If you can’t wait for fall, you’re not alone! Faculty and students are returning to the Ole Miss campus and there is much to be excited about at the UM School of Education (SOE). More than ever, we are seeing measurable growth across our school in terms of our programs, fund-raising, enrollment and more. Here are a handful of ways the SOE is growing.

• The Ed.D. Boom: For the first time, there will be more than 100 Ed.D. students enrolled at UM this fall. In the last two years, the SOE has launched three “Hybrid” Ed.D. programs that combine online and face-to-face learning for education professionals. Programs in higher education, K-12 educational leadership and secondary mathematics education can be completed in three years.
• METP Expands: With the largest cohort to date (30 students from 9 states), the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program now has an average incoming ACT score of 29.7. The most valuable teacher education scholarship in the nation, METP offers four years of tuition, room and board, study abroad and much more! For the first time, METP will now accept elementary education majors!
• Annual Giving Growth: In the past 12 months, the SOE has seen the most philanthropic support in its 113-year history. With pledged commitments ranging from $25 to $250,000, the SOE is now home to new endowments such as the Bob Depro Education Excellence Scholarship Endowment for Social Studies Majors, which will help social studies teachers pay tuition for graduate school!
• Online M.Ed. for Pre-K Educators: The SOE is proud to induct its first cohort of educators into UM’s new online M.Ed. in early childhood education. The degree is offered 100 percent online and is the only master’s degree of its kind offered in Mississippi. Graduates will qualify to receive license endorsements from the Mississippi Department of Education.
• Savvy Stats for Freshmen: Incoming freshmen are sharper than ever at UM and the SOE is no exception! The average incoming ACT score for education majors has risen a full point in the past year to 25.5. Today, the SOE is home to nearly 1,000 UM undergraduates.

By A. M. Abernathy