Major Change

By Patrick Bohn ’05, April 21, 2023

New degree program in education studies created in response to student demand.

Professors like Nia Nunn (far left) will have the opportunity to teach new interdisciplinary courses in the new Education Studies major housed in the School of Humanities and Sciences.

(Photo courtesy of Sara Levy)

Students in the Department of Education in Ithaca College’s School of Humanities and Sciences will have a new avenue to explore in the Fall of 2023, when the school officially launches a new major in Education Studies.

The goal of the B.A. program is to introduce students to the broader field of education studies including methods of research and inquiry, as well as to allow them to pursue educational endeavors beyond the traditional K-12 classroom setting.

“For example, several courses for the major examine literacy, and ways we talk about it as educators,” said Sara Levy, associate professor and chair of the Department of Education. “Other courses dig deeper into the intersection of education and social justice. It’s very interdisciplinary.

“It was great to have conversations with professors who teach in other departments, talking with them about how we’d love our students to take their classes and ways their classes will fit within the major,” she added.

More Information

The new B.A. degree in Education Studies will be open to incoming Ithaca College students in the Class of 2027.

Current rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors are also eligible, and if interested should contact Sara Levy, associate professor and chair of the Department of Education, at slevy@ithaca.edu.

The main academic requirements in the major can be divided into three “buckets,” Levy said. The first is a quartet of foundational courses, such as Social & Cultural Foundations of Education. Students then take 12 to 16 elective credits within the department, such as Comparative and International Education. Finally, students take 12 to 16 credits from courses housed in other departments, such as Education, Oppression, and Liberation, offered through the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity. These courses highlight the collaborative nature of the major.

“Because education impacts every field, we need to think about teaching and learning in every field,” Levy said. “Allowing students to learn about things outside our department strengthens their body of knowledge. It can lead them to another field and double majoring or double minoring.

“Students want to know how and why they were educated the way they were,” she continued. “This major pulls back the curtain and tries to explain, ‘This is why it was the way it was. And ways to change it to make it better.’