The School of Humanities & Sciences at Ithaca College is proud to announce the new Education Studies Minor. This new minor in Education Studies allows undergraduate students to tailor an 18- to 20-credit program to their unique interests, which may include P-12 schooling, higher education, community-based learning initiatives, and more. The sequence includes core courses in educational psychology and the social and cultural foundations of education. Working closely with an advisor from the Education Department, students select at least 11 credits of additional courses from approved options to fulfill the minor. Following initial coursework, in the junior or senior year, students take the Capstone in Education Studies (EDUC 49600), a seminar in which they synthesize key understandings from across their programmatic curriculum. The minor provides academic and practical experience as preparation for employment, for graduate study, or for active participation in civic life. In keeping with the mission and vision of the Education Department of Ithaca College, a focus on education as a vehicle for social justice will be emphasized across the program.
The student learning outcomes (SLOs) for the Education Studies Minor include the following.
- Students will be able to describe developmental and sociocultural contexts that impact education, including how history, institutional practices, and circumstances impact educational equity.
- Students will demonstrate understandings of the historical and present structures of education and the significance of schools as a cultural institution within a larger system of power.
- Students will demonstrate understandings of the developmental stages of children and adolescents, of a variety of models of cognition, and of how each of these can be connected to effective teaching and learning.
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the ways learners’ personal, family, and community assets and cultural norms can be accessed and should be used to foster educational equity.
- Students will know how to share something they have accomplished with others and to think of service as related to the active promotion of social justice.
All minors in Education Studies are required to take the same three core courses: EDUC 21010 Educational Psychology, EDUC 34000 Social and Cultural Foundations of Education, and EDUC 49600 Capstone in Education Studies. In addition, working closely with an advisor from the Education Department, students select at least 11 credits of additional courses from approved options to fulfill the minor.
Students interested in educational issues, but not necessarily to become classroom teachers, may chose from a wide variety of approved Education Minor courses within the Education Department and across the college. A full list of these courses can be found in the Education Department (194 Phillips Hall), or on the online catalog (see link in margin). They include courses in Anthropology, the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, Mathematics, Sociology, Psychology, Women's and Gender Studies, Health, English, Communication Studies, Philosophy, Politics, as well as Education.
Are you interested in applying to a graduate program in teacher education? Students interested in preparing for graduate study leading to teacher certification are advised to meet with the Chair of Graduate Programs in Education, Dr. Peter Martin, to prepare for admission to graduate programs in teacher education, including programs here at IC that lead to elementary teacher certification (grades 1-6) and secondary teacher certification (grades 7-12) -- the M.S. in Childhood Education and the M.A.T. in Adolescence Education. Students will determine, in consultation with their advisors, which courses best help prepare them for their next-step goals. (Please note: Minoring in Education Studies does not automatically fulfill prerequisites for admission to Ithaca College graduate programs in education. Meeting with the Chair of Graduate Programs in Education is essential to plan an undergraduate pathway leading towards successful admission into graduate school.)