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Explore Degrees

MINOR

Education for Empowerment

Overview & Requirements
Pathways
Class Schedule
Declare

The Education for Empowerment minor is designed for students interested in examining the critical role of education in building our individual and collective capacity to advance the aims of justice and democracy in society.

Students will explore questions such as the following:

  • What is the relationship, historically and today, between education and power?
  • How do individuals, communities, organizations, and societies leverage teaching and learning as tools for social change and social movement?
  • Beyond schools and classrooms, what are the sites of educational and youth work that offer opportunities to advance justice, in the United States and around the world?
  • How might we develop our imagination for humanizing educational spaces—both within and beyond schools—that recognize everyday people’s power in the ongoing struggle for justice?

Requirements

Total Credit Hours Required
15

Foundation credits

3

Students select one course designated as a foundation course within desired pathway. 

Elective credits

12

Students select at least two (2) courses from their desired pathway.

Class Schedule

Term Sort descending Class Title Instructor
Spring 2026 EDUC 330-101
ED Empwrmt Internshp Kendra Hearn
Fall 2026 EDUC 118-001
Schooling in a Multicultural Society Jungsoo Ahn
Fall 2026 EDUC 118-002
Schooling in a Multicultural Society Deborah Ball
Fall 2026 EDUC 200-001
Learn for Social Chg Thomas Drake
Fall 2026 EDUC 219-001
Education Policy in a Multicultural Society Erika Davis
Fall 2026 EDUC 308-001
Creating Arts Access in Community: Empowering Others through Learning in Informal Spaces Katie Robertson, Vicki Shaw, Grace VanderVliet
Fall 2026 EDUC 311-001
Educational Policy, Inquiry, and Advocacy Michaela O'Neill
Fall 2026 EDUC 312-001
Hist College Athlet Gregory Dooley
Fall 2026 EDUC 315-001
Equity and Empowerment Brian Lampman
Fall 2026 EDUC 316-001
Sport, Education and Social Justice: Leading and Coaching for Transformation Brian Lampman
Fall 2026 EDUC 327-001
Climate Justice Education and Action Angie Calabrese Barton
Fall 2026 EDUC 330-001
ED Empwrmt Internshp Kendra Hearn
Fall 2026 EDUC 333-001
Video Games&Learning Phill Cameron
Fall 2026 EDUC 335-001
Education and Equity in Name, Image and Likeness in College Athletics Greg Dooley
Fall 2026 EDUC 336-001
How to Thrive in a World of Intelligent Machines Kevin Miller
Fall 2026 EDUC 341-001
Leading and Coaching Gregory Dooley
Fall 2026 EDUC 343-001
Race Frameworks in Education Erika Davis
Fall 2026 EDUC 359-001
Growing up in School - Education and Development from a Global Perspective Kevin Miller
Fall 2026 EDUC 360-001
Partners in Authentic Learning in Schools Ha Bui, Matt Diemer
Fall 2026 EDUC 375-001
Wellness for Learning, Teaching, Coaching, and Leadership Brian Lampman
Fall 2026 EDUC 383-001
Introduction to Education Research Methods Pat Herbst
Fall 2026 EDUC 399-001
Learning in Schools, Community, and Everyday Life Natalie Davis
Fall 2026 EDUC 480-001
ED Empwrmt Capstone Kendra Hearn

Declare the Minor

To declare the Education for Empowerment minor, students must:

 

Current Policies

Effective Fall 2026

Students interested in completing the Education for Empowerment minor must develop a plan and receive approval in consultation with an academic advisor in the Marsal School. Students must also observe the following policies:

  • Students must declare the minor before graduation
  • Students must earn a GPA of at least 2.0 (C) within each course and in the minor overall
  • Only courses on the approved course list count toward the minor
  • Courses transferred to UM from other institutions do not count toward the minor
  • A maximum of one non-EDUC course may be counted towards the minor
  • A maximum of one course may be shared between the requirements of a minor and a major
  • Courses may count toward only one minor or supplemental studies program
  • Students may change their pathway by submitting the Minor Pathway Change Request Form

Pathways

under construction

AVAILABLE PATHWAYS

Athletics, Education, and Justice in American Culture

Through historical, contemporary, and sociological lenses, this pathway explores the intersections of sport and society to further social justice, emphasizing education for empowerment and sport’s role as a key mechanism for public pedagogy and social transformation. This pathway is for students interested in thinking critically about how sports have shaped and been shaped by institutions, social inequities, and broader struggles for justice in the United States.

CourseDescription
EDUC 118Schooling in a Multicultural Society**
EDUC 219Education Policy in a Multicultural Society**
EDUC 311Educational Policy, Inquiry and Advocacy
EDUC 312The History of College Athletics
EDUC 313Detroit vs. Everybody: Stories, Culture, and Making the Motor City
EDUC 315Equity and Empowerment for Coaching and Leading**
EDUC 316Sport, Education and Social Justice: Leading and Coaching for Transformation
EDUC 335Education and Equity in Name, Image & Likeness in College Athletics
EDUC 343Race Frameworks in Education
EDUC 383Introduction to Education Research Methods 
Foundations courses designated by **