Help shape society as a teacher or as an education policy-maker.
Professor Craig Vivian works with a local kindergarten class at the College’s Garden. Our faculty support extends from their classroom to yours and beyond. Our network of teachers spans across the nation and internationally.
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Emma Wolf, as she heads to her post-grad job as a 4th Grade Teacher at Hedding Grade School!
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Samera Lesher, as she heads to her post-grad job as a 3rd Grade Teacher at West Central!
Educational studies students, faculty, and Central Intermediate School teachers learned about the ecology of place on a trip to Teton Science Schools in Jackson, Wyoming.
Josh Talley ’19 with his students from his fourth grade class from Chatham (Illinois) Elementary School at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.
Central Elementary students research local history with help from elementary education major Jordan Cortez '18.
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Kassidy Johnson, as she heads to her post-grad job as a 4th Grade Teacher at Porta Elementry!
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Stan Dawiec, as he heads to his post-grad job as a 3rd Grade Teacher at Locust Elementary!
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Tim McNally, as he heads to his post-grad job as a 3rd Grade Teacher and Baseball Coach at Earlville Elementary!
Why do we do it this way? Will this homework ever be relevant to my life? Who gets to decide what’s included in a textbook, anyway?
If questions like that provoke your curiosity (or your frustration), and if you believe the answers can help shape society for the better, you’re well on your way to finding a home in the Educational Studies Department — a training ground for teachers and education policy makers.
At its core, education is about growth and change
Our students envision change in themselves and want to inspire growth and change in others. Our instant support network of educators and community advocates support students from day one. Our strong, close-knit community works together to help you develop and jump-start your vision for education.
Mariah Garzee '22 discusses science with local elementary students in the geodome at the Monmouth College farm.
Lots of hands-on opportunities
We offer pathways to teacher licensure in a variety of subject areas and grade levels, and we also offer a unique major in educational studies for those interested in education but want a role outside of the classroom.
Get experience leading community impact projects with our place-based school network, lean on experienced teacher mentors as part of our rural teacher corps, or interview local legislators and historians to understand the context of your place through our educational studies major. Our Educational Farm & Garden is open to all students and offers a great setting for hands-on teaching and learning for any subject.
Through our programs, students discover the many opportunities you only find in a small, rural town with a big educational mission.
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Samera Lesher, as she heads to her post-grad job as a 3rd Grade Teacher at West Central!
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Emma Wolf, as she heads to her post-grad job as a 4th Grade Teacher at Hedding Grade School!
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Kassidy Johnson, as she heads to her post-grad job as a 4th Grade Teacher at Porta Elementry!
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Kyle Dilley, as he heads to his post-grad job as a History Teacher at A-Town High School!
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Stan Dawiec, as he heads to his post-grad job as a 3rd Grade Teacher at Locust Elementary!
Congratulations to one of our seniors, Tim McNally, as he heads to his post-grad job as a 3rd Grade Teacher and Baseball Coach at Earlville Elementary!
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “Attending Monmouth College has been one of the best decisions I have made. The Educational Studies Department is doing wonderful things for rural communities and schools.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Kylee Payne ’19, fourth grade teacher at Glen Oak Learning Center, Peoria Public School district</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “Monmouth’s theatre education major gave me the skills I need for the classroom and the director’s chair.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Natalie Stortoni ’16, drama teacher at Gage Park High School in Chicago</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Monmouth College is one of the top institutions we look to for quality educators that are ready to face the challenges of the teaching profession. They are educationally and socially ready to lead our district into the future. Monmouth College uniquely prepares each student for the professional world.”</span></p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Toby Vallas ’98, Director of Student Services, Farmington (Illinois) Central CUSD #265</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “As a PE major at Monmouth College, I was 100% prepared to teach physical education when I stepped into first official teaching position. The education the faculty provided was exactly what I needed to prepare me for the real life teaching world.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Michael Smith ’17, Physical Education major</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “I chose educational studies because I knew that I wanted to be involved in education, but I realized that the classroom wasn’t for me. I found that higher education really interested me after working in the College’s Alumni Office. I am so grateful that the ed studies major was created so I could explore education in a new way that really means something to me.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Rylee Mann ’21, educational studies major and women’s studies minor</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “I discovered that the classroom was where my heart’s deepest gladness had met the world’s deepest hunger.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Courtney Gillen ’18 2nd grade teacher at United West Elementary School</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “The educational studies courses I took allowed me to become more empathetic to the needs and challenges of diverse groups of students. I learned to truly think and teach outside of myself — which should be the ultimate goal of any college student, regardless of their primary major.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Taylor Ewald ’19, history major and educational studies minor; outreach educator at Adirondack Experience, Blue Mountain Lake, New York</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “To become the educator I am today, it took a lot of dedication, perseverance and a passion for music. Finding the right place to reach my goals was crucial, and Monmouth was that place.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Luke Pratt ’18, music teacher in Elmwood (Illinois) School District</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “I could not have chosen a finer institution than Monmouth College. The Educational Studies and Music departments provided me with early hands-on experiences that reinforced my urge to join the profession, offered invaluable guidance to meet my scholarly needs, and taught me how to best serve every student based on their individual needs.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Katie Yelm ’17, music teacher in Monmouth-Roseville School District</footer></blockquote>
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “Although Chicago provides a much different scenery than Monmouth, there are many things I have learned while attending a small college like Monmouth that I can apply while teaching in a large city. One of the most important practices I have learned is the necessity for teachers to take their time in building meaningful relationships with their students. The professors in the Educational Studies Department modeled how to build healthy relationships with students, and I will always be thankful for that!”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">María Magallón ’18, elementary education and French major with a Spanish concentration; second grade bilingual teacher, Peck Elementary School in Chicago</footer></blockquote>
Many of our students are Golden Apple Scholars. This state-funded program isa teacher preparation and tuition assistance program for high school seniors, and first- and second-year Illinois college students who have the determination and drive to be excellent teachers in Illinois schools-of-need.
The TEACH Grant is a federally-funded program that provides up to $4,000 a year in grant assistance to a student who agrees to serve for at least four years as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.
The State if Illinois sponsors a scholarship for students of designated minorities who are pursuing teaching as a career through the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program. In exchange for the $5000/year scholarship, students agree to serve for at least three years as a teacher in a school of 30% minority. enrollment,
Monmouth is the only college in the United States to have formal partnerships with two national organizations – the Teton Science Schools (TSS)and the Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC). These partnerships have allowed our Educational Studies Department to create a rural teacher corps program (TARTANS) and provide place-based education opportunities at local schools (PLACE). If you have longed to be a teacher who has a dynamic vision of change and wants to give back to others, then find out more about Monmouth’s distinctive program designed to revitalize rural schools and communities by contacting professor Craig Vivian.
We want you to have a range of experiences that will prepare you best for your teaching career. Therefore, we want to place you in a setting for your student teaching that will broaden your experiences. We typically do not place people in districts where they went to school. We place students in schools that are within a 60-mile radius of Monmouth, or students can student-teach with the ChicagoSemester program. This is the time to try something new and challenging!
Yes! We have had many graduates who earned their teaching degree at Monmouth and then moved to another state upon graduation. Often states’ requirements differ slightly, so you will likely be granted a provisional license for your first year while you take any classes that might be required (typically only one or two). After you have completed those requirements, you will be granted a full teaching license in the other state. For more information, contact professor Tom Sargent.
Yes!The educational studies major is designed for students who feel a connection to education and who want to learn about the teaching and learning process, but they are not interested in pursuing an Illinois teaching license at the moment.Contact professor Brad Roweor see our educational studies major/minor page.
Many of our students are Golden Apple Scholars. This state-funded program isa teacher preparation and tuition assistance program for high school seniors, and first- and second-year Illinois college students who have the determination and drive to be excellent teachers in Illinois schools-of-need.
The TEACH Grant is a federally-funded program that provides up to $4,000 a year in grant assistance to a student who agrees to serve for at least four years as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.
The State if Illinois sponsors a scholarship for students of designated minorities who are pursuing teaching as a career through the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program. In exchange for the $5000/year scholarship, students agree to serve for at least three years as a teacher in a school of 30% minority. enrollment,
Monmouth is the only college in the United States to have formal partnerships with two national organizations – the Teton Science Schools (TSS)and the Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC). These partnerships have allowed our Educational Studies Department to create a rural teacher corps program (TARTANS) and provide place-based education opportunities at local schools (PLACE). If you have longed to be a teacher who has a dynamic vision of change and wants to give back to others, then find out more about Monmouth’s distinctive program designed to revitalize rural schools and communities by contacting professor Craig Vivian.
We want you to have a range of experiences that will prepare you best for your teaching career. Therefore, we want to place you in a setting for your student teaching that will broaden your experiences. We typically do not place people in districts where they went to school. We place students in schools that are within a 60-mile radius of Monmouth, or students can student-teach with the ChicagoSemester program. This is the time to try something new and challenging!
Yes! We have had many graduates who earned their teaching degree at Monmouth and then moved to another state upon graduation. Often states’ requirements differ slightly, so you will likely be granted a provisional license for your first year while you take any classes that might be required (typically only one or two). After you have completed those requirements, you will be granted a full teaching license in the other state. For more information, contact professor Tom Sargent.
Yes!The educational studies major is designed for students who feel a connection to education and who want to learn about the teaching and learning process, but they are not interested in pursuing an Illinois teaching license at the moment.Contact professor Brad Roweor see our educational studies major/minor page.
Louisiana classics teacher Nathalie Roy takes a picture in front of Wallace Hall of the teachers who attended “The Ancient Olympics and Daily Life in Ancient Olympia: A Hands-On History.” The two-week program, which was held in July and attracted two dozen teachers from 22 U.S. states, was funded by a grant from the National Endowment from the Humanities. The program was created, organized and led by Roy and Monmouth classics professor Bob Simmons.
Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity (SOFIA)
SOFIAUNDERGRAD RESEARCH.
Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity (SOFIA)
Add valuable undergraduate research experience to your resume before starting your undergraduate degree.
A unique program for incoming freshmen held three weeks before the fall semester starts. Faculty-led small groups present their research on a topic to the Monmouth community. Research and creative projects span a variety of academic departments. Past projects: Chemistry of Baking (Chemistry), External Struggles & Internal Identities (Psychology) and Inside Ancient Greece Athletics (Classics).
Yahnke Internship FundPreparing you for the real world
Yahnke Internship
Established by Dick ’66 and Lee Yahnke, the Yahnke Internship Fund plays an important role in enriching the experience of our business and economics majors.
The Yahnke Internship Fund helps students with internship opportunities they might not otherwise be able to take, and it also alleviates their living costs, travel, and general needs during an internship.
