World War II brings significant changes on campus. Four hours of physical training are required of all A&M cadets. The Department of Physical Education helps prepare students for combat through physical training courses. Faculty and staff in the newly combined Department of Education and Psychology provide career and vocational counseling for students. A different concept of education is acknowledged through the late 1940s and early 1950s. Administrators, faculty and state leaders begin to understand that producing qualified teachers for high schools leads to the production of better students to fill the departments of A&M College.
Using their G.I. Bill, many Veterans in education roles travel to campus in the summer to complete Master’s degrees. This leads to many institutions and boards of education to recognize the benefit of attaining graduate degrees for those serving in administrative capacities. The early 1960s are a period of intense change across the nation and on campus. Beginning in 1963, women are finally allowed to enroll in limited numbers at A&M College. Many of these women are admitted to the Department of Education and Psychology to complete the required work for teacher certification.
The next year Texas A&M is racially integrated expanding access to education for African American students in the state. As the student population grows, so do programs offered. The department is large enough that it takes over the fourth floor of the Academic Building. G. Rollie White Coliseum is built in 1964 and is heavily utilized by the Department of Health and Physical Education. Informal talk begins of creating a College of Education fueled by the steady growth of the student population and interest in education programs.