Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies (POLS)

Program Requirements

Students must complete at least 45 units at Stanford to receive the Master's degree in POLS. The following constraints are placed on those 45 units:

All courses must be at or above the 100 level – courses numbered below 100 do not count toward the MA degree.
At least 23 units must be at or above the 200 level (EDUC 180 or 190 count toward this requirement).
At least 36 units must be from courses offered by the Graduate School of Education (EDUC units).
At least 15 units must be taken for a letter grade (as opposed to Credit/No Credit).
A 3.0 GPA must be maintained across all courses applied to the Master's degree.
Students must enroll in a minimum of 11 units and a maximum of 18 units each quarter of the POLS program (Autumn-Spring).
English for Foreign Students (EFSLANG 600 level) and Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (ATHLETIC) courses cannot be applied towards the Master's degree.
See the "Coterminal Degree" section for unit requirements applying to students admitted through the coterminal degree program.

2015-2016 POLS Course Requirements

POLS Seminar (EDUC 209A, 209B, 209C)

The POLS Seminar is a required component of the POLS MA program as it is described in its syllabus. The cohort will meet as a group most weeks during all three quarters. Seminar meetings and participation in the POLS Project are required for all POLS students. Students are expected to attend all seminar sessions. Meeting times will generally be Fridays from 8:30 to 11:20.

Thematic Clusters

Students are required to complete courses in four thematic clusters*:

Policy (3 courses),
Organization & Leadership (3 courses),
Teaching & Learning (2 courses), and
Inquiry & Assessment (1 course).

*Please note that while you may elect to use non-EDUC courses to fulfill cluster requirements, you are still required to complete a minimum of 36 EDUC units to receive the POLS MA degree. This requirement cannot be modified or waived under any circumstances.

The following are approved courses for each Thematic Cluster for this academic year. (In rare cases, students may modify cluster requirements by submitting a Program Modification Form to the Director. The rationale for the modification of thematic cluster requirements must be clear and compelling. Approval is not automatic.) This list is periodically updated as course offerings change. Note: All course information is subject to change. Please consult ExploreCourses and Axess for updated course offering and scheduling information.

To help students plan a program of study, we have labeled courses in the table below with the following designations:

Pre-K – 12 Leadership and Management (PK12)
Higher Education Leadership and Management (HE)
Non-Profit Educational Organizations (NP)
Education Policy (EP)
Educational Technology (ET)

Click the designation to filter courses below. Click here to clear all filters.

Policy

Autumn Quarter

EDUC 220D History of School Reform (D. Labaree) (3-5) (PK12, NP, EP, ET): POLS students interested in Pre-K – 12 are commonly focused on making change or addressing a problem in education. This course explains the context of past and present efforts to improve the quality of education and provides students an opportunity to test their own reform thinking against past experience.
EDUC 232 Culture, Learning, and Poverty (L. Chen) (2-3) (PK12): For students interested in learning about the actual process of policy making, this course offers a behind-the-scenes look at the political process of public policy making at the Federal level. Students will learn about the theory and literature behind policy formulation and will engage in debates over past and current efforts at policy reform.
EDUC 306A Economics of Education in the Global Economy (M. Carnoy) (5) (PK12, EP): In today’s educational policy environment, a working knowledge of the economics of education is fundamental for anyone involved in educational policy and educational practice. Education 306A is a survey course, covering issues from the relation of schooling, to economic outcomes, to the analysis of how schooling and students’ family backgrounds influence student performance in schools, to analyses of teacher labor markets (including issues such as teacher incentive pay). The course also covers education “markets” and discusses educational finance at the K-12 and university levels.
PUBLPOL 307 Justice (R. Reich) (4-5) (PK12, HE, NP): Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include financing schools and elections, regulating markets, discriminating against people with disabilities, and enforcing sexual morality.

Winter Quarter

EDUC 220C Education and Society (P. Bromley) (4-5) (K12, HE, EP): The effects of schools and schooling on individuals, the stratification system, and society. Education as socializing individuals and as legitimizing social institutions. The social and individual factors affecting the expansion of schooling, individual educational attainment, and the organizational structure of schooling.
EDUC 265 History of Higher Education in the U.S. (D. Labaree) (3-5) (HE, EP): This course emphasizes an understanding of contemporary configurations of higher education through studying its antecedents. EDUC 355 Higher Education & Society, and this course are strong complements for one another.
EDUC 306D World, Societal, and Educational Change: Comparative Perspectives (4-5) (K12, HE, EP): Theoretical perspectives and empirical studies on the structural and cultural sources of educational expansion and differentiation, and on the cultural and structural consequences of educational institutionalization. Research topics: education and nation building; education, mobility, and equality; international organizations, and world culture.
EDUC 334 Strategic Educational Research and Organizational Reform Clinic (4-10) (K12, EP, NP): This is a two-quarter clinical course offered in the Winter and Spring Quarters that brings together upper-level graduate students in education, law, and business from Stanford to collaborate with their peers at other universities (Colombia University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan) and provide strategic research and consulting to public education organizations. Participants engage in a rigorous and rewarding learning experience, including (i) an intensive seminar in the design, leadership and management, and transformation of public school systems, charter management organizations, start-ups, and other K12 public and social sector institutions; (ii) comprehensive skills training in team-based problem solving, strategic policy research, managing multidimensional (operational, policy, legal) projects to specified outcomes in complex environments, client counseling, and effective communication; and (iii) a high-priority consulting project for a public sector client (e.g., school district, state education agency, charter management organization, non-profit) designing and implementing solutions to a complex problem at the core of the organization's mission to improve the educational outcomes and life chances of children. The participant's team work will allow public agencies throughout the nation to receive relevant, timely, and high-quality research and advice on institutional reforms that may not receive the attention they deserve.
EDUC 347 Economics of Higher Education (E. Bettinger) (4) (HE, EP): For students interested in higher education, this course examines theoretical frameworks, policy matters, and the concept of higher education as a public good. Students will consider stratification by gender, race, and social class, as well as the worth of college and graduate degrees, access to higher education, productivity, etc.
LAW 798 Education Law & Policy (J. Glater) (3) (K12, NP, EP): This survey class will examine the development of education law and policy in the United States, focusing on the related issues of equity and access. Specific topics covered include who has access to what kind of education, quality and accountability in provision of education, disparate effects of education policies on different groups, and both discipline and its consequences. At the completion of the course students will have gained a deeper understanding of the complex relationships among the law, the student experience, culture, and politics, and of the history of education reform efforts.

Spring Quarter

EDUC 212 Urban Education (A. Ball) (3-4) (PK12, NP, EP, ET): For students who are interested in teaching or leading in urban school settings, this course takes social science and historical perspectives to look at the major developments, contexts, tensions, challenges, and policy issues of urban education.
EDUC 221A Policy Analysis in Education (V. Young) (4-5) (PK12, EP): Major concepts associated with the development, enactment, and execution of educational policy. Issues of policy implementation, agenda setting and problem formulation, politics, and intergovernmental relations. Case studies. Goal is to identify factors that affect how analysts and policy makers learn about and influence education.
EDUC 271/GSBGEN 347 Education Policy in the U.S. (T. Dee) (5) (PK12): The course will provide students from different disciplines with an understanding of the broad educational policy context. The course will cover topics including a) school finance systems; b) an overview of policies defining and shaping the sectors and institutional forms of schooling, c) an overview of school governance, d) educational human-resource policy, e) school accountability policies at the federal and state levels; and f) school assignment policies and law, including intra- and inter-district choice policies, desegregation law and policy. Many policy discussions will focus on the quality of the quantitative evidence and the underlying applied microeconomic theory. This course is intended for PhD students only. Other students may contact the instructor for permission to enroll. Knowledge of intermediate microeconomics and econometrics would both helpful.
EDUC 306B The Politics of International Cooperation in Education (P. Bromley) (3-5) (EP): Education policy, politics, and development. Topics include: politics, interests, institutions, polity, and civil society; how schools and school systems operate as political systems; how policy making occurs in educational systems; and theories of development.
EDUC 334 Strategic Educational Research and Organizational Reform Clinic (4-10) (K12, EP, NP): This is a two-quarter clinical course offered in the Winter and Spring Quarters that brings together upper-level graduate students in education, law, and business from Stanford to collaborate with their peers at other universities (Colombia University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan) and provide strategic research and consulting to public education organizations. Participants engage in a rigorous and rewarding learning experience, including (i) an intensive seminar in the design, leadership and management, and transformation of public school systems, charter management organizations, start-ups, and other K12 public and social sector institutions; (ii) comprehensive skills training in team-based problem solving, strategic policy research, managing multidimensional (operational, policy, legal) projects to specified outcomes in complex environments, client counseling, and effective communication; and (iii) a high-priority consulting project for a public sector client (e.g., school district, state education agency, charter management organization, non-profit) designing and implementing solutions to a complex problem at the core of the organization's mission to improve the educational outcomes and life chances of children. The participant's team work will allow public agencies throughout the nation to receive relevant, timely, and high-quality research and advice on institutional reforms that may not receive the attention they deserve.
EDUC 348 Policy and Practice in Science Education (3-4) (PK12): Values and beliefs that dominate contemporary thinking about the role and practice of science education, what the distinctive features of science are, and the arguments for its value as part of compulsory education. Research on the conceptual and affective outcomes of formal science education, how the changing nature of contemporary society challenges current practice, and the rationale for an alternative pedagogy, curriculum and assessment.
EDUC 355 Higher Education and Society (M. Stevens) (3) (HE, EP): For undergraduate and graduate students interested in what colleges and universities do, and what society expects from them. The relationship between higher education and society in the U.S. from a sociological perspective. The nature of reform and conflict in colleges and universities, and tensions in the design of higher education systems and organizations.
EDUC 371 Social Psychology and Social Change (S. Brady, G. Cohen) (2-3) (PK12, HE): This course focuses on the major ideas, theories, and findings of social psychology and how they relate to education. Students will look at historical issues, classic experiments, and seminal theories.
HUMBIO 172B Children, Youth, and the Law (W. Abrams) (5) (PK12, EP): This course looks at how the legal rights of children and adolescents in America are defined, protected, and enforced through the legal process and within the context of developmental needs and societal interests. Besides looking at education, the course examines children’s rights, adoption, the juvenile justice system, child welfare, etc.

Organization & Leadership

Autumn Quarter

EDUC 288 Organizational Analysis (W. Powell) (4-5) (PK12, HE, NP, EP): Pre-K – 12, higher education, and non-profit focused students should take this survey of major theoretical traditions to understand rational and non-rational behaviors of organizations. This knowledge can be applied to schools, districts, CMOs, colleges, universities, and non-profits as formal organizations.
EDUC 275 Leading U.S. Schools (D. Brazer) (3-4) (PK12, EP, NP): The landscape of schooling in the U.S. is dynamic and replete with ideologies, myths, and beliefs. Organizational theory, leadership theory, and empirical research are lenses through which students will develop a deeper and broader understanding of the similarities and differences among private schools, parochial schools, traditional K ¿ 12 schools, charter schools, and alternative schools. Students will connect theory and research to practice by visiting and learning about two or more schools of their choosing.
EDUC 377B Strategic Management of Nonprofits (B. Meehan) (4) (PK12, HE, NP): Strategic, governance, and management issues facing nonprofit organizations and their leaders in the era of venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. Development and fundraising, investment management, performance management, and nonprofit finance. Case studies include smaller, social entrepreneurial and larger, more traditional organizations, including education, social service, health care, religion, NGOs, and performing arts.
EDUC 377E Improving and Measuring Social Impact (P. Brest (3) (NP): This course focuses on strategy and actionable measurement in government, non-profit organizations, market-based social enterprises, philanthropy, and impact investing.
MS&E 277 Creativity and Innovation (L. Britos Cavagnaro, T. Seeling) (3-4) (PK12, HE, NP, ET): This course is for students who want to gain experience with promoting creativity and innovation using workshops, case studies, field trips, expert guests, and team projects.
OB 372 High-Performance Leadership (D. Bradford) (4) (PK12, HE, NP): This course focuses on middle and upper-middle management in organizations that have complex tasks, exist in a rapidly changing environment, and have highly skilled subordinates. Students interested in new approaches to leadership will meet in Skill Development Groups each week to apply course material to personal development.

Winter Quarter

EDUC 334 Strategic Educational Research and Organizational Reform Clinic (W. Koski) (4-10) (PK12, NP): This is a two-quarter clinical course offered in the Winter and Spring Quarters that brings together upper-level graduate students in education, law, and business from Stanford to collaborate with their peers at other universities (Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan) and provide strategic research and consulting to public education organizations.
EDUC 338 Innovations in Education (3-4) (PK12, NP): Each year students in this course explore a new design challenge related to teaching. This year we will focus on creating school models. We welcome graduate students from a wide range of disciplines. Admission by application. Please see more information at http://dschool.stanford.edu
EDUC 354 School-Based Decision Making (G. Hoagland) (3-4) (PK12, NP): Designed with aspiring school leaders in mind, this course combines case studies, site visits, and guest speakers to take students inside school leaders’ critical decision making processes. Students who wish to work at the district and school levels may be interested in this course to learn the challenges, opportunities, and contemporary practices of school-site leadership.
GSBGEN 345 Disruptions in Education (R. Urstein (3) (HE): This course will explore the contemporary higher education industry, focusing especially on the places where disruptions of all kinds present significant opportunities and challenges for faculty, students, and higher education administrators, as well as for entrepreneurs and the businesses that serve this huge global market. Using a variety of readings and case studies to better understand recent disruptions across the higher education landscape, from outside and inside the academy, both for-profit and non-profit, the course will examine technology in teaching and learning; alternatives to the traditional credential; the impact of for-profit providers; content and the ownership and distribution of knowledge; and tertiary products and platforms that cater to the large student services market.
LAW 327 Introduction to Organizational Behavior (A. Goldberg) (3) (PK12, HE, NP, EP): This course explores how and why organizations are founded and fail, the variety of organizational forms, and the ways in which organizational members affect one another. Students will learn about behavior and motivation, decision making and leadership, interpersonal and intergroup communication, and organizational culture.
ME 368 d.Leadership: Design Leadership in Context (P. Klebahn, K. Segovia, R. Sutton, et al.) (1-3) (PK12, HE): Students interested in the design thinking process should take this course to learn about the coaching and leadership skills needed to drive good design process in groups. Students will work on real projects within organizations.
MS&E 175 Innovation, Creativity & Change (R. Katila) (3-4) (PK12, HE, NP, ET): This course explores problem solving in organizations, creativity and innovation skills, thinking tools, and creative organizations.
MS&E 274 Dynamic Etrepreneurial Strategy (E. Tse) (3) (NP, ET): This course explores how entrepreneurial strategy focuses on creating structural change or responding to change induced externally. Students will learn about advantage in emerging markets and mature markets, strategies to break through stagnation, and strategies to turn danger into opportunity.
OB 372 High-Performance Leadership (D. Bradford) (4) (PK12, HE, NP): This course focuses on middle and upper-middle management in organizations that have complex tasks, exist in a rapidly changing environment, and have highly skilled subordinates. Students interested in new approaches to leadership will meet in Skill Development Groups each week to apply course material to personal development.

Spring Quarter

CEE 251 Negotiation (S. Christensen) (3) (PK12, HE, NP): This is an interactive course for students who wish to learn how to prepare for and conduct negotiations, from getting a job to managing conflict to negotiating transactions, all of which can occur in the school setting.
EDUC 290 Instructional Leadership: Building Capacity for Excellent Teaching (D. Brazer) (3-4) (PK12): Designed with aspiring school leaders in mind, this course helps students understand how teacher learning and organizational learning are generated to improve educational quality at the school and district level. Students who wish to work at the district level may be interested in this course to learn a perspective on addressing school improvement.
EDUC 334 Strategic Educational Research and Organizational Reform Clinic (W. Koski) (4-10) (PK12, NP): This is a two-quarter clinical course offered in the Winter and Spring Quarters that brings together upper-level graduate students in education, law, and business from Stanford to collaborate with their peers at other universities (Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan) and provide strategic research and consulting to public education organizations.
EDUC 376 Higher Education Leadership Colloquium (2) (HE): This course presents a series of speakers from Stanford and other higher education institutions who work at the middle to higher levels of administration. Speakers and topics are guided by student interest, but include a range from student affairs to finance. Sessions are intended to be interactive.

EDUC 386 Leadership and Administration in Higher Education (2) (HE): Definitions of leadership and leadership roles within colleges and universities. Leadership models and organizational concepts. Case study analysis of the problems and challenges facing today's higher education administrators.
EDUC 445 Entrepreneurial Approaches to Education Reform (3) (G. Lee)(PK12, NP): This course is intended for students interested in how entrepreneurs can and have changed K-12 public schooling, and for those who aspire to be leaders in entrepreneurial and educational organizations. The course explores human capital solutions, new schools, and technology products that are designed to improve student learning and solve pain points. The course will feature for-profit, not-for-profit, and double-bottom-line organizations.
MS&E 254 The Ethical Analyst (D. Nesbitt) (1-3) (EP): This course is aimed at students who wish to be professional analysts. Students will learn about the ethical responsibility for consequences of analysts who used technical knowledge to support organizations or government. The course explores how to form ethical judgments and question the means to any end.
MS&E 277 Creativity and Innovation (W. Abrams) (L. Britos Cavagnaro, T. Seeling) (PK12, HE, NP, ET): This course is for students who want to gain experience with promoting creativity and innovation using workshops, case studies, field trips, expert guests, and team projects.
PUBLPOL 202 Organizations and Public Policy (J. Bendor) (4-5) (EP): This course explores organizational processes including Game Theory and decision making theories. Schools are examined as one of several types of organizations.

Teaching & Learning

Autumn Quarter

EDUC 213 Introduction to Teaching (H. Borko, E. Szu) (3-4) (PK12, NP, EP): This introductory course is critically important to those aspiring to work in any pre-K – 12 related setting who has never actually taught. Practical problems of teaching and learning are emphasized.
EDUC 249 Theory & Issues in the Study of Billingualism (G. Valdes) (3-5) (PK12): For those interested in working with bilingual students and their families and/or carrying out research in bilingual settings, this course emphasizes the typologies of bilingualism, the acquisition of bilingual ability, and the nature of societal bilingualism.
EDUC 281 Technology for Learners (K. Forssell) (3) (ET): For those interested in the use of technology in education and how it may be used to improve learning. This course explores how technology may help make learning easier, faster, or accessible to more learners and considers a variety of different approaches to designing tools for learning, the theories behind them, and the research that tests their effectiveness. Topics include feedback, visualization, games, multimedia, tangible-digital interfaces, simulations, and more. Students will work on teams to identify a need, create a prototype, and design tests to understand its impact. Space is limited.
EDUC 333A Understanding Learning Environments (S. Goldman, R. McDermott, D. Stringer) (3) (PK12, EP, ET): This course uses theoretical approaches to learning to analyze learning environments and develop goals for designing resources and activities to support effective learning practices.
EDUC 368 Cognitive Development in Childhood and Adolescence (P. Klebahn, K. Segovia, R. Sutton, et al.) (3-4) (PK12): Students interested in the design thinking process should take this course to learn about the coaching and leadership skills needed to drive good design process in groups. Students will work on real projects within organizations.

Winter Quarter

EDUC 208B Curriculum Construction (D. Pope) (3-4) (PK12): Practical aspects of curriculum design are emphasized by students working on projects for actual education clients. May be adapted to issues in higher education.
EDUC 218 Topics in Cognition and Learning: Executive Function (3) (PK12): Executive function is a construct that is rapidly taking on an increasingly central role in bringing together current research in cognitive development, learning, education, and neuroscience. In this seminar we will examine the potential cross-fertilization of these fields of inquiry primarily by reviewing research on learning and individual differences in cognitive neuroscience that may hold relevance to education, as well as reviewing educational research that may hold implications for developmental cognitive neuroscience. This seminar course is designed to engage students in recent advances in this rapidly growing research area via discussions of both historical and late-breaking findings in the literature. By drawing on a breadth of studies ranging from cognitive development, cognitive neuroscience, and educational/training studies, students will gain an appreciation for specific ways interdisciplinary approaches can add value to specific programs of research.
EDUC 239 Educating Young STEM Thinkers (M. Carroll, S. Goldman, B. Roth, et al.) (3-5) (PK12, ET): For students interested in both the design thinking process and STEM-based learning, this course will provide opportunities to work with middle school students and K-12 teachers in STEM-based afterschool activities and camps. Students will be mentors for children in learning about STEM careers.
EDUC 245 Understanding Racial and Ethnic Identity Development (T. LaFromboise) (3-5) (PK12): This course considers racial and ethnic identity development, which may be extrapolated to the experiences of students of color; it explores how social, political, and psychological forces can shape the experiences of people of color in the U.S. Students interested in how race is related to social identity variables including gender, class, generational differences, and regional identifications, and bi- and multi-racial status are likely to be interested in this course.
EDUC 280 Learning & Teaching of Science (T. LaFromboise) (3) (HE): This course will provide students with a basic knowledge of the relevant research in cognitive psychology and science education and the ability to apply that knowledge to enhance their ability to learn and teach science, particularly at the undergraduate level. Course will involve readings, discussion, and application of the ideas through creation of learning activities. It is suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students with some science background. Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
EDUC 297 Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (T. Ehrlich) (3-4) (HE): In the context of a doctoral course that teaches students how to construct and implement courses in higher education, students learn the pedagogical needs and challenges of higher education classrooms and how they are supported by the university.
EDUC 338 Innovations in Education (S. Speicher, S. Wise) (3-4) (PK12): Each year students in this course explore a new design challenge related to teaching. This year we will focus on creating school models. We welcome graduate students from a wide range of disciples. Admission by application. Please see more information at http://dschool.stanford.edu.
EDUC 342 Child Development & New Technologies (B. Barron, K. Forssell) (3) (PK12): This course is for students interested in the experiences of children with computing technologies and how these might influence development. The course uses sociocultural theories of development to understand how children use technology to meet their own goals, with an emphasis on the influence of interactive technology on cognitive, identity, and social development.
EDUC 357 Science and Environmental Education in Informal Contexts (B. Barron, K. Forssell) (3-4) (PK12, NP): This course explores the opportunities to learn science in contexts outside the formal classroom (e.g. in zoos, museums, and science centers). Students will examine how issues around science and the environment are presented in contexts, how people behave and learn in these contexts, and what they take away. Case studies of nearby science centers will add an experiential dimension to the course.
EDUC 365 Social, Emotional, and Personality Development (W. Damon) (3) (PK12): Limited to doctoral students in DAPS and those with a background in child and adolescent development. Developmental processes that account for psychological adaptation in social relationships, schools, and other interpersonal settings. Theoretical models of social, personality, and emotional development. Topics such as self-concept, empathy, motivation, aggression, and personality formation.
EDUC 385 Language, Race, and Urban Schools (R. Martinez) (3-4) (PK12, HE): This seminar explores the intersections of language and race/racism/racialization in the public schooling experiences of students of color. We will briefly trace the historical emergence of the related fields of sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology, explore how each of these scholarly traditions approaches the study of language, and identify key points of overlap and tension between the two fields before considering recent examples of interdisciplinary scholarship on language and race in urban schools. Issues to be addressed include language variation and change, language and identity, bilingualism and multilingualism, language ideologies, and classroom discourse. We will pay particular attention to the implications of relevant literature for teaching and learning in urban classrooms.
EDUC 405 Teaching in the Humanities (3) (PK12, HE): This course, designed for graduate students in the humanities and education, explores approaches to teaching the humanities at both the secondary and collegiate levels, with a focus on the teaching of text, and how the humanities can help students develop the ability to read and think critically. The course explores purposes and pedagogical approaches for teaching humanities through a variety of texts and perspectives. The course is designed as an opportunity for doctoral students in the Humanities both to enrich their own teaching, and to broaden their understanding of professional teaching opportunities, including community college and secondary school teaching.
PSYCH 146 Observation of Children (3-5) (PK12): Learning about children through guided observations at Bing Nursery School, Psychology's lab for research and training in child development. Physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and language development. Recommended: 60.

Spring Quarter

EDUC 239 Educating Young STEM Thinkers (M. Carroll, S. Goldman, B. Roth, et al.) (3-5) (PK12, ET): For students interested in both the design thinking process and STEM-based learning, this course will provide opportunities to work with middle school students and K-12 teachers in STEM-based afterschool activities and camps. Students will be mentors for children in learning about STEM careers.
EDUC 256 Psychological and Educational Resilience Among Children and Youth (R. Lizcano, A. Padilla) (4) (PK12, EP): This course is aimed at students interested in individual, family, school, and community risk and protective factors that influence children’s development and adaptation. Adaptive systems that enable some children to achieve successful resilience despite high levels of adversity exposure are emphasized. Theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues are examined, including current terminology and conceptual and measurement issues.
EDUC 290 Instructional Leadership: Building Capacity for Excellent Teaching (D. Brazer) (3-4) (PK12): Designed with aspiring school leaders in mind, this course helps students understand how teacher learning and organizational learning are generated to improve educational quality at the school and district level. Students who wish to work at the district level may be interested in this course to learn a perspective on addressing school improvement.
EDUC 303 Designing Learning Spaces (K. Forssell) (3-4) (PK12, HE): Project-based. How space shapes personal interactions and affords learning opportunities In formal and informal settings. How to integrate learning principles into the design of spaces and develop a rubric to assess the impact on learning.
EDUC 332 Theory and Practice of Environmental Education (3) (HE): Foundational understanding of the history, theoretical underpinnings, and practice of environmental education as a tool for addressing today's pressing environmental issues. The purpose, design, and implementation of environmental education in formal and nonformal settings with youth and adult audiences. Field trip and community-based project offer opportunities for experiencing and engaging with environmental education initiatives.
EDUC 366 Learning in Formal and Informal Environments (B. Barron) (3) (PK12, NP): This course is for students interested in how learning opportunities are organized in the formal school setting and in informal non-school settings, such as museums, afterschool clubs, community centers, theater groups, sports teams, and new media contexts. The course will use sociocultural theories of development as a conceptual framework and involve a research project in which students observe and document a non-school learning environment.
EDUC 337 Race, Ethnicity, and Linguistic Diversity in Classrooms: Sociocultural Theory and Practices (3-5) (PK12): Focus is on classrooms with students from diverse racial, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Studies, writing, and media representation of urban and diverse school settings; implications for transforming teaching and learning. Issues related to developing teachers with attitudes, dispositions, and skills necessary to teach diverse students.
EDUC 391 Engineering Education and Online Learning (3) (HE): An introduction to best practices in engineering education and educational technology, with a focus on online and blended learning. In addition to gaining a broad understanding of the field, students will experiment with a variety of education technologies, pedagogical techniques, and assessment methods.
HUMBIO 144 Boys' Psychosocial Development (J. Chu) (4) (PK12, NP): This course looks at how boys’ lives and experiences from early childhood through adolescence are embedded in their interpersonal relationships and social and cultural contexts. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach and explores with an education perspective, as well as with psychology and sociology perspectives.

Inquiry & Assessment

Autumn Quarter

EDUC 200A Introduction to Data Analysis and Interpretation (J. Henderson, T. Porter, A. Porteus, et al.) (3-4) (PK12, HE, NP, EP): This course teaches students to read and interpret published research. It develops skills central to the POLS Project/Talk and can be used to begin to develop the Project.
EDUC 200B Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (D. Pope, J. Wolf) (3-4) (PK12, HE, NP, EP): Students who are confident in their ability to read and understand published research (particularly quantitative) should take this course to broaden their understanding of research methods and uses. Course material and hands-on activities are likely to be directly applicable to the POLS Project/Talk.
EDUC 346 Research Seminar in Higher Education (A. Antonio) (4) (HE): Students interested in higher education are recommended to take this course, which explores the major issues, including current structural features of the system, the histories that shaped it, and theoretical frameworks that inform it. Higher education will be looked at through the lens of interest groups and across issues such as diversity, stratification, decentralization, etc.

Winter Quarter

EDUC 200B Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (D. Pope, J. Wolf) (4) (PK12, HE, NP, EP): Students who are confident in their ability to read and understand published research (particularly quantitative) should take this course to broaden their understanding of research methods and uses. Course material and hands-on activities are likely to be directly applicable to the POLS Project/Talk.
EDUC 296 Introduction to Survey Research (3-4) (PK12, HE, NP, EP): Planning tasks, including problem formulation, study design, questionnaire and interview design, pretesting, sampling, interviewer training, and field management. Epistemological and ethical perspectives. Issues of design, refinement, and ethics in research that crosses boundaries of nationality, class, gender, language, and ethnicity.

Spring Quarter

EDUC 278 Introduction to Issues in Evaluation (A. Porteus) (3-4) (PK12, HE, EP): Students interested in the major theoretical and practical issues with program evaluation should take this course to learn about defining purpose, obtaining credible evidence, the role of the evaluator, working with the stakeholder, values in evaluation, utilization, and professional standards. The course project is to design an evaluation for a complex national or international program.
MED 247 Methods in Community Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (M. Kiernan, M. Stefanick) (3) (PK12, HE, NP, EP): While not specifically focused on educational research, this course is designed for students who would like to develop their skills in designing, implementing, and analyzing structured interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, and field observations.
MS&E 152 Introduction to Decision Analysis (R. Shachter) (3-4) (PK12, HE, NP, EP): This course explores how to make good decisions in a complex, dynamic, and uncertain world. Topics include distinctions, possibilities and probabilities, relevance, value of information, decision diagrams, risk attitudes, etc.

Optional POLS Internship Opportunity

The internship component of the POLS experience is strongly encouraged but not required.
Students may only participate in one internship per quarter.
Students may participate in an internship as few or as many quarters as they would like.
Students may earn 1-3 academic units per quarter depending on hours worked.
Any student earning academic credit for his/her internship is required to participate in EDUC 210 "POLS Internship Workshop" which will meet 2-3 times each quarter during the regularly scheduled POLS Seminar time.
Internships may be paid, unpaid, or be funded by a stipend. Students may not receive funding and academic credit for the exact same work.

For more comprehensive information, please see EdCareers' Internship Guidelines for Students.