Dean Carole Ames I am pleased to welcome you to the College of Education Web site. You will find on this site a wide range of information on our departments, our faculty, our research and outreach, and our academic programs. I am proud to say that the college is one of the leading institutions in the nation for pursuing a career in education and serves as a model for other programs of professional education. It offers outstanding opportunities for students, faculty and staff through its strong commitment to excellence in research, teaching and service. The college is home to 154 faculty members and comprised of the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, the Department of Educational Administration, the Department of Kinesiology, and the Department of Teacher Education. The departments are home to a vibrant community of faculty and students working to understand and improve teaching and learning of disciplinary subject areas and often doing so by drawing on faculty from other departments and colleges.

Improving educational opportunities for K-12 children and youth has been a long-standing priority for us in the college. Over the years, the college has developed innovative programs of professional study that have been emulated throughout the nation. The college's teacher preparation program deepens both content and pedagogical knowledge for teachers. Field studies and internships integrate the work in K-12 schools with course work on campus. Students choose from the following teaching areas: elementary education, kinesiology, special education, and secondary education with many major and minor fields. The Department of Kinesiology offers a B.S. degree in kinesiology that also prepares professionals for entry into or further study in of athletic training, coaching, health and wellness promotion, community physical education, fitness leadership, and physical therapy. Graduate programs in the college provide opportunities for advanced study and research in education and foster development of the insight and skill so important to the many challenges that confront the education profession today.

This past year, the college awarded 369 bachelor's degrees, 570 master's degrees, 13 educational specialist degrees, and 58 doctoral degrees and 532 students completed internships as the conclusion of the initial teacher certification program. In addition, the 2008 U.S. News and World Report annual survey ranked the college's elementary and secondary education graduate programs as the best in the nation for the thirteenth consecutive year. The college had eight programs ranked in the top 10.

The college is also a leader at the international level, with a quarter of the faculty associated with overseas teaching assignments through Graduate Studies in Education Overseas.

The college is nationally and internationally known for its research on teaching and learning. In 2002, MSU was one of only four institutions nationwide selected to be part of the Carnegie Corporation's groundbreaking Teachers for a New Era initiative. In addition to the Carnegie Corporation, funders include the Ford, Annenberg, and Rockefeller foundations. As part of the project, MSU will receive $5 million to implement new initiatives that can become models of teacher preparation for universities throughout the country. The College is also home to the state's first and only nonpartisan educational policy center. The Education Policy Center engages in outreach and research activities aimed at improving the quality of education for students at all levels. In addition, individual faculty members annually conduct numerous independent studies on topics ranging from the development of adolescents and the use of technology in the classroom to involving parents in their children's literacy learning. In all, the college's research efforts total more than $12.5 million annually, one of the most vigorous research programs at MSU.

The College of Education is proud to claim more than 58,000 alumni, many of whom are K-12 and college and university teachers, counselors, administrators, special education teachers, and professionals working in other important roles in the field of education, including researchers, policy makers, and national ministers or secretaries of education. Through these alumni the College is able to touch the lives and influence the development of young people in the state of Michigan, across the country and around the world. The work of our alumni carries forward the tradition of excellence that has characterized Michigan State University and the College of Education.

Over the years, we have worked hard to make this site as complete as possible. We hope you find our Web site helpful and encourage you to continue to visit. Technology gives you immediate access to the college, and we hope you will tap into our resources as well as share our pride in all the activities and programs that make us a unique and special place.

Carole Ames