Welcome to the College of Education and Human Development
The College of Education and Human Development at Governors State University offers quality programs that prepare professionals to improve student lives, strengthen schools, and support families and communities.
Find the program that fits your goals and turns your ambitions into action.
The College of Education and Human Development at Governors State University empowers students to become reflective, lifelong learners and advocates for diversity and social justice. Building on a strong foundation of field-based practice and evidence-based improvement, the College prepares educators and mental‐health professionals who are capable of transformative impact in schools, communities, and human services. With a clear vision to serve as a regional leader, the College is committed to offering high-quality, innovative programs that integrate technology, embrace human diversity, and drive meaningful change in learning outcomes and professional practice.
- Early Childhood Education
- Elementary Education
- Psychology
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Concentrations
- Forensic Psychology
- Mindfulness Studies
- Pre-Clinical Psychology
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
- * Academic Programs for Secondary Education Teacher Licensure in Biology, Chemistry, English, Mathematics, and Social Sciences are housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. Click here for more information.
- Master of Arts in Counseling
Sequences
- Addictions Studies Counseling
- Clinical Mental Health
- Marriage Couple and Family
- School Counseling - Early Childhood Education
- Educational Administration
- Multicategorical Special Education
- Master of Arts in Multicategorical Special Education
Study Track Options
- Initial Licensure
- Advance Licensure
- LBSI Subsequent Endorsement
- Director of Special Education Subsequent Endorsement (coming soon)
- Master of Arts in Multicategorical Special Education
- Psychology
- Counselor Education and Supervision, Ph.D.
- Interdisciplinary Leadership, Ed.D.
Concentrations
- Higher Education Administration
- Not-for-Profit/Social Entrepreneurship Leadership
- Superintendent (P-12)
- Bilingual and ESL Education, Post BA Certificate
- Online Teaching and Learning Certificate Program
- Clinical Mental Health Counselor - Post Master’s Certificate
- Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling - Post Master’s Certificate
- Post Master's School Counseling Certificate
- Social Sciences Education Certificate
- Teacher Leadership Graduate Certificate
College of Health and Human Services Departments
Division of Education and Leadership
We deliver high-quality, innovative academic programs that embrace technology, uphold national accreditation, expand learning opportunities, and promote a deep understanding of human diversity.
Division of Psychology and Counseling
We prepare culturally competent, ethical professionals who serve diverse communities with empathy and inclusiveness through high-quality, research-informed, and practice-focused education."
Workshops and Professional Developments
The College of Education and Human Development offers professional development and test preparation workshops to enhance your credentials and build the skills you need to be successful.
Family Development Center
FDC team member watching kids play on playground
The Family Development Center provides university-quality programs for children and their parents including infant/toddler care, pre-kindergarten programs, after-school and evening care, as well as parent education programs.
Community Health
The Community Counseling Services Lab at Governors State University was created to train counselors and to serve the community. The Lab provides multifaceted services for individuals, couples, families and groups.
Psychology and Counseling Research Lab
The Psychology & Counseling Research Lab at Governors State University is dedicated to educating and training students in the research process. The labs produce multifaceted research to increase knowledge in various fields with applied relevance for researchers, students, the community, and our world.
Literacy Zone
The Literacy Zone in the College of Education and Human Development offers evidence-based literacy support to nearby communities, delivered by School Psychology graduate students under the supervision of licensed faculty.
CEHD Student Outcomes
The College of Education and Human Development at Governors State University prepares students to become impactful educators, counselors, leaders, and advocates who make a difference in schools, communities, and beyond. Through hands-on learning, field experiences, and career-focused programs, CEHD students graduate with the knowledge, confidence, and professional skills needed to thrive in high-demand careers while helping shape a stronger future for the communities they serve.
About CEHD
The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) has two academic divisions, the Division of Education and Leadership (DEL) and the Division of Psychology and Counseling (P&C).
It is also home to the Family Development Center (FDC), Community Counseling Services, the Psychology and Counseling Research Lab, and the Lit Zone.
Mission
The College of Education and Human Development prepares its students to be reflective lifelong learners; advocates for diversity and social justice; and engaged, effective, transformative educators and mental health professionals.
Vision
The College of Education and Human Development will be a recognized regional leader in the preparation and ongoing development of educators and mental health professionals. The College will be especially acclaimed for its leadership in the following areas:
- Performance-based assessment practices.
- Field-based and clinical practice.
- Evidence-based process improvement.
- Achievements in teaching, scholarship, research, and service.
Core Values
- Education sustains democracy.
- Education provides powers of concentration and worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.
- Education is a life-long journey worth the effort.
- It is our professional responsibility to create and maintain a learning environment that builds up the human spirit, both socially and intellectually.
- We remake the world when we share our intellectual ideals, model ethical standards, embrace human diversity, and engage in civil and professional service.
The Professional Education Unit
The professional education unit seeks to offer the highest quality academic programs, balancing innovation and best practice, to meet the needs of lifelong learners. The faculty, staff and administration are committed to seeking and maintaining national accreditation of the unit and its programs, enhancing existing programs as well as creating new programs including doctoral studies. We integrate the wide-spread use of technology into curricula, content and modes of instruction. Together, we foster an understanding and appreciation of the significance of human diversity in ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender and learning styles.
Conceptual Framework
Reasoned eclecticism, the harmonizing element in all the unit's activities, emerges from the unit's emphasis on the development of competent practitioners who operate at high cognitive levels, and who attend primarily to application and testing of knowledge (rather than to theoretical orthodoxy.)
Increasing attention on performance assessment asks teacher educators to redirect their focus from the theoretical into the teaching/learning environment where theory and practice meet. The unit believes that reasoned eclecticism produces desirable results and outcomes more frequently than any single, more purely theoretical approach.
A vital characteristic of the successful reasoned eclectic practitioner is a high level of cognitive development and operation. The unit is committed to moving candidates from lower pre-conventional levels of cognitive complexity to higher post-conventional cognitive levels in order to optimize their application of reasoned eclecticism. Graduates at higher stages have the knowledge, skills and dispositions to change the learning environment in accord with the diverse needs of diverse students.
The professional education unit is dedicated to the development of knowledge, skills and professional dispositions of GovState candidates through reflective analysis and guided inquiry to optimize student learning.
Summary of Candidate/Graduate Outcomes
The Educator Preparation Program prides itself on preparing excellent educators to serve our schools and communities. Whether as a classroom teacher, school service personnel or administrator, the success of our candidates impacts the world around us.
Visit the Illinois Educator Preparation Profiles available for the following initial licensure programs:
- Early Childhood Education
- Elementary Education
- Secondary Education, English Language Arts
- Secondary Education, Mathematics
- Secondary Education, Biology
- Secondary Education, Chemistry
- Learning Behavior Specialist I (LBS I), Multicategorical Special Education
Please click here to see the First-Year Teacher Administrator Feedback Survey Report, Three-Year Trends.
School District Partners
GovState places candidates in cities, suburbs and rural communities throughout the region. Click here for a list of host sites and partner districts.
Accreditation
We deliver programs held to rigorous standards backed by accreditation.
The College of Education and Human Development has two major, nationally recognized accrediting bodies for their programs – the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and the Council for the Accreditation of Education (CAEP).
CEHD Resources
CEHD Magazine Fall 2025
Read the College of Education & Human Development fall 2025 Magazine.
CEHD Academic Advisors
The College of Education and Human Development provides professional academic advisors to serve the needs of all of its candidates.
Early Childhood Education Scholarships
Governors State University's Early Childhood Teacher Workforce program gives you the academic, financial, and professional support you need to earn your degree and become a licensed teacher.
Contact Us
- College of Education and Human Development
- Office: G258 1 University Parkway University Park, IL 60484-0975
- 708-534-4050
- cehd@govst.edu