Educational Policy Studies

Department Head: James D. Anderson
360 Education Building
1310 South Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820-6990
(217) 333-2446
Fax: (217) 244-7064
althaus@uiuc.edu

Graduate Degree Programs

The Department of Educational Policy Studies offers graduate programs for preparing scholars, teachers, and educational policy analysts. The programs provide a basis for informed analysis and evaluation of educational theory, practice, and policy within the intellectual and empirical contexts of history, philosophy, and the social sciences.

The department is composed of four divisions: (1) History of Education, (2) Philosophy of Education, (3) Cultural Studies and Social Sciences, and (4) Global Studies. In addition, the department offers an educational policy analysis program and work in educational aesthetics and social foundations, which draw upon the resources of the entire Department of Educational Policy Studies and also of other departments in the College of Education and the University. Students in these programs are trained for careers in academic institutions and in educational agencies at state, federal, and international levels.

Admission

While it is useful for students to have had preparation in the humanities or social sciences, students are accepted from a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate backgrounds. The quality of previous academic work is more important than its particular emphasis.

Applicants must submit a complete application for admission including three letters of reference and official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work. Students may be considered for admission if they are (1) graduates of an institution awarding a baccalaureate or equivalent degree comparable to that of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the master's programs, or hold a master's degree in education or a related field from an institution comparable to Illinois for the Certificate of Advanced Study and doctoral programs; (2) adequately prepared for advanced study as demonstrated by previous experience, personal qualifications, and scholastic records; and (3) recommended by the proposed department of study. In general, a 3.0 grade point average (A = 4.0) for the last 60 hours of the undergraduate program and for any previous graduate work is a minimum requirement for admission. The Graduate College admission requirements apply.

No test scores are required from applicants for Educational Policy Studies. A minimum paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 590 (243 on the computer-based test) is required.

Financial Aid

Doctoral programs have limited teaching and research assistantships available. Some fellowships and tuition and service fee waivers are also available. In the past a majority of doctoral students have received some form of financial aid during their period of study.