed on the program’s website
- Provide a draft press release, if requested
About the Application Process
- Your institution must be a PhysTEC Member. Apply to become one!
- Your U.S.-based institution must have graduated five or more high school physics teachers between your institution’s Fall 2023 and Summer 2024 terms (for doctoral degree granting institutions, based on Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education) or graduated five teachers between Fall 2021 and Summer 2024 terms (for non-doctoral degree granting institutions)
- For the purposes of this application, “physics teacher” means “any student who has graduated from a PhysTEC member institution and has a major or minor in physics (or has completed equivalent coursework) AND has completed a teacher education program leading to certification.”
- Apply using the PhysTEC 5+ Club application form. Previously-funded PhysTEC sites can skip this if you’ve already submitted an annual tracking spreadsheet. If you have questions or difficulties with the application, please email PhysTEC@aps.org.
Application Elements:
- List all relevant graduating physics teachers from your institution along with their content knowledge, certification pathway, and completion date