Department of Education

Education Studies Concentration

Actively investigate complex issues of learning, opportunity, and equity in real educational contexts.

Explore the multifaceted role of education in society and human development. Our rigorous, multidisciplinary concentration empowers undergraduates to analyze and address complex issues of opportunity and equity in real-world educational settings.

You'll actively apply theory to the critical areas of education policy, practice, and learning. Our courses, from introductory to advanced, examine how education can both foster and hinder equity and social justice. They also critically examine "what works" in education, including the policies, practices, and interventions that improve and equalize education. Working closely with faculty experts from fields like anthropology, economics, and sociology, you'll develop analytical skills and theoretical frameworks to understand education's complexities at different scales, from individual experiences to structures and systems that help to address the most important issues in education. 

Your Path After Graduation

This concentration provides a strong liberal arts foundation for graduate studies and prepares you to be a change agent in diverse fields, including:

  • Teaching
  • Advocacy
  • Counseling
  • Education Technology
  • Law
  • Policy & Politics
  • Research
  • Leadership in educational organizations 

Consider our fifth-year Master of Arts in Teaching program for teaching certification or our fifth-year Urban Education Policy program for hands-on experience in research and policy.

Concentration Requirements

At least 10 courses

1. Core Courses (3)

  • EDUC 300 – Introduction to Education and Society: Foundations of Opportunity and Inequality
  • EDUC 750 – Evidence and Methods in Education Research
  • EDUC 1900 – Senior Seminar (includes a capstone project) 

2. Specialization (4 courses) 

Develop a focused area of study (e.g., Education Policy Analysis, Child Development, immigration and education, inequality and education) with advisor approval. Courses can be within or outside the Education Department.

3. Electives (3 courses)

Choose additional courses related to education and your specialization. Courses can be within or outside the Education Department.

4. Experiential requirement

Connect classroom learning to real-world practice through a hands-on experience and reflection. Find more information on the experiential component here

No more than 3 classes of the 10 total may be from outside the Education Department.

Ready to learn more? Contact the Education Department.