Teaching-related Programs
The process of becoming a certified teacher in Michigan starts when you enter CMU and declare your intent to focus on that area. Advising is a critical component for all education students; some courses may be counted in different types of ways to meet various curricular requirements. Meeting with your adviser and mentor regularly is important.
The Department of Teacher Education and Professional Development prepares students for certification for elementary and secondary students. Other departmental majors and minors are located in 25 departments across the university.
After a rigorous academic review and evaluation, TEAC, the Teacher Education Accreditation Council, has granted full accreditation to the Teacher Education and Professional Development program at Central Michigan University.
TEAC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving academic degree programs for professional educators. Accreditation by TEAC is an expression of confidence that a program is satisfactorily achieving its objectives and that it meets or exceeds TEAC’s standards of program quality and institutional capacity.
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and by the U.S. Department of Education, TEAC is also a member of the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditation, the American Council on Education, Association of Teacher Educators, and the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification.
Human Service-related programs
An array of Human Service programs is offered through EHS. If you see yourself interacting with people in a professional capacity, if you think you would like a career in business or a human service agency setting working with clients face-to-face to help them in meeting their needs, you should explore human service-related programs in EHS.
All professional degree programs include carefully designed, direct experiences in real-life settings. These required experiences, which differ from program to program, have one common element -- close contact with people with whom you will work as a professional.
Much of the hands-on experience in EHS takes place in the many clinics and centers which provide service to the university and the community at large. These clinics include: the Child Development/Preschool Laboratory, the Human Development Clinic, and the Reading Clinic.
College centers are: Center for Leisure Services, Opportunities for Talent Development, Instructional Material Center, Science/Mathematics/Technology Center, Michigan Adult Learning and Technology Center, Michigan Schools in the Middle, and Resource Center for Charter Schools.
In addition to the course work and professional field experience available in EHS professional programs, you may also become involved in research activities. Both faculty and students are actively involved in broadening the body of knowledge via educational and behavioral research in many areas of study.
Interdisciplinary Gerontology Program
Gerontology is the study of aging. At CMU, the interdisciplinary Gerontology Program involves education, service, and research. A big part of the program is the undergraduate Gerontology Minor. The program also encourages the development of gerontology-related continuing education opportunities, activity programs, and grant projects. Recent projects include the planning and presentation of statewide conferences on aging and cooperation with other Michigan colleges and universities in gerontology-related faculty development programs. For further information contact the director, Interdisciplinary Gerontology Program, in the Department of Human Environmental Studies.