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ES

Educational Studies

Building a More Just World Together Through Education

Our goal in Educational Studies is to engage deeply with the enduring challenges and opportunities that confront teachers, children, educational leaders and families in educational systems and organizations. Through critical and interdisciplinary study, in partnership with schools, communities, youth, educators and leaders, we seek to build knowledge and create systems-wide educational change for a more democratic, just and sustainable society and world.

We do so by:

  • Fostering a caring, respectful and humanizing community of engaged scholars and learners.
  • Building capacity to embrace equity and social change, and to disrupt systemic racism, and other systemic injustices, as they take shape in everyday practice and structures, knowing that education and its effects are never neutral.
  • Believing that systems change begins in powerful partnership with and for families, school and community educators, leaders and activists, teacher educators, researchers, and policy makers.
  • Imagining and designing systems, policies, learning environments and practices that contribute to rich, engaging and transformative educational experiences for all learners.

Educational Studies is a leader in cutting-edge research and practice in reforming and transforming educational organizations and systems. As an intellectual community, we are known for cutting edge research and practice in teaching and teacher education across school subjects; critical educational studies; language, literacy and culture; learning across contexts; design and technologies; and educational leadership and policy. We do this work alongside youth, educators, schools, families, and communities, across contexts and lifespans.

We offer many pathways for engaging these areas through complementary research methods and frameworks. Our graduates are leaders in the work and practice of educational transformation, and in the public debate of complex understandings and roles of educational systems and organizations at all levels of society, from the local to the global.

If this is you, we need you here at Michigan!

Degrees & Certifications

The Educational Studies Program offers Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in a variety of concentrations. Our goal is to help you develop the knowledge and skills you need to achieve your particular goals.

Master of Arts in Educational Studies

Our Master of Arts in Educational Studies is designed for students who have a desire to make unique and positive contributions in specific areas of education.

Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy

Our Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy is designed for students who want to improve schools, instruction, and K-12 students’ educational outcomes.

Master of Science in Postsecondary Science Education

Our Master of Science in Postsecondary Science Education is intended for doctoral students interested in expanding their knowledge about science teaching and learning and research in science education.

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies

Our doctoral programs prepare leaders, researchers, policymakers and others who will assess, understand, and advance education both in the U.S. and globally.

In our doctoral programs, all students are encouraged and supported to think rigorously; to understand and appreciate the craft of scholarship and research; to demonstrate interest in and a capacity to make a difference in education; to be committed to diversity; and to aspire to become leaders of the highest integrity.

CONCENTRATIONS

Intellectual Clusters

Intellectual clusters are shared spaces for building community in areas of interest (among students, staff and faculty) through reading groups, seminars, writing groups and social activities among other activities. They also support students in specializing within our programs.

Choose a cluster to see its associated faculty members.

Associate Professor, Marsal Family School of Education
(734) 647-9572
Chair, Educational Studies; Professor, Marsal Family School of Education
(734) 763-9497
Assistant Professor, Marsal Family School of Education
Professor, Marsal Family School of Education
Director, Eileen Lappin Weiser Center for the Learning Sciences; Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar Endowed Professor of the Learning Sciences, Marsal Family School of Education
Clinical Professor, Marsal Family School of Education
(734) 649-2563
Clinical Assistant Professor, Marsal Family School of Education
(734) 763-9497
Associate Professor, Marsal Family School of Education
University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, Marsal Family School of Education
(734) 647-2447

A Learning Community

Educational Studies has an internationally recognized faculty prepared to fuel your curiosity, engage your intellect, and deepen your knowledge about key issues facing education in multiple contexts, including:

  • Equity and social justice in schooling 
  • How people learn and what motivates them to learn 
  • How effective teachers teach the core disciplines, such as reading, mathematics, science, history, and the English language arts
  • How technology and other educational innovations enhance teaching and learning
  • Social and political contexts and the historical and philosophical foundations of schooling 
  • The use of  evidence to shape education policy and public discussions on curriculum, teaching, and achievement

Graduates of our program become engaged in academic and research careers in university programs, research organizations, or public agencies; administrative positions in school systems, educational centers, or national, regional, and state agencies; and in teacher education, professional development and curriculum positions in local and state systems and educational companies and in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Find the right career path

We will help you become an educator, leader, researcher, or policymaker working to address educational challenges and create educational opportunities in your chosen area of practice.

Grow in a diverse community

You will study with students from diverse backgrounds who bring rich experiences and a deep commitment to the study and improvement of teaching and learning.

Study with experts in the field

You will study with nationally recognized faculty who are as committed to teaching and mentorship as they are to contributing leading scholarship in their fields.

Marsal School in Action

Project-based science education
The Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning team designs project-based science curricula for grades 3-5 that will be available to all educators free of charge.
International Poetry Guild
School of Education students, led by professor Jeff Stanzler, connect high schoolers, teachers, and community members through the International Poetry Guild, where learners from varied backgrounds write and perform original work.
SOE_CSHPE_Orientation_017.JPG

Give to ES

Your support can help us create transformative leaders and educators who have the theoretical framework and practical skills to address the many urgent challenges that face U.S. schools.

PEOPLE

Connect with ES

Contact

Phone: (734) 763-9497
Master's: [email protected]
Doctoral: [email protected]

Recruitment

Interested in ES? Schedule an appointment with our recruitment team:

meet.marsal.umich.edu/goblue

Location and Office Hours

610 E. University Avenue
Room 4218 - Educational Studies
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259

Monday–Friday
8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.