Welcome from the Dean
We welcome your interest in the James I. Perkins College of Education at Stephen F. Austin State University. Our mission is to prepare competent, successful, caring and enthusiastic professionals dedicated to responsible service, leadership and continued professional and intellectual development. From our founding in 1923 as a teachers college, we now certify over 700 teachers annually and prepare many other professionals. One major goal of ours is to produce the very best professionals in each of the fields and careers related to our College. In addition, we want to make a difference regionally, nationally, and internationally, through our scholarship (research and grants) and service efforts.
The Perkins College of Education has undergraduate and graduate programs that prepare:
- Elementary, middle, and secondary teachers and specialists (reading, early childhood, elementary)
- Leaders for schools (principals and superintendents and school-related administration)
- Physical activity and health specialists, including physical education teachers, coaches, athletic trainers, dance professionals, and health professionals
- Professionals in communication sciences and disorders
- Hospitality administration personnel
- Fashion merchandizing, interior merchandizing, and interior design professionals
- Food, nutrition, and dietetics professionals
- Child and family development and family and consumer sciences specialists
- Doctoral faculty for teaching in community colleges, colleges and universities, and for providing clinical services
- Counselors to work in P-12 school, college/university, clinical mental health settings, and rehabilitation settings
- Leaders and teachers in special education, visual impairment, deaf and hard of hearing
Our College is organized into four departments and one school: Elementary Education, Human Services, Kinesiology and Health Science, Secondary Education and Educational Leadership, and the School of Human Sciences. I invite you to explore the degree programs that we offer by visiting the department and school web pages. Also, visit the Student Services and Advising Office for greater detail on programs.
All of our professional education degrees, undergraduate and graduate, require field-based experiences. We use a Professional Development School model in the preparation of elementary school teachers-a well-documented method to produce effective teachers. Our other teacher preparation programs are closely connected with schools and school districts in our region. In fulfilling our mission, we take our commitment to our community very seriously. Moreover, we understand that there is a need for distance and web-based learning opportunities. Consequently, we have a number of graduate and undergraduate web-based programs.
The College has an active and engaged faculty who pride themselves in effective teaching and a dedication to life-long learning. Composed of scholar-practitioners who develop knowledge that is valuable to real-world settings, our faculty collaborates with schools, community service organizations, government organizations, and national/international colleagues. Their work and collaboration contributes to a society of well-educated, successful, and healthy individuals.
If you want to make a positive contribution to a society in which people develop caring and more meaningful lives, then a program in the James I. Perkins College of Education is the place for you!