UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State College of Education is now offering a revamped doctoral program in the Department of Education Policy Studies (EPS) that combines three previously existing programs into a unified program that is designed to provide a wider range of academic and professional opportunities for students.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to adjust the courses offered by the Penn State College of Education to ensure they are meeting the current needs of our students,” said College of Education Dean Kimberly Lawless. “By combining these programs into one, it more efficiently prepares students for today’s educational environment while allowing them to pursue additional areas of study. It will only add value to their already top-notch Penn State degree.”
The Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) Program provides doctoral training for students interested in career areas pertaining to educational policy, educational leadership and higher education. The goal of the program is to prepare students to pursue careers and exert leadership in education as researchers, faculty or administrators within educational organizations or other organizations that pertain to education. Students engage common coursework pertaining to education policy, leadership, research, equity and diversity as well as specialized coursework that they select in consultation with their adviser to prepare themselves for the dissertation research that culminates their studies.
The doctoral degree in EPL is designed to eliminate duplication that exists in three existing doctoral programs in educational leadership, educational theory and policy, and higher education, which will be discontinued once existing students have completed their studies. As the programs currently exist, they cater to doctoral students who are interested in exploring more narrowly defined areas within education. The Educational Leadership Program appeals to students that are interested in educational decision making, school finance or how schools are organized. The Educational Theory and Policy Program draws students that are interested in educational theory or the intersection of education and public policy; while the Higher Education Program is directed toward issues facing colleges and universities.
According to David Gamson, professor of education and curriculum director for EPS, the EPL Program will appeal to a broader swath of students and will provide cross-training across these different disciplines, which will make them more marketable once they graduate. A degree with a focus on leadership is also highly desirable in today’s job market, he added.
“This unified program will still allow students to receive high-quality doctoral-level instruction in each of these three areas via common and specialized coursework, and it will make it easier for students and faculty to identify and build relationships with students in other areas that contain similar topical or methodological interests,” Gamson said.
While graduates of the EPL doctoral program will have opportunities to take academic positions, Gamson said, they will have additional options outside of academia: policy making, higher education administration, state departments of education and non-governmental organizations.
“We are excited to be bringing in a new cohort of students to the program and continuing to build on our department’s profile of research focused on how educational policies at the international, federal, state and local levels shape educational opportunities and learning environments for students and how policymakers can center equity in policy decisions,” said Kelly Rosinger, associate professor of education.
According to Erica Frankenberg, professor of education, one of the strengths of the new EPL program is that students will have the opportunity to delve deeper into courses in the three main areas to develop specific expertise while working with faculty on research.
“One of the real strengths of this new program is to allow students to more easily take advantage of expertise across previously existing programs in our department,” Frankenberg said.
Mimi Schaub, associate teaching professor of education, said that while educational equity was an important component of each of the original programs, it will have an enhanced position in the new combined program.
“Our students will have the benefit of a large group of students with a wide range of interests, all increasing their knowledge of systemic inequity in the U.S. system of education,” she said.
The unified doctoral program does not introduce any new courses or activities that create overlap or duplication with other degree programs. Penn State will maintain the separate non-doctoral degree programs in educational leadership, educational theory and policy, and higher education until existing students have completed their studies.