Education Policy

M.S.Ed.           Ph.D.

The Education Policy degree programs offer coursework and research training in education policy research and analysis for individuals interested in careers in academic, governmental, and non-governmental research settings. The program prepares students to apply sound analytical techniques to the design and evaluation of education and social policy interventions; to conduct rigorous implementation and process evaluations, and; to analyze a wide range of program and policy issues related to the sociology, politics, and the economics of education. In addition to the foundational and research methodology courses, students build a program of study that includes courses in the economics of education, school finance, cost-benefit analysis, policy-making, school organization, and the history of American education reform.

Research training includes multiple methods of inquiry, covers all levels of education from pre-K through higher education, and addresses multiple levels of public policy interests, including state, national and international. Students build their research skills through a combination of research apprenticeships with faculty and courses in quantitative and qualitative research methods. The program covers four essential components associated with effective policy and practice:

  • Implementation of a coherent set of policies and practices;
  • Inclusion of meaningful incentives for individuals and organizations;
  • Development of the capacity of individuals and organizations to institute and sustain necessary changes;
  • Evaluation of the effectiveness of education policies.

 

Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.)

The M.S.Ed. degree in Education Policy requires 10 course units of approved graduate work beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students must satisfy a distributional requirement that demonstrates breadth within the field of education and write a master's research paper in order to complete the degree requirements.

Courses include:

EDUC 544 School and Society in America
EDUC 548 American Education Reform: History, Policy and Practice
EDUC 591 Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis
EDUC 601 Economic Aspects of Education Policy
EDUC 604 Foundations of Urban Education
EDUC 628 Education Finance Policy
EDUC 712 Policymaking in Education

To view GSE course offerings, click here.

 

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The full-time Ph.D. degree program in Education Policy requires a minimum of 23 course units of approved graduate work beyond the baccalaureate degree. Under certain conditions, the program will accept equivalent credit toward the degree for up to eight course units of graduate-level coursework taken prior to enrollment in the degree program. Students must take a set of written examinations and complete a dissertation on a problem in education to complete the course of study.

The Curriculum builds on the M.S.Ed. policy courses, and includes:

EDUC 519 The Evolution of Assessment: Classroom and Policy Uses
EDUC 559 Sociology of Education
EDUC 624 Schools as Organizations
EDUC 638 The American High School
EDUC 646 Education, Culture, and Society
EDUC 660 Qualitative Approaches to Program Evaluation in Urban Schools
EDUC 667 Introductory Statistics for Educational Research
EDUC 672 Introduction to Ethnographic and Qualitative Research in Education

To view GSE course offerings, click here.

 

Program Faculty

Laura Desimone, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Margaret E. Goertz, Ph.D., Syracuse University
Richard M. Ingersoll, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Rebecca A. Maynard, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ruth Curran Neild, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
John L. Puckett, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe, Ph.D., University of Chicago
Jonathan A. Supovitz, Ed.D., Harvard University

For More Information

Karen Carter, Coordinator
Policy, Measurement, and Evaluation Division
Graduate School of Education
3700 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6216
(215) 898-2444
pme@gse.upenn.edu