Faculty of the college take full advantage of UIS' location in the state capital by maintaining close ties with the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Human Services. Faculty serve on a variety of professional advisory boards and on the boards of local social service delivery agencies. Due to the large number of state government employees, educators, and human service professionals in Springfield, the college’s academic programs are vital to the city's economic and employment base.
Students enrolled in the college's programs prepare for professional careers as social workers, teachers, counselors, school administrators, gerontologists, public professionals, and researchers. Programs in the college are closely involved with the Applied Study and Experiential Learning Term and the Career Services Office to ensure that students receive field experience in their chosen professional areas and have realistic career objectives.
The social work program is nationally accredited and works closely with a variety of human social service agencies. The human development counseling program is also nationally accredited and provides teaching emphasis in community counseling, marriage and family therapy, and school counseling.
The human services program prepares graduate students for employment in the fastest growing segment of society, including providing direct services to senior centers and nursing homes, administering and evaluating service-delivery systems for the elderly, and assisting in legislative bodies that serve older persons. The human services program's four areas of concentration are designed to provide advanced professional training for graduate students in human services such as child and family studies, alcohol and substance abuse, family studies, gerontology, and social services administration.
The teacher education minors provide students majoring in other disciplines the opportunity to complete their required study to become certified and enter the teaching profession. A major goal of the minors is to prepare certified elementary and secondary teachers who are competent in subject matter and who understand the psychological and sociocultural characteristics of learners. Within the educational leadership graduate program, students may choose between the administrative leadership degree and the teacher leadership online degree. Students completing the educational leadership graduate degrees are prepared to become master teachers, educational instructional leaders, supervisors, curriculum directors, or administrators in school systems.
Faculty use a variety of innovative teaching strategies and technologies in the classroom and apply their research and scholarship to the course work that they teach. Many of the faculty have national and international reputations in their areas of expertise.
Bachelor's Degree: Social Work (B.S.W.)
Master of Arts: Human Services, Educational Leadership, Human Development Counseling, Teacher Leadership
Certification Preparation
Educational Leadership
a) Administrative Leadership - Principalship
b) School Superintendent Endorsement
Teacher Education Minors
a) Elementary Education
b) Secondary Education - English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science
Human Development Counseling
a) School Counselor
b) Marriage and Family Counseling
Human Services
a) Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Professional Development Sequence in Gerontology
Master of Arts Degree: Human Services/Social Services Administration - hybrid online
Master of Arts Degree: Teacher Leadership - online
Secondary Math Teaching Certificate - blended online
Post-Master's Certificate: Chief School Business Official - online