TC Policy Concentration

TC Policy Concentration


Overview & Requirements

The policy concentration provides TC students from any Department and Program at Teachers College with a literacy in the educational policy making and implementation process. The concentration requires a total of 12 points of coursework. The courses may be taken in any sequence, although the Foundation courses provide a solid introduction to and broad overview of federal education policy in the U.S. and how it has shaped state and local policy. For Sociology and Education program students, this optional Policy Concentration overlaps with many of your degree requirements. 

Courses Offered

(1)   Required courses

One course from each of the following three categories is required:

I. Foundational Studies in Education Policy

  • EDPS 4000 Education and Public Policy
  • EDP 5063 US Education Policy in Historical Perspective 

II. Policy Analysis

  • EDPA 4047 Politics and Public Policy
  • EDPA 4048 Policy Analysis & Implementation
  • EDPA 5645 Craft of Policy Analysis
  • EDPE 4050 Economics of Education 

III. Program Evaluation

  • ITSF 4038 Monitoring and Evaluation
  • EDPS 5646 Evaluation of Educational and Social Programs
  • ORL 5522 Evaluation Methods I
  • HBSS 6100 Program Evaluation 
  • CUSSW T6416 Program Evaluation in Social Services (course at CU School of Social Work)
  • EDPE 6022 Econometric Methods for Policy Research and Program Evaluation
  • EDPA 6002 Quantitative Methods for Evaluating Education Policies and Programs

IV.  Topics in Education and Social Policy

Choose one of the following more specialized policy-related courses to fulfill this fourth required section with the approval of your main advisor. Suggested courses are listed below.

  • EDP 4023 Reimagining Education
  • EDP 4036 Anti-Racist Curriculum, Pedagogy and Leadership Practices
  • EDPA 4013 Education Policy and the Management of Instruction
  • EDPA 4017 Topics in Higher Education Law
  • EDPA 4025 Higher Education Policy
  • EDPA 4033 Comprehensive Educational Opportunity
  • EDPA 4046 School Finance Policy and Practice
  • EDPA 4086 Law and Education:  Regulation, Religion, Free Speech, and Safety
  • EDPA 4899 Federal Policy Institute
  • EDPA 5016 Educational Equality: Role of Law
  • EDPA 5023 Policymaking for Effective High School to College Transition
  • EDPA 5086 The Role of Courts in Education Reform
  • EDPA 5880 School Law Institute
  • EDPA 6013 Early Childhood Development and Education: Integrating Research & Policy Perspectives
  • EDPA 6027 International Perspectives on Early Childhood Policy
  • EDPA 4503 Schools, Courts, and Civic Participation
  • EDPA 4199 Higher Education and Social Change 
  • EDPE 4055 Resource Allocation in Education
  • EDPE 4058 Economics of Higher Education
  • EDPE 4155 Evaluating Educational Privatization and School Choice
  • EDPE 4051 Education and Economic Development
  • EDPP 5041 Politics of Centralization and Decentralization
  • EDPP 5045 Race, Ethnicity, and US Educational Policy
  • C&T 4615 Young Children, Families and Social Policy 
  • C&T 5050 Education Policy: Prologue to the Future
  • C&T 5074 Curriculum and Teaching Policy
  • HBSS 4112 Social Policy and Prevention
  • ITSF 4060 Latinos in Urban Schools
  • ITSF 4098 Education Development Policies in China 
  • ITSF 4160 Human Rights Education in Africa:  Politics, Policies and Pedagogies
  • ITSF 5006 Comparative Policy Studies: Overview
  • ITSF 5035 Social Analysis of International Large-Scale Assessments
  • ITSF 5031 Education and Sustainable Development

How to Apply

Students interested in fulfilling the policy concentration should first talk to their academic advisors to see how the four courses fit into their program of studies. After they get an approval from their advisor, they should submit to Prof. Pallas their declaration of interest in the policy concentration, including the list of four courses they plan to take. Academic advisor's approval is required on the declaration. 

Students from any TC Department or Degree Program who are interested in completing the Policy Concentration should contact Professor Aaron Pallas at pallas@tc.columbia.edu or Katherine Y. Chung at kc2610@tc.columbia.edu for any additional information.

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