Why major in Curriculum and Instruction? Here are a few key reasons why our department is one of the largest programs at ACU.

• We have approximately 650 students each year involved in educator preparation.
• The student-faculty ratio in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction is 17 to 1.
• More than 80 percent of our faculty members hold the doctorate degree. More than 80 school districts from across Texas and several other states participate in a job fair each year in Abilene to recruit our graduates for teaching positions.
• A research project involving 877 four-year institutions placed ACU seventh in the nation in preparing teachers who went on to earn the doctorate in education.
• School administrators who hire our graduates regularly report on the high quality of their preparation.
• Each undergraduate student seeking teacher certification will participate in an internship at a professional development school in the Abilene area prior to student teaching.
• Graduate students participate in practicums and internships with experienced practitioners as part of their preparation program.
• All of our students complete a rigorous program of academic preparation in their content field. The latest research and understanding of the teaching and learning process is infused into all of our professional education classes.
• ACU’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction is a charter member of the Big Country Center for the Professional Development of Teachers and the Abilene Teacher Center.
• Several schools in the Abilene Independent School District serve as professional development schools for the ACU teacher education program and many of our teaching methods classes are taught onsite in actual elementary and secondary schools.
• ACU’s teacher education program is approved by the Texas Education Agency and the Texas State Board for Educator Certification and is a member of the Texas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges of Teacher Education.
• Curriculum and Instruction faculty members serve on several state-level committees developing curriculum and testing standards for Texas.
• More than 95 percent of our students pass their state teacher certification exams on their first attempt.
• Both graduate and undergraduate students engage in research on education and present that research at state and national conferences.
• Students in ACU’s teacher education program serve the schools and children of the Abilene community in numerous ways through mentoring and tutoring.
• Faculty members in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction author teaching materials, publish articles and papers, and present at state, regional and national conferences, serve as officers in state and national professional organizations and conduct numerous workshops and seminars for teachers and administrators.
• ACU’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction has received numerous grants to fund innovative programs in teacher preparation, including $700,000 from the Texas Education Agency to establish professional development schools, $40,000 from the Sid Richardson Foundation to provide support for innovative teaching practices, and $100,000 from the State Board for Educator Certification to develop a new model for preparing special education teachers.