FCS

Career and Technical Education

Program Description

Institutional Background

Since 1910 Western Michigan University has offered career and technical teacher education. All career and technical education (CTE) program majors and minors have been approved by the Michigan State Board of Education and accredited by North Central Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE). The teacher education program at WMU is comprehensive offering both undergraduate and graduate education in Career and Technical Education. The University through its College of Education, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences and the Division of Continuing Education offers two different (B.S.) degrees at the undergraduate level for students in career and technical education.

The WMU model for CTE teacher education involves a core of professional education courses and an intern teaching experience taken by all CTE students, which is instructed and supervised by faculty from the College of Education. Technical content requirements are delivered by faculty from the Colleges of Business, Engineering and Health and Human Services depending upon the selected major or minor. However, all CTE undergraduate students must have a minimum of 122 credits for graduation.

At the graduate-level, the College of Education offers a master’s (M.A.) degree in Career and Technical Education. Beginning in the fall of 2001, the University initiated a Leadership Development Program (LDP), as part of its master’s degree program, to prepare future CTE administrators. A Doctoral (Ed.D.) degree in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Career and Technical Education and delivered in partnership with Ferris State University is also available to interested students.