Courses
Program of Studies Forms
- For students who entered the Policy Studies program prior to Fall 2004: click here
- For students who entered the Policy Studies program in Fall 2004 or thereafter: click here
Earlier Inquiry,Qualifying Exams and Candidacy
- Guidelines of Early Inquiry or Professional Development
- Options of Qualifying Examination
- Guidelines of Qualifying Exams and Candidacy
The following coursework requirement is for students entering the program in the Fall semester of 2004 or thereafter. Students entering the program before the fall semester of 2004, please click here .
I. Major (36 credits)
A. Policy core - 18 hours
Two courses from:
- H504 History of American Education
- H510 Methodology of Educational Inquiry
- H525 Anthropology of Education
- H540 Sociology of Education
- A560 Political Perspectives of Education
- H560 Education and Change in Societies
- H631 Social and Political Philosophy and Education
- H637 Topical Seminar: Appropriate Topic
The courses in the core are designed to provide students with a knowledge of the basic concepts and methods of policy study. H620, Seminar in Education Policy Studies, concentrates on policy formulation and analysis. The H622 seminar, Issues in Education Policy, concentrates on policy implementation and political issues that affect contemporary policy making. A630, Economic Dimensions of Education, gives students an understanding of economic modes of analyzing and justifying education policy. The Policy Research Seminar provides an opportunity during the student’s first three semesters in the program to learn about the current policy work of the Policy faculty and other students and to consider contemporary controversies in the field.
B. Policy Context - 12 credits
These courses provide students with an understanding of the particular institutions that make and are affected by education policy. Students will select one of the following three concentrations (courses are recommended; others may be substituted with the consent of the student’s Advisory Committee):
Higher Education Concentration
- A653 Organizational Context of Education
- C654 Higher Education in the US
- C665 Higher Education Administration
- C670 Problems in Financing Higher Education
- C695 Academic Problems in Higher Education
- C705 Legal Aspects of Higher Education
- C750 Topical Seminar
- C760 Internship in Administration
Educational Leadership Concentration
- A608 Legal Perspectives on Education
- A653 Organizational Context of Education
- A670 Topical Seminar
International and Comparative Education Concentration
- H551 Comparative Education I
- H552 Comparative Education II
- H590 Individual Inquiry
- H637 Topical Seminar - Appropriate Topic
The following courses may be taken for credit in any of the concentration areas:
- H551 Comparative Education I
- C655 Higher Education and Public Policy
- A653 Organizational Context of Education
C. Inquiry in the Major - 6 credits
Directed Research: one course from:
- H/A/C590 Individual Inquiry
- C760 Internship in Administration
- A695 Practicum in School Administration
Linkage Course: one course from:
- H750 Inquiry Seminar
- H/A/C590 (3 cr) Individual Inquiry (for proposal preparation)
- C788 Seminar in Research in Higher Education
II. Inquiry -- 12 credits
Students should develop a familiarity with a broad range of qualitative and quantitative inquiry skills and understand the epistemological underpinnings of different research approaches. These requirements are designed to enable students to acquire this broad understanding of inquiry required in policy studies and the specific skills relevant to the dissertation. In addition, students will be encouraged to take appropriate methodological courses from throughout the University in their minors or as electives.
Either
- H510 Methodology of Educational Inquiry or
- Y520 Strategies of Educational Inquiry or
- Y521 Methodological Approaches to Educational Inquiry
Either
- Y502 Intermediate Statistics Applied to Education or
- Other approved beginning/intermediate course in quantitative analysis (e.g., PSY P553, SPEA V507)
Either
- Y611 Qualitative Inquiry in Education or
- Y612 Critical Qualitative Inquiry I (for students who plan to take Y613 as their additional inquiry course) or
- Other approved beginning/intermediate course in qualitative analysis (e.g., SOC S659)
One approved intermediate/advanced research methods course appropriate to the planned dissertation (e.g., Y604, Y613, Y635, Y750, H601, PSY P654, BUS K605), with advisor approval
III. Minor -- 12 credits
The concepts and strategies of policy studies are drawn from the full range of social sciences, humanities and professional studies. The purpose of the minor is to permit students to acquire a basic knowledge of one such discipline at the graduate level. The minor must consist of a coherent sequence of courses in a field outside the School of Education; fields most likely to be chosen for the minor include sociology, anthropology, economics, philosophy, political science, history, and public and environmental affairs.
IV. Electives -- 15 credits
The multidisciplinary nature of policy studies and the potentially broad range of students' research interests and career plans imply a need for flexibility in students' programs of studies. The program, therefore, enables students to tailor their electives in consultation with their Advisory Committees. Electives may be taken in fields inside or outside the School of Education.
V. Dissertation -- 15 semester hours
- A/C/H795 Dissertation Proposal Preparation
- H/A/C799 (12 cr) Doctoral Thesis