Forgot Username/Password?

New User? Register Now!

School of Education and Social Policy


Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois



Detailed Information

Programs of Study


The School of Education and Social Policy offers programs leading to the M.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. There are four program areas: Education (M.S.), Learning and Organizational Change (M.S.), Learning Sciences (M.A. and Ph.D.), and Human Development and Social Policy (Ph.D.).

The Learning Sciences M.A. and Ph.D. programs are dedicated to the preparation of researchers, developers, and practitioners qualified to advance the scientific understanding and practice of teaching and learning. Both programs in the learning sciences are interdisciplinary, offering a synthesis of computational, educational, and social science research; linguistics; computer science; anthropology; and cognitive science.

The Human Development and Social Policy Ph.D. program prepares students to bridge human development, social science, and social policy. Graduates of this program assume positions as teachers, researchers, and policy makers who can bring multidisciplinary knowledge about human development directly to bear upon policy.

Concentrations in the M.S. in Education program include public and private school teaching, advanced teaching, and higher education administration. Students enrolled full-time typically complete the program in twelve months, provided they matriculate with no course deficiencies; opportunities for part-time study toward a master’s degree are also available.

Research Facilities


Research libraries contain more than 4.7 million volumes, 4.4 million microfilm units, and 45,000 current periodical and serial publications. Research and teaching activities are supported by a state-of-the-art multimedia computing network with full Internet access. The School is actively involved with the Institute for Policy Research, a University-wide research center that promotes interdisciplinary urban policy research and training. Specialized research and service resources within the School include the Center for Talent Development, a nationally prominent center that identifies and provides programming for academically talented youth, their parents, and the professionals who work with them. The Tarry Center for Collaborative Teaching and Learning provides state-of-the-art facilities for innovative teaching with technology.

Financial Aid


Several forms of aid are available, including fellowships and scholarships. In addition, there are teaching assistantships awarded to doctoral students who work with the School’s undergraduate programs. Special opportunities for research assistantships and other employment also exist within the School’s and the University’s many research centers. Arrangements for loans are also possible.

Cost of Study


Tuition for full-time study in the M.S. in Education program in 2009–10 is $39,330; part-time enrollment is possible at $2622 per course. Tuition for full-time study in the M.S. in Learning and Organizational Change program is $51,330; part-time enrollment is possible at $3422 per course. Tuition for full-time study (three courses per quarter) in pursuit of the M.A. or Ph.D. in 2009–10 is $38,088 for the academic year or $12,696 per quarter.

Living and Housing Costs


The University operates a residence in Evanston for the use of graduate students. For those Northwestern students interested in securing off-campus housing near the University, information and assistance are also available.

Student Group


Graduate study occurs within the context of individualized instruction, and enrollments are selective. Currently, 157 students are enrolled in master’s programs, and 68 are enrolled in Ph.D. programs. Since an interdisciplinary perspective is valued, students with preparation in a wide range of disciplinary areas are encouraged to apply.

Student Outcomes


Graduates teach and conduct research in academic and nonacademic settings; occupy strategic policy positions in government, corporations, and institutions; and assume positions of responsibility in a wide range of service organizations. Potential professional settings for learning sciences graduates include University research and teaching as well as business, industry, or school system-based careers studying, designing, and/or implementing learning environments. Graduates of the Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy program assume positions as teachers, researchers, or policy makers who can bring multidisciplinary knowledge about human development directly to bear upon policy. Graduates of the Learning Sciences M.A. program are practitioners in the vanguard of teaching and learning systems development and instructional resource development. Most students in the M.S. in Education program gain on-site experience through supervised internships for future careers as professional educators.

Location


The campus is located on Lake Michigan, 12 miles north of Chicago. The beautiful lakefront campus offers a rich cultural environment through a wealth of theatrical, musical, and athletic events. The extensive cultural resources of Chicago are readily accessible via public transportation.

The University and The School


Established in 1851, Northwestern has grown to become one of the most distinguished private universities in the country. The School of Education and Social Policy has developed from its origins as a department of pedagogy by continually broadening its scope to encompass those educative, learning, and socializing experiences that take place throughout the life span in families, schools, communities, and the workplace.

Applying


Applications for admission are reviewed and acted upon as they are received. Students should consult program brochures for specific application deadlines. Applicants planning to seek financial aid must meet early submission deadlines.

The Faculty And Their Research


  • Emma Adam, Ph.D., Minnesota. Parent, child, and adolescent stress and emotion; attachment; health policy.
  • Lawrence A. Birnbaum, Ph.D., Yale. Natural language understanding, opportunistic planning systems, machine learning.
  • Justine Cassell, Ph.D., Chicago. Designing technological tools to understand and enhance human communication, embodied conversational agents.
  • Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Ph.D., Michigan. Child and adolescent development, family functioning, public policy, multidisciplinary research, poverty and welfare reform, family structure, risk and resilience.
  • Jeannette Colyvas, Ph.D., Stanford. Organizations and entrepreneurship; comparing public, private, and nonprofit forms of organizing; the study of networks.
  • Fay L. Cook, Ph.D., Chicago. Social welfare policy, public attitudes, policy issues in aging, family support systems.
  • Thomas D. Cook, Ph.D., Stanford. Social-psychological processes, measurement of attitudes, evaluation of social programs.
  • Solomon Cytrynbaum, Ph.D., Michigan. Evaluation of school reform, gender and authority in groups and organizations, organizational consultation, application of group and systems theory and research to school change.
  • David Figlio, Ph.D., Wisconsin–Madison. Accountability policy, economics of education, teacher quality, teacher labor markets, anti-poverty policy, intergenerational transmission of human capital, evaluation design.
  • Kenneth D. Forbus, Ph.D., MIT. Qualitative physics, cognitive simulation of analogy, intelligence tutoring systems and learning environments for science and engineering.
  • Dedre Gentner, Ph.D., Berkeley. Learning, reasoning, and conceptual change in adults and children; mental models; acquisition of meaning.
  • Kristian Hammond, Ph.D., Yale. Building computer systems designed around human needs and abilities.
  • Sophie Haroutunian-Gordon, Ph.D., Chicago. Philosophy of education, philosophy of psychology, inquiry, interpretive discussion, teacher preparation.
  • Larry Hedges, Ph.D., Stanford. Statistical methods for research in education, social sciences, and policy studies; social distribution of test scores.
  • Barton J. Hirsch, Ph.D., Oregon. Community psychology, social networks, ecology of adolescent development, after-school programs.
  • Michael Horn, Ph.D., Tufts.
  • Kemi Jona, Ph.D., Northwestern. Online learning, virtual schools, technologies to support online learning and collaboration, online laboratory science course design, corporate e-learning strategy and design.
  • John Kretzmann, Ph.D., Northwestern. Sociology, community development.
  • Eva Lam, Ph.D., Berkeley. Second language and literacy development, literacy and technology, language and identity, language socialization, globalization and English learning, multilingualism and cultural diversity in education.
  • Carol D. Lee, Ph.D., Chicago. Cultural contexts affecting learning broadly and literacy specifically, teacher preparation and development, classroom discourse, urban education.
  • Dan A. Lewis, Ph.D., California, Santa Cruz. Policy analysis, urban social problems, community organization, urban school reform.
  • Regina Logan, Ph.D., Northwestern. Teaching and learning processes.
  • Jelani Mandara, Ph.D., California, Riverside. Effects of parenting, fathers, and other home factors on child and adolescent academic and social development, achievement gap, and person-centered research methods.
  • Dan P. McAdams, Ph.D., Harvard. Personality development, identity and life stories, intimacy, adult development.
  • Steven McGee, Ph.D., Northwestern. High school transformation, science curriculum development.
  • Ann McKenna, Ph.D., Berkeley. Examining effective teaching and learning methods in biomedical engineering education.
  • Douglas L. Medin, Ph.D., South Dakota. Theories of learning, memory and induction, computational models of cognition, concepts and classification of learning, models of similarity.
  • Brad Olson, Ph.D., Iowa. Health care–based approaches to alcohol and substance abuse problems, personality, social psychology.
  • Paula M. Olszewski-Kubilius, Ph.D., Northwestern. Gifted education, child development, minority gifted child development.
  • Andrew Ortony, Ph.D., London. Knowledge representation and figurative language comprehension; models of cognition, motivation, and emotion.
  • Penelope L. Peterson, Ph.D., Stanford. Learning and teaching in schools and classrooms, particularly in mathematics and literacy; teacher learning in reform contexts; relations among educational research, policy, and practice.
  • Carla Pugh, Ph.D., Stanford; M.D., Howard. Technology and medical education.
  • David Rapp, Ph.D., SUNY at Stony Brook. Experimental psychology, comprehension of texts, psychology of learning.
  • Michelle Reininger, Ph.D., Stanford. Economics of education, teacher labor markets; teacher quality; educational policy.
  • Brian J. Reiser, Ph.D., Yale. Intelligent tutoring systems, interactive learning environments for science and technology, scientific inquiry skills.
  • Christopher K. Riesbeck, Ph.D., Stanford. Natural language and analyzers, case-based reasoners, intelligent computational media.
  • James E. Rosenbaum, Ph.D., Harvard. Adolescent and adult development, organizational careers.
  • Kimberly Scott, Ph.D., Ohio State. Organizational effectiveness and change, organizational learning, job satisfaction.
  • Bruce Sherin, Ph.D., Berkeley. Science education, instructional technology, external representations in science and mathematical learning.
  • Miriam Sherin, Ph.D., Berkeley. Mathematics teaching and learning, teacher cognition, teacher education.
  • Sylvia Smith-Demuth, Ph.D., Chicago. Mathematics achievement, mathematics teaching, learning and cognition, social context of education, opportunity to learn
  • Bruce D. Spencer, Ph.D., Yale. Social and educational measurement, statistics for policy analysis, demography, decision theory.
  • James P. Spillane, Ph.D., Michigan State. Educational policy, intergovernmental relations, school reform, relations between policy and local practice.
  • Reed Stevens, Ph.D., Berkeley.
  • Edd Taylor, Ph.D., Berkeley. Early childhood education, elementary education, mathematics education.
  • Lois Trautvetter, Ph.D., Michigan. Higher education, gender issues and females in science.
  • David H. Uttal, Ph.D., Michigan. Mental representation, cognitive development, spatial cognition, early symbolization.
  • Sandra R. Waxman, Ph.D., Pennsylvania. Language and conceptual development, early cognitive development, language and thought.
  • Uri Wilensky, Ph.D., MIT. Science and mathematics learning and technology.

Correspondence and Information


Northwestern University
School of Education and Social Policy
(Please specify program)
2120 Campus Drive
Evanston, Illinois 60208-2610
Telephone: 847-491-3790 (Office of Student Affairs)
847-467-1458 (M.S. in Education)
847-491-7494 (Learning Sciences Ph.D.)
847-491-4329 (Human Development and Social Policy Ph.D.)
847-491-7376 (Learning and Organizational Change M.S.)
847-491-7494 (Learning Sciences M.A.)