Social Foundations of Education, M.S.

Program of Study

Program Degree Requirements
Master of Science in Social Foundations of Education

A. Professional Studies (15)

Social Foundations (select one 3 credit course from the following three):
____EPSF 7100 Critical Pedagogy (3 cr.)
____EPSF 7110 Multicultural Education (3 cr.)
____EPSF 7120 Social and Cultural Foundations in Education (3 cr.)

Educational Research (select one 3 credit course from the following three):
____EPRS 7900 Methods of Research in Education (3 cr.)
____EPRS 7910 Action Research (3 cr.)
____EPRS 7920 Classroom Testing, Grading, and Assessment (3 cr.)

Psychological foundations (select one 3 credit course from the following two):
____EPY 7080 The Psychology of Learning and Learners (3 cr.)
____EPY 7090 The Psychology of Learning and Learners: The Young Child (3 cr.)

For students completing a master’s thesis a minimum of 6 credit hours are required. These hours are usually taken over two semesters (3 cr. + 3 cr.). You will need permission from your thesis chair to register for this course.
____EPS 7990 Master’s Thesis

OR
For students completing a master’s project a minimum of 6 credit hours are required (3 cr. for the masters project and one additional 3 cr. course with the EPSF prefix.)
____EPS 7991 Master’s Project (3 cr.) and
____Select one additional course with the EPSF prefix (3 cr.)

B. Major Five courses (15 cr.) required. Selected from the following list.
Majors may represent the disciplines of history, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and political science and the interdisciplinary field of cultural studies. Courses in other program areas in the Department of Educational Policy Studies or in the college or university may also be appropriate to include as part of the major with approval from the students’ Master’s Thesis or Master’s Project advisory committee.

Select five 3 credit courses (15 credit minimum) from the following list:
• EPSF 7100 Critical Pedagogy (3 cr.)
• EPSF 7110 Multicultural Education (3 cr.)
• EPSF 7120 Social and Cultural Foundations of Education (3 cr.)
• EPSF 7450 Curriculum Foundations for the Educational Leader (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8010 Cultural Studies in Education: Film (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8040 Cultural Studies in Education: Gender (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8260 Sociology of Inner-City Children (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8270 Philosophy of Education (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8280 Anthropology of Education (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8310 Sociology of Education (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8320 Politics and Policy in Education (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8330 Globalization and Education Policy (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8340 History of American Education (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8350 Comparative Educational Systems (3 cr.)
• EPSF 8440 Foundations of Curriculum Development (3 cr.)

C. Electives (6 credits ) The elective requirement is fulfilled by taking a minimum of 6 semester hours chosen from graduate courses in other program areas, departments, and/or colleges in the university. The preference is that students take courses related to their research for their Master’s thesis or project.

Program total: minimum of 36 semester hours

For complete degree requirements, visit the catalog.

Funding Your Graduate Education

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Awards and Assistantships

Various awards, assistantships and fellowships are available to new and current graduate students. We encourage you to contact your department, college, school or institute of interest to get more information about the assistantships and fellowships that they offer their students.

The Scholarship Resource Center offers guidance and support to students seeking financial assistance through scholarship opportunities, including this scholarship library.

Fellowships

The Office of Graduate Programs’ Fellowship Advisor works with students interested in applying for nationally prestigious and competitive fellowships. Cost Calculator

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Social Foundations Program Expectations

The faculty of the Social Foundations master’s program expects that graduating students will:
1. possess a foundation of broad general education based in the major academic disciplines of Social Foundations,
2. understand, respect, and value the multicultural backgrounds and diverse educational needs of students in our schools,
3. understand and apply research to problems effecting educational institutions,
4. identify and evaluate critical educational policy issues,
5. possess the knowledge and skills to assess professional literature, academic studies, and reports and provide a reasonable summary understanding of the findings and likely policy implications,
6. possess basic methodology skills necessary to carry out a successful master’s thesis,
7. use technology to access resources, communicate and collaborate with colleagues, and present information in scholarly situations,
8. demonstrate in writing and oral presentation an ability to interpret, question, reflect upon, and engage with the underlying issues within contemporary educational theory and practice,
9. question the implicit norms assumptions of contemporary schooling.

Ideal Candidate

• Bachelor’s degree from accredited college or university
• Strong background in a social science or liberal arts discipline
• Interest in advancing critical educational polices skills from a social foundations perspective
• Can attend evening classes (fall and spring) and day/evening classes (summer) as a full-time or part-time student

Advisory Committee

• A committee of three faculty members guides each student’s study for the M.S. degree.
• One member of the Social Foundations faculty should be selected as the chair of the committee.
• Students and the chair select two other members for the committee, at least one of who must be a member of the Social Foundations faculty.
• Responsible for planning the program of study and for directing master’s thesis research or master’s projects.

Student Resources

• M.S. Social Foundations of Education Information