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Eriksson College
of Education

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Learn to teach at Austin Peay.

Our diverse program offerings bring your career as an educator even closer from our Pre-K – 12 programs through our Doctorate in Educational Leadership. From initial licensure to preparing you to lead as a school administrator, we equip you to succeed.

Learn to teach at Austin Peay.

Our diverse program offerings bring your career as an educator even closer from our Pre-K – 12 programs through our Doctorate in Educational Leadership. From initial licensure to preparing you to lead as a school administrator, we equip you to succeed.

Austin Peay's education programs will give you the tools you need to be a world-class educator.

Our departments of Teaching and Learning and Educational Specialties offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs that will give you the training you need to be successful in our classroom and in yours. Our various Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) programs provide multiple avenues for career changers and college graduates in other disciplines to prepare themselves to become teachers. The Doctorate of Educational Leadership will prepare you for a variety of positions from state and district leadership roles to educational research and higher education careers.


Academic Departments

Joanna Zimmerle teaches students in Ready2Teach classroom
Educational Specialties

The Department of Educational Specialties offers advanced degree programs in both licensure and non-licensure areas. The mission of the department of Educational Specialties is to prepare and support educational professionals in their development as effective practitioners.

students listening in classroom
Teaching and Learning

The Department of Teaching and Learning offers degrees in initial licensure programs. As you pursue your potential career as a professional educator, please explore what the Department of Teaching and Learning has to offer in support of your career goal.

Sarah Dugger
Sarah Dugger
('21) Doctor of Education

It’s been a great program. A lot of really practical course work, things I’ve been able to implement over the last three years.
Sibyl Brush
Sibyl Brush
('24) Pre-K - 3rd Grade Education

The professors and students in this department are some of the most inclusive, progressive and kind people I’ve ever met.
Emmanuel Méjeun
Emmanuel Méjeun
('17) Music Performance and Education

Everything about my story is tied to music: it’s my passion, it’s my love, it’s going to be my job — It’s everything to me.
Susannah White
Susannah White
Elementary Education

Without Austin Peay's programs, I wouldn't have found my passion for teaching children, or seen the joy a child experiences when they learn how to sing or play an instrument.

News Feed

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oct-2023-collaborative-research-labs
Collaborative Research Labs enhance academic experience for APSU students

Austin Peay State University students are working side-by-side with Eriksson College of Education faculty members to produce original, scholarly research through four Collaborative Research Labs, which have produced multiple presentations and publications.

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Austin Peay honors the life of author bell hooks with a symposium ‘All About Love’ 
Austin Peay honors the life of author bell hooks with a symposium 'All About Love' 

Austin Peay State University celebrated bell hooks, renowned author and human rights icon, with a heartfelt symposium. Speakers shared personal accounts of hooks' life, shedding light on her influential philosophies on love and justice.

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august-2023-bell-hooks
APSU to host bell hooks Educational Symposium Sept. 5-7

The three-day event will honor author, educator and activist Gloria Jean Watkins - better known by her pen name bell hooks - through remarks from her family and friends, presentations from students she influenced and a faculty panel discussion on her lasting impact.

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august-2023-vaughn-bouton
APSU professors receive NSF grant for engineering empathy research

Dr. Emmabeth Vaughn of the Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy and Dr. Bobette Bouton of the Department of Teaching and Learning aim to create an empathy scale using engineering-specific scenarios to help students and professionals in the engineering field track their empathy progression.

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APSU’s Grow Your Own Teacher Residency hosts signing events
APSU's Grow Your Own Teacher Residency hosts signing events

More than 165 teacher residents are enrolled in the accelerated, three-year program. This fall, a new cohort of teacher residents begins working in five Tennessee counties: Cheatham, Dickson, Hickman, Montgomery and Robertson.

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Tracy Bettencourt teaching a student in a class
Tracy Bettencourt

"APSU has amazing technology I can't afford at home like book scanners or screen readers. This University gave me the same opportunity to succeed as any other student, and I wouldn't change my experience for anything in the world."

Allison Oliver
Allison Oliver

"I believe great institutions and effective educators are humble enough to know that progress comes from shared learning experiences and that we can learn from each other."

Joanne Philhower
Joanne Philhower

“I look forward to learning from and with my students just as much as they learn from me. I'm excited about getting to know them as people and not just as students.”