Overview
Northwestern University in Chicago Offers Interdisciplinary Learning in the School of Education and Social Policy
Northwestern University has 10 schools that offer graduate programs, including the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP). The SESP has some 23 faculty members and 300 graduate students, who come from a wide range of backgrounds to offer a rich diversity of perspectives when considering social policy. Innovation is the heart of the SESP, training teachers in diverse and original ways, and innovating with new practices to improve learning and development.
The SESP has a strong focus on interdisciplinary learning, utilizing faculty from multiple disciplines including psychology, computer science, economics, sociology, and statistics. Combining knowledge and theories from different disciplines allows the SESP to stimulate fresh ideas as students begin working in education and social policy. Students have the opportunity to work with faculty on important research that makes a difference by influencing education and social policy to help improve people's lives.
This interdisciplinary program is designed to give students a background in the social sciences by focusing on psychological, social, and economic developments and environments, as well as the role of policy decisions in shaping life choices. The SESP designs new approaches to ameliorating social disparities in learning, using interdisciplinary research and innovative partnerships to develop leaders who will become agents for change.
The Graduate Program in Human Development and Social Policy Lets Students Influence Important Policy Decisions
Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy offers a few different programs, including the Graduate Program in Human Development and Social Policy (HDSP). The HDSP is a unique interdisciplinary program that studies three main areas: psychological and social development of the person across the life span, the influence of social and economic environments, and the role of policy decisions in shaping life choices, opportunities, and outcomes.
Students use a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the interrelations among these three areas, and choose research specialties such as: child development and social policy; adolescent development and social policy; adult development, aging, and social policy; poverty and social policy; education and social policy; or a general life cycle approach to policy or to human development.
While students eventually choose how to focus their research, the HDSP graduate program has a core curriculum offering training in human development, qualitative and quantitative methods, policy development, implementation, and evaluation. The result of this program is students that are ready for their research to make a difference to schools, communities, and families by making use of education and social programs.
Many HDSP students have some work experience, but it is not required for the program. Compassion and hard work are required, as the aim of the scholarship is to improve human lives by examining and understanding how policies affect the lives of people, and how people can affect policy.
The program pays close attention to program design and evaluation, and the ways in which political agendas are set and how political forces distribute opportunities in a democracy. Graduates are expected to serve as a bridge between the social sciences and policy-making arenas, bringing a deep interdisciplinary understanding to their work, whether in governmental or academic settings.
Human Development and Social Policy Faculty Members Conduct Important Research That Shapes Education and Changes Lives
The HDSP faculty members come from a variety of backgrounds, from developmental psychology to history of consciousness to sociology to education. The faculty members conduct research that investigates how people learn and develop, from personal narratives and life courses to cultural intervention and policy effects on lives. Their research interests vary and include attachment theory, family systems, public policy, aging, poverty, motivation, school reform, youth programs, welfare policy, child and adolescent development, school to work transition, school leadership and learning across the life span.
The school has 23 faculty members whose annual research awards total more than $11 million, funding that comes from partners ranging from the MacArthur Foundation to the National Institute of Health. The results of this research are powerful tools and knowledge that can help shape education and social programs, and change lives. Students work with the faculty and become involved in this life-changing research.
The Multidisciplinary Program in Education Sciences Provides Innovative Training for Scholars Who Will Affect Policy
The multidisciplinary program in education sciences is an innovative interdisciplinary doctoral training program designed to create scholars who will pursue relevant research on pressing policy issues in American education, integrating statistics, evaluation, cognition, and education policy.
Successful graduates of the program receive a Certificate in Education Sciences in addition to a doctorate from the HDSP program.
About Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private co-ed university with a main campus on the shore of Lake Michigan, 12 miles north of Chicago. The lakefront campus in Evanston, Illinois, the first suburb north of Chicago, provides easy access to Chicago's music, theater, museums, restaurants, clubs, and sports events. Northwestern is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and has excellent athletics and fitness facilities available for student use. Northwestern also boasts world-class cultural facilities, including a concert hall, theater, art gallery, and museum.
