Educational Foundations and Policy
The Educational Foundations and Policy concentration offers the opportunity to engage a diverse community of doctoral students and faculty members in reimagining education as a central component of the transformation needed to create more inclusive and just societies.
In this program, we offer students a wealth of opportunities:
- Participate in a trans-disciplinary course of study that integrates philosophical, historical, sociological, cultural, anthropological, organizational, political, and psychological perspectives.
- Examine diversity, structured inequality, and equity as matters central to the past, present, and future of education.
- Explore ways researchers, policy makers, leaders, and reformers can collaborate with practicing educators to transform schools and society.
The foundation for this work is preparation in multiple, complementary theoretical and methodological traditions that support both critical and practical educational research and scholarship.
Human diversity encompasses differences related to individuals' and groups' experiences, meaning making, and identities; and thus, their learning assets, needs, opportunities, and challenges. This program stresses the importance of educators and other professionals appreciating, responding to, and learning from diversity in a way that fosters educational equity.
Equity encompasses providing high quality education to all students. Equity-oriented work requires a sophisticated understanding of extant social and structured inequalities, and the historical processes that created them. This program emphasizes understanding inequality both in terms of educational outcomes and how inequality can be structured into sense-making, relationships, and systems. We examine how inequities can be inadvertently reproduced or intentionally challenged and overcome via educational practices, policies, discourses, and approaches to inquiry.
- Engage in a critical analysis of educational issues by considering power differentials, relationships, sociocultural contexts and outcomes, and issues of privilege, marginalization, and agency.
- Examine educational issues across micro, meso, and macro contexts, and in local, national, and international settings.
- Explore transformative possibilities for change and develop specific recommendations for educational improvement.
Learning Experience Design Certificate
Requirements
The concentration offers flexibility in planning your doctoral study and supports transdisciplinary learning by encouraging election of University courses outside of Education. You might choose relevant courses in programs such as the Ross School of Business, the Ford School of Public Policy, the School of Social Work, the Institute for Social Research; also, in the philosophy, history, political science, sociology, anthropology, Afro-American and African Studies departments; and, in Latina/o Studies.
Core credits
Students complete the following courses:
- EDUC 790 – Foundations of Schooling (3 credits)
- EDUC 791 – Foundations of Teaching & Learning (3 credits)
- EDUC 792 – Methods of Educational Research: Qualitative (3 credits)
- EDUC 793 – Introduction to Quantitative Methods in Educational Research (3 credits)
- EDUC 898 – Professional Development Seminar (1 credit); need 4 credits total
- An advanced research methods course (3 credits)
Concentration credits
Students choose from the following courses:
- EDUC 641 – History of American Education (3 credits)
- EDUC 642 – Philosophy and Politics of Education (3 credits)
- EDUC 643 – Sociology of Education (3 credits)
- EDUC 644 – Comparative and International Education (3 credits)
- EDUC 645 – Education and Cultural Studies (3 credits)
- EDUC 646 – Educational Policy Analysis (3 credits)
- EDUC 768 – Economics and Education (3 credits)
- EDUC 895 – Logic of Inquiry (3 credits)
Elective credits
EDUC 747 – Special Topics and EDUC 847 – Advanced Study courses may be student-initiated electives.
Cognate credits
Cognates are defined as graduate, non-Education courses. Cross-listed, meet-together courses with Education can be elected to fulfill the cognate requirement. With advisor approval, students may choose Higher Education courses.
Apprenticeship credits
Students complete a minimum of one and up to three credits in each of the following apprenticeships:
- EDUC 789 – Research Apprenticeship
- Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) Position or Apprenticeship to Faculty Member
- EDUC 798 – Teaching Apprenticeship
- Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Position or Apprenticeship to Faculty Member
- Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Position or Apprenticeship to Faculty Member
Preliminary exam credits
Students complete a minimum of one and up to three credits in each of the following courses:
- EDUC 991 – Prelims Part A (1 credit minimum) (may be elected more than once)
- EDUC 992 – Prelims Part B (1 credit minimum) (may be elected more than once)
Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

Prospective Students
Associated Faculty
Connect with ES
Contact
Phone: (734) 763-9497
Master's: edstudiesma.info@umich.edu
Doctoral: edstudiesphd.info@umich.edu
Location
610 E. University Avenue
Room 4218
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259
Office Hours
Monday–Friday
8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Application Deadline
Educational Studies is suspending admissions to its PhD program for the fall of 2021. We are doing this to ensure that we can continue to provide the support needed by our current students at this uncertain time. However, we are engaged in an exciting redesign of our PhD program and look forward to welcoming your applications in the fall of 2021 for the fall of 2022. Please check in (at this site) for updates regarding our redesign efforts.
Quick Facts
GRE general exam required
Yes
Financial aid available
Yes
Applications for part time students
No
Starting term
Fall term only
Connect with ES
Contact
Phone: (734) 763-9497
Master's: edstudiesma.info@umich.edu
Doctoral: edstudiesphd.info@umich.edu
Location
610 E. University Avenue
Room 4218
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259
Office Hours
Monday–Friday
8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Careers
100%
100%
$61K
Graduates typically go into these industries
- Educational foundations and policy
- Educational leadership
- Mathematics education
- Teaching and teacher education
Graduates often work as
- Education Consultant
- Director of Research
- Professor
- Research Design Specialist
- Research Investigator
- Research Specialist
Recent job titles include
- Associate Director of Education Research
- Chief of Research
- Clinical Professor
- Deputy Director
- Director of Enrollment Research and Data Management
- Director of Mathematics Learning Center
- Instructional Consultant
- Principal Researcher
- Research Scientist
Internships
Although no internship is required, students must satisfy the apprenticeship requirement by completing a minimum of one and up to three credits in each of the following apprenticeships:
- EDUC 789 – Research Apprenticeship
- Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Position or Apprenticeship to Faculty Member
- EDUC 798 – Teaching Apprenticeship
- Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) Position or Apprenticeship to Faculty Member