About Us

The mission of the School of Education is to prepare educators of character and competence who reflect Christ as they serve and lead in their schools and communities. It is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and is nationally honored as a Model of Excellence for its moral and ethical learning dimensions by the Association for Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education.

The School of Education with the approval of the Tennessee State Department of Education offers three undergraduate majors with licensure in six areas for Union University students seeking a license to teach in the public schools, and four graduate degree programs.
The majors include: Learning Foundations, Liberal Studies, and Special Education. The Learning Foundations major offers the choice of licensure in Early Childhood Education (PreK-Grade 3) or Elementary Education (Grades K-6) for teaching typically developing students. The Liberal Studies major offers licensure in Middle Grades 4-8 with built-in emphases in Natural and Social Sciences upon which the student may build further or select an additional emphasis in Language Arts or Math. The Special Education major prepares students to teach special needs youth in the areas of Modified Special Education (K-12), and Comprehensive Special Education (K-12). Completion of the major, together with the general education core and a professional education minor, comprise the academic course requirements for a teaching degree at Union University.

The graduate programs offered by the School of Education are available on the Jackson and the Germantown campuses and include the M.Ed., M.A.Ed., Ed.S. and Ed.D. The Doctor of Education is the highest professional degree offered in the field of education and has two Educational Leadership specializations at Union: School Administration (offered on both campuses), and Higher Education (offered on the Jackson campus with a distance learning format).
The School offers programs for the preparation of teachers, principals, curriculum supervisors, and higher education administrators. The School of Education, with its undergraduate and graduate programs, is the largest academic enterprise at Union.