Engaged Students

Internship, fieldwork, student teaching, and service-learning experiences give Springfield College students the practical experience and confidence to be immediately productive in their chosen fields.  And, they often lead to job offers.  This value-added experience begins as early as the freshman year.  The college maintains relationships with businesses, not-for-profit organizations, public and private agencies, and schools.  A few of the sites have been the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, American Hockey League, Boston Globe, YMCAs, American Heart Association, MassMutual, Children's Hospital, Hilton Head Crowne Plaza, Reebok Health and Fitness Center, Baystate Medical Center, parks and recreation departments, human and social services systems, healthcare facilities, and many other venues. 

Community service is another way in which students augment classroom learning, and it has the additional benefit of meeting important human needs.  Collectively, students contribute more than 150,000 service hours each year.  For school children, they tutor, mentor and conduct programs in leadership development and college access.  For nonprofits, they recruit volunteers and perform other services that increase the capacity of the organization to serve clients.  In senior citizens' facilities, they provide health services and conduct activities.  For family services organizations, they provide counseling and case management.

For many students, studying abroad is a highlight of their college years, blending subject learning with in-depth experiences in other cultures and languages.  Springfield College offers programs in Australia, China, England, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland and Spain.  Summer internships are available in Dublin and London.  Additionally, some of the college's service organizations offer international or domestic service missions during semester breaks. 

Locally, students may take courses at several cooperating colleges.  And, some Springfield College graduate courses allow undergraduates to enroll. 

Enriching students' development is a wide array of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities including more than 100 organizations and opportunities for involvement.

There are on-campus guest lectures by experts in their fields and a rich array of arts and cultural programs.

The college offers many health and wellness programs, an extensive campus recreation program and one of the largest athletics programs in the nation for a mid-sized college.  More than 80 percent of undergraduates participate in some form of athletics, including varsity teams, intramurals, or club sports.

Great Teaching

Springfield College faculty members are experts.  And, they are seriously involved in students' success.  Many are nationally or internationally recognized authorities and practitioners in their clinical or professional fields.  Most faculty members hold the highest academic degrees and other certifications in their areas of expertise.  With a student-to-faculty ratio of 14:1, Springfield College offers small classes and personal attention.

Academic programs equip students with the latest knowledge and skills to become leaders in some of the fastest-growing careers.  Springfield College schools are:  Health, Physical Education and Recreation; Health Sciences and Rehabilitation Studies; Human Services; Social Work; and Arts, Sciences and Professional Studies.  The most popular majors are physical therapy, applied exercise science, physical education, physician assistant, sport management, sports biology, and psychology.

For qualified premedical students, the college has agreements with several medical schools and one dental school, which guarantee early acceptance.  The Pre-Medical Scholars Program advises and assists these students.

Springfield College is a designated as a Premier Leadership Development Center by the YMCA of the USA.  For students with their sights on YMCA careers, there is the Springfield College YMCA Professional Studies Program.  The college helps these students gain internships and summer employment at YMCAs and travel to YMCAs in the U.S. and abroad.

There are several dual-degree programs.  The physical therapy six-and-a-half year program culminates in a doctor of physical therapy degree.  The physician assistant five-year program culminates in a master's degree.  The athletic training/physical therapy seven-year program culminates in a doctor of physical therapy degree.  The master of social work/juris doctorate is a four-year program in conjunction with Western New England University School of Law. 

Two new bachelor's degree programs prepare future teachers for dual licensure. As elementary school children with disabilities are educated in the same classrooms as children without disabilities, the college has launched a bachelor's degree program to prepare future teachers to be dual-licensed for both elementary and special education. And, the movement and sport studies major offers a program for physical education and health education teacher licensure. Students who graduate from this program will be certified to teach elementary and secondary physical education, and elementary and secondary health education.

Outstanding facilities - some of them award-winning - support academics.  Several new and newly renovated buildings feature state-of-the-art equipment and functional design.  For example, the new Athletic Training/Exercise Science facility has been cited as one of the finest facilities of its kind in the nation.  Schoo-Bemis Hall was recently renovated into an up to date science teaching facility.  Fuller Arts Center has been remodeled.  Hickory Hall has been renovated into the college's premier technology-enhanced classroom building.

The Academic Success Center provides free one-on-one support in writing, subject-area tutoring and study skills counseling, and also assists students with disabilities.

The School of Human Services, with campuses in 11 U.S. locations, offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in human services on weekends for working adults.

Vibrant Community

Springfield College campus is alive with cultural and arts events, presentations by leaders in their fields, a wide array of student organizations and a vigorous schedule of sports and athletic events, mostly by the college's 26 men's and women's varsity teams.  The campus is also the site of national collegiate championships, and annually hosts the Spalding Hoophall Classic featuring many of the nation's top high school basketball teams.

Humanics in Action Day is a campus tradition for which the college suspends classes and operates offices with reduced staffing for a day of community service.  The event is in addition to ongoing community service programs.

Arts Events:

• Concerts by acclaimed professional musicians and student musicians, including the SC band
• Theater productions by professional acting companies, comedians, other performers and students
• Readings by noted authors
• Dance concerts featuring renowned guest artists and students
• Fine arts exhibitions by professional artists and students in the full range of media
• Film festivals
• The Best of Broadway student production
• The annual Gymnastics Exhibition Show

Annual scholarly lectures by experts in their fields attract students and professionals from throughout the region.

• The Greene Lecture (physical therapy)
• The Karpovich Lecture (physical education, exercise physiology and other sport and exercise sciences)
• The Weckwerth Lecture (sport management and recreation)
• The Britton C. and Lucille McCabe Lecture (health and biological sciences)
• The Annual Humanics Lecture (by the year's Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics)

Student organizations:

Governing Bodies:
Student Government Association
Class Boards
Graduate Student Organization

Academic-interest Student Organizations:
Applied Exercise Science Club
Athletic Training Club
Criminal Justice Club
Education Club
Physical Education Health Education Majors Club
Physician Assistant Student Organization
Pre-medical Scholars
Psychology Club
Society for the Advancement of Management
Sport Management Club
Student Occupational Therapy Organization
Student Physical Therapy Organization
Therapeutic Recreation Club
YMCA Club

Special Interest Student Organizations:
Best Buddies
Environmental Club
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Habitat for Humanity
International Student Organization
Men's Center
Pride Alliance (GLBTQ Alliance)
Pride Dance Team
SC Glee Club
SC Hillel
SC Outing Club
Springfield College Outreach Committee
Springfield College Service Corps
Student Society for Bridging Differences
Students Against Violence Everywhere

Special Events Organizations:
Best of Broadway
Campus Activities Board
Leadership Training Conference
Pre-camp
SC Backstage
Sti-Yu-Ka (Spring Week)

Student Media and Publications:
Springfield Student - Campus Student Newspaper
Massasoit Yearbook
WSCB 89.9 FM Radio

Successful Outcomes

The successes of Springfield College graduates speak for themselves.  Worldwide, Springfield College alumni hold leadership positions, are engaged in meaningful careers, and conduct personal lives that improve conditions for others.  Springfield College graduates are highly sought by employers.  The college's alumni form a valuable network excellent for connecting graduates with career opportunities.  Some success stories are:

• Every graduate from the Pre-Medical Scholars Program has successfully completed medical studies, and many have gone on to positions in some of the nation's most prestigious research and teaching hospitals.

• In the 2004 World Series, head athletic trainers for both the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals were Springfield College graduates.  Other graduates hold similar positions for other major league sports teams and also collegiate and scholastic teams, including those at some of the nation's most prestigious institutions.

• Teacher of the year awards deck the walls of many graduates of Springfield College teacher preparation programs.

• In the Physician Assistant Program, all graduates of four of the past five classes passed the national certifying examination on the first try - a rare feat.  Physician assistant graduates usually have multiple job offers before graduation.

• It has been said that any professional association convention in the discipline of physical education resembles a Springfield College reunion.  The college has an international reputation for setting the bar for excellence and innovation in that field.

• As athletic coaches, Springfield College graduates have held positions with such major league teams as the St. Louis Rams, Seattle Storm, New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers and others, and with various U.S. Olympic teams, including gold-medal winners.  At the collegiate level, they have coached teams at Harvard University, Dartmouth College, the University of Connecticut, and many other institutions, and have also coached hundreds of scholastic and little-league teams.

• Throughout the YMCA worldwide, many Springfield College graduates are presidents, or chief executive officers, or are in other senior leadership positions.  Countless more hold responsible managerial positions.

• In sports management, Springfield College graduates have held top positions with major league teams.  They have been athletic directors for colleges and universities including some of the nation's most prestigious, as well as for numerous schools.  They have held managerial positions at major sports venues.  They have managed the careers of professional athletes.