Education Studies Major

Goals for the Education Studies Major

• Students will engage in and understand the interdisciplinary study of education.
• Students will develop their skills as critical thinkers, analytic writers and skilled researchers through active experiences in course work, independent study, and supervised experiences in the field.
• Students will explore the variety of educational settings where teaching and learning occurs, such as schools, out-of-school settings, families, and communities.
• Through an analysis of past and present school reform efforts, students will examine the various purposes and goals of schooling as well as the role and function of curriculum, teaching, and pedagogy to serve those purposes, including democracy, freedom, and justice.
• Students will examine and understand how contextual factors such as social class, race, immigration, demographic shifts and rural/suburban/urban contexts have influenced educational policies and practices.
• Students will make connections between educational theory and practice while also acknowledging tensions that may occur between educational theory and practice.
• Students will apply their learning in communities of practice such as school classrooms and community agencies, where present educational problems and change efforts can be observed in their full contexts.

Requirements for the Education Studies Major

Students are expected to complete nine units of coursework, six of which must be completed at Wellesley College. The major consists of three primary requirements: education core coursework, a capstone experience, and an additional suite of courses taken within the education department. Supplemental documents to assist students in planning a course of study can be found on the education department website.

Students must complete:

An education core course

Students majoring in education studies must take at least one of the following three core courses. Students can also choose to take more than one core course as part of their fulfillment of the Education Research and Theory course requirement. Students taking multiple core courses may take them in any sequence as none of the core courses have prerequisites. Each course can be a good starting point for a student interested in studying education. One way of illustrating the distinctions between the three core courses is that:

• EDUC 120 provides a foundational understanding of the themes and major issues in education
• EDUC 214 explores the life of the child through family, community, and local context
• EDUC 215 explores schools as sites for understanding and transforming social inequalities

*Prior to the 2024-25 academic year, EDUC 216 was included in the core course grouping. Students who completed EDUC 216 may use the course as a core course. 

An education studies capstone experience

All education studies majors will be required to take a capstone experience, with guidance on the selection from their major advisor. Education capstone courses have a course number designation in the 330s. Students may choose from the following two options and must declare their intentions by the end of their junior year:

• Option 1: One course in the EDUC 330’s sequence: These capstone courses include critical inquiry into educational theory and practice, often include an experiential component, and require the student to develop skills in research and inquiry. Capstone courses are offered each year and vary depending on availability. Some examples of capstone courses include: EDUC 334: Seminar. Ethnography in Education: Race, Migration, and Borders; EDUC 335: Seminar. Urban Education: Equity, Research, and Action; EDUC 336 Theorizing Race in Education through Counternarrative Inquiry; EDUC 339 Seminar: Critical Perspectives, Practice, and Reflection in Teaching and Curriculum (restricted to students in the teacher certification program).
• Option 2: EDUC 360/EDUC 370 (Senior Thesis)

At least four and up to seven additional courses from the list of Education Research and Theory courses.

Students are required to take at least four additional Education Research and Theory courses to complete their major. These courses allow students to establish a foundation in the interdisciplinary study of education and develop an integrated understanding of educational policy, research, and practice.

Students may also select up to three Curriculum and Teaching courses (which focus on teaching methods and offer field-based experiences in classrooms) and/or three Education Electives courses.

Education Research and Theory Courses

Education Electives 

Additional Considerations to the Education Studies Major:

Beyond the requirements described above:

• Advising is a central element of the education studies major. In consultation with an advisor, students will develop a well-structured and coherent course plan. Students may choose, but are not required, to outline an area of concentration, with an advisor’s support, within the major such as education policy, urban education, or bilingual/bicultural education. Given the wide variety in student interest and the diversity in education coursework, there are many possibilities.

• Students must complete a minimum of two 300-level courses taught within the education department. Courses satisfying the 300-level requirement include those on the Education Research and Theory list. These courses may include the capstone seminars, other 300-level education courses, and 360/370 (counting as one course for this purpose).

• Students may take EDUC 250 or 350 (Research or Individual Study), but only one unit of independent study may be counted towards the major. EDUC 350 courses may not be used to fulfill the minimum requirement that two education courses be at the 300-level. 

Honors in Education Studies

The only route to honors in the major is writing a thesis and passing an oral defense of the thesis. To be admitted to the thesis program, a student must have a grade point average of at least 3.5 in all work in the major field above the 100 level; the department may petition on the student’s behalf if the student’s GPA in the major is between 3.0 and 3.5. See Academic Distinctions.

Advanced Placement Policy in Education Studies

Students may not count AP credits toward the fulfillment of the education studies major, education studies minor, or teaching and learning studies minor.