Daniel Coupland
- 312 Lane Hall
- [email protected]
“As a friend once told me, good teaching is the overflow of a full life. In my classes, I therefore try to fill my students’ lives with as much goodness, truth, and beauty as I can.”— Daniel Coupland
Faculty Information
Additional Faculty Information for Daniel Coupland
Education
B.A. in Spanish, Liberty University, 1994
M.A. in Linguistics, Oakland University, 1999
Ph.D. in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy, Michigan State University, 2003
Memberships
Society for Classical Learning
Phi Kappa Phi
Honors
2013 – Hillsdale College “Professor of the Year”
2016 – Resident Scholar at the C. S. Lewis Study Centre in Oxford, England
2017 – Hillsdale College Emily Daugherty Award for Teaching Excellence
Advisor
Barney Charter School Initiative
Institute for Classical Education
Publications
Well-Ordered Language: The Curious Child’s Guide to Grammar by Tammy Peters and Daniel B. Coupland
Scholarship Interests
English Grammar Pedagogy
Classic Children’s Literature
C. S. Lewis
Classical Education – Teacher Preparation
Classical Education – Pedagogy
Courses Taught
EDU 101: English Grammar
EDU 401: Liberal Arts Teacher Apprenticeship
EDU 403: Explicit Phonics Reading Instruction
EDU 404: Classic Children’s Literature
HON 258: Pirates!
HON 259: Return to Narnia
Graduate School of Education
The Graduate School of Classical Education, now offering two master’s degree programs, fills a pressing need in American education for teachers and administrators who have a deep understanding of the principles and practices of classical education—a sound, time-tested course of study that leads students toward intellectual, moral, and civic virtue.
The Hillsdale College Master of Arts Degree in Classical Education is a residential professional program for those who wish to teach in, administer, or found classical schools as well as those who seek to deepen their understanding of the principles and practices of classical education. Like many other graduate, professional degrees, the program does not presume prior
exposure to or formation in classical education or its related disciplines.
The Master of Classical Education Leadership program, a mostly remote option, delivers the foundational and transcendent truths of classical education, paired with training and mentorship programming, to prepare students for successful school leadership.
Regardless of which program best fits an applicant’s needs, we are prepared to offer an extensive, rigorous, and time-tested education rooted in the Western tradition.
Applications for Fall 2026 open on August 15.
Priority Application Deadline is December 15.
Biography
Dr. Daniel B. Coupland is dean of the Diana Davis Spencer Graduate School of Classical Education and a professor of education at Hillsdale College, and he formerly served as the dean of faculty at Hillsdale. He earned a B.A. in Spanish from Liberty University, an M.A. in Linguistics from Oakland University, and a Ph.D. in Education from Michigan State University. He began his career in education as a high school teacher. At Hillsdale College, he teaches courses on English grammar and classic children’s literature. In 2013, Dr. Coupland was named Hillsdale College’s “Professor of the Year.” In 2016, he was a Resident Scholar at the C. S. Lewis Study Centre in Oxford, England. In 2017, Dr. Coupland received the Emily Daugherty Award for Teaching Excellence. He is the former editor for the Journal of the Society for Classical Learning. He currently serves as an advisor to the Barney Charter School Initiative, and he sits on the advisory board for the Institute for Classical Education. His research focuses on classic children’s literature and English grammar instruction. He is a co-author of an English grammar curriculum titled Well-Ordered Language: The Curious Child’s Guide to Grammar published by Classical Academic Press.