Educational Studies Major

Courses are designed for liberal arts students interested in studying the problems and prospects of education, the nature and function of educational inquiry, the processes and outcomes of educational practices, the role of educational theory in school practice, and the relation of educational institutions to other social institutions. In these courses students are exposed to a variety of methodologies and perspectives.

Major Requirements

Students are encouraged to take one 200-level course before the end of their sophomore year. Students may count up to one independent study course for major credit.

Students take nine courses in the department, which include the following requirements:

Required Courses

• EDUC 101 - The American School (completed by the end of the sophomore year)
• EDUC 226 - Uses and Abuses of Educational Research (recommended to be completed by the end of the sophomore year)

Pedagogy and Praxis Designation

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of EDPP in the course offerings.

One of the following:

• EDUC 202 - The Teaching of Reading
• EDUC 204 - Child and Adolescent Development
• EDUC 207 - Inclusive and Anti-Ableist Education
• EDUC 214 - Theories of Teaching and Learning
• EDUC 231 - Inquiry Based Teaching in the Schools
• EDUC 315 - Pedagogies and Publics
• EDUC 321 - Critical Psychological Perspectives on Learner Differences
• /   

Electives

• Five additional courses, selected by the student in close conversation with their adviser, choose the courses that facilitate both breadth and depth within the field of educational studies

Senior Seminar Capstone

• One 400-level seminar

GPA Requirement

A minimum GPA of 2.00 is required for the nine courses that are counted for major credit. All courses taken for the major are counted in the GPA.

Honors and High Honors

Students may opt to write a Senior Thesis in Educational Studies in the Senior Thesis Seminar . 

Students are required to defend their thesis. The defense will normally take place during the last week of classes in the spring semester. This involves a formal presentation of the thesis. The entire Department of Educational Studies faculty will attend the defense and provide input to the Thesis Seminar professor and the faculty adviser.  

The designation of 'honors," "high honors," or neither will be determined by the Thesis Seminar professor, the faculty adviser, and any assigned reader. Students with an overall GPA of 3.30 and a departmental GPA of 3.50 will be considered for graduation with honors in Educational Studies.

An award of "high honors" is only awarded to work that shows exceptional scholarly insight and innovation. An honors project must bring something new into the world—it must teach us something or consider a particular question in a new light. In order to do this well, students will need to clearly articulate what the field of Educational Studies is and how their project is situated within our modes of inquiry/knowledge production.

Educational Studies Department

For more information about the department, including Faculty, transfer credit, awards, etc., please visit the  catalog page.