Under the supervision and mentorship of a faculty advisor, master's students in the Education, Culture, and Society program undertake individualized and interdisciplinary programs of study in the social foundations of education. The program therefore provides students with a nuanced understanding of education as an historical, socio-cultural, political, and moral activity. ECS students explore the role education plays in reproducing and potentially transforming racialized, classed, and gendered relations and structures of inequality - in the U.S. or around the world. Working in small cohorts, students explore and build a unique vision for the program through collaborative dialogue, intensive writing, and critical inquiry.
Students may be eligible to pursue a dual-degree with public policy, non-profit leadership, or social work. Interested students who do not wish to pursue a second degree of study, may also consider the concentration in Community Action and Social Change. Although many ECS students are preparing for a path to doctoral study or academia, many others find the program helpful for establishing careers in schools, administration, educational non-profits, higher education, community advocacy work and/or educational consultancy.