The Curry School of Education has two major missions. The first is to prepare individuals to work in America’s educational system, pre-kindergarten through collegiate levels, and to conduct research and scholarship that address problems and issues of importance to our education system. Through partnerships with other organizations and educational institutions, the Curry School is committed to developing exemplary and innovative approaches to address those issues and problems, and to improving instruction and schooling in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As such, the Teacher Education Program has provided national leadership in the preparation of beginning teachers, as well as advanced training for experienced teachers and personnel related to teaching. The five-year Teacher Education Program is an integrated program sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Curry School of Education. It combines strong subject matter preparation with professional training that leads to teacher licensure and results in the simultaneous receipt of a bachelor’s and master’s degree after a total of five years of study at the University.
The second major mission of the Curry School is to enhance human potential and performance by preparing professionals and conducting research in such areas as psychological/emotional development, physical development and fitness, and speech/language/auditory development. These areas contribute to the betterment of the human condition and are directly related to increased learning and successful experiences in our educational system.
Programs leading to teacher licensure include specializations in elementary education, health and physical education, early childhood special education, k-12 special education, K-12 foreign language, and secondary education. Specializations in secondary education are available in English, mathematics, sciences (biology, chemistry, earth science, physics), and social studies. Students may also apply to dual programs in special education and elementary or secondary education.
The Curry School also offers areas of concentration in the Departments of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education; Leadership, Foundations and Policy; and Human Services that allow applicants to earn degrees at the following levels: Master of Education, Education Specialist, Education Doctorate, and Doctor of Philosophy. For those exploring areas of study, there is an option to take courses as a non-degree “professional development student.” Certificate programs are also available to individuals interested in licensure- or endorsement-only options.
Programs within the Curry School are among the best professional education offerings in the country. Faculty hold offices in professional organizations, are scholars of international renown, and are numbered among the University’s finest teachers. Students score well above the national norms on the national examinations, and are members of such student honorary societies as Chi Sigma Iota, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Delta Kappa, Outstanding Students in America, and the Raven Society. Extensive information about the Curry School of Education and its graduate programs is available on the web (http: curry.edschool.virginia.edu).
History
The Curry School of Education offers professional programs designed to prepare individuals for a variety of careers related to the practice of education. The school was named for Dr. Jabez L. M. Curry, an eminent southern educator. It was endowed in 1905 by gifts from John D. Rockefeller and the General Education Fund and became a professional school in 1919. Graduate programs in education were established in 1950, and the degree programs offered now include the Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed.); a five-year teacher education program leading to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Teaching (M.T.); the Master of Education (M.Ed.), Master of Teaching (M.T.), Educational Specialist (Ed.S.); and two doctoral degrees (Ed.D. and Ph.D.).
