Cultural Foundations of Education
Cultural Foundations of Education (CFE) is a highly demanding interdisciplinary graduate program created to support fundamental inquiry into the nature of education. Graduate students draw on the disciplines of history, philosophy, and sociology to analyze such issues as inequality, disability, the relationship of popular culture and mass media to education, the philosophy of multiculturalism, racism and education. Our alumni have had a high rate of success in finding jobs in higher education, foundations, policy research, school systems, and government agencies.
Why students choose CFE:
- Each graduate student's program is individually designed. You may build your own program around your research interests. You may take courses from other University programs and colleges, including the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, or the College of Arts and Sciences.
- The department supports interdisciplinary work. We encourage the use of diverse research approaches. For example, students can combine philosophical and empirical work, or historical research and policy analysis.
- Students can do work in new areas of research, including disability studies, gender, popular culture, and conflict resolution in schools.
- Faculty are well-known in their fields, and engaged in ongoing research. Our outstanding graduate students collaborate with faculty in research, publishing, and professional activities.
- We are a close community of scholars. The department regularly sponsors opportunities for students and faculty to share their work, discuss current issues, or read and critique current articles. We do not neglect the social and personal aspects of community.
We designed our degree programs for those who seek a broad education plus disciplinary competence and do not wish to restrict themselves to a narrowly specialized program of study. Our interdisciplinary structure enables you to examine varying conceptual frameworks for evaluating educational ideas, educational practice, and social policy. We encourage you to develop an awareness of the complexities, strengths, and weaknesses of different intellectual approaches and to develop special competence in one or more of these.
You may choose to concentrate in the history of education, philosophy of education, sociology of education, race and multiculturalism, gender and education, popular culture, or disability studies. Some of these areas have a more disciplinary focus (e.g. philosophy of education), and some are more interdisciplinary (e.g. disability studies or gender and education). In the more interdisciplinary concentrations, a problem rather than a field of study propels coursework. You may also take courses in other SU colleges, drawing upon the resources of the entire University to develop programs that meet your needs. If you wish, you may pursue a concurrent degree or focus, choosing from programs such as public administration, higher education, teacher education, women's studies, educational administration, history, philosophy, and sociology.
We encourage you to participate in a variety of professional activities. If you are interested in teaching, we help you develop a competence in that area. You may also work with faculty members on a variety of research and consulting activities and participate in professional conferences.
The department offers unusually strong resources for training in qualitative methods. Many of our graduates find that their sophisticated training in this research approach enhances their competitiveness for university professorships or research positions.
Our blend of scholarly and professional study prepares you for a wide variety of positions: college and university professor, foundation officer, researcher, policy analyst, author, consultant, administrator, and curriculum developer. You can work in public institutions as well as private organizations, and at the local, state, federal, and international levels.
For admissions information, click here.