MA in Education Core Courses

Courses Offered This Semester

Each semester, there are a variety of courses offered from the different concentrations of the MA in Education. The link below provides details about these.

Spring 2025 Master's Degree in Education Classes

Core Courses

There are 18 units of core coursework taken by all students in the MA in Education program. These are offered on a regular rotation, as specified below. Core courses are always offered on Thursday evenings.

Fall

EDMS 570  The Reflective Educator

Through a social justice lens, students will critically examine philosophical, historical, and sociocultural perspectives that have informed schooling in the United States. Students will reflect on their personal and professional experiences in education in light of these larger conceptual frameworks in order to examine assumptions about the purposes and practices of schooling. Overarching themes throughout the course include the role of schooling in a democratic society, how schools as institutions both maintain and disrupt inequities, and what it means to be an educator who challenges oppression.

EDSP 571  Research Paradigms

This course focuses on becoming a critical consumer of research and includes among its goals the development of skills in the analysis and critique of educational research. The course serves to acquaint students with basic principles and techniques of educational research. It also provides students with an opportunity to integrate knowledge of these principles through analyses of action research projects that may serve as the foundation for the culminating master of arts degree project.

Spring

EDCT 574  Theories & Research in Teaching for Social Justice

This course focuses specifically on how educators can address systems of oppression within educational settings and work to ameliorate the concomitant inequities experienced by the students with whom they work. Educators will examine how racism, patriarchy, ableism, heterosexism, ethnocentrism, and linguistic privilege operate in schools and society through critical analysis of the theories and research related to teaching for social justice. Students will grapple with the myriad definitions of what counts as teaching for social justice as well as investigate the practical application of these theories and research to educational practices.

EDCT 575  Learning and Assessment in Education

This required core course provides an overview of various perspectives on learning and assessment in educational settings. Students will be introduced to the intersections among culture, cognition, and context as they critically analyze the design and uses of educational assessments. Students will also examine issues of equity and justice in assessment and their implementations for educational policy and practice.