Departments
Our departments are composed of faculty, students, and scholars who study the most pressing issues in education, particularly urban education. Their programs emphasize and are strengthened by meaningful, equitable relationships with local communities and educator networks throughout Chicago.
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
The Curriculum and Instruction Department is a community of scholars and educators engaging in scholarship, practice, and praxis to address pressing local and global issues in language, literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies learning, teaching, curriculum, and teacher education. The faculty and students in the department’s undergraduate, masters, and PhD programs use sociocultural, sociopolitical, and critical lenses, as they explore, and contribute to the advancement of, teaching and learning for equity and social justice at a variety of contexts. The department has a long and celebrated history of developing impactful scholars, educators, and leaders whose work has shaped the educational research community nationally and internationally, and the practices and contexts of education in K-20+ settings including the Chicago Public Schools, one of the nation’s largest school districts.
Department of Educational Policy Studies
The Educational Policy Studies Department offers opportunities to study social foundations of education, educational organizations and leadership, and education policy analysis.
The department’s work emphasizes the analysis of urban contexts, and understanding and addressing educational problems in those contexts. Its programs prepare students for successful careers in urban educational research and policy analysis, and in transformational leadership of urban schools.
Department of Educational Psychology
The Department of Educational Psychology is internationally known for its rigorous degree programs, esteemed faculty, and commitment to urban education and test fairness. Our work focuses on understanding how children’s ethnicity, culture, class, and gender impact their development and learning, and we are dedicated to developing and applying fair approaches of measurement, evaluation, statistics and assessment to support such efforts.
Department of Special Education
The Department of Special Education (SPED) is a community of dedicated scholars, researchers, teachers and practitioners working toward innovation and access to improve the education of children and adolescents with disabilities – particularly in urban school environments. The community also is a forceful advocate for special education through outreach service programs and groundbreaking research.