Emory University Division of Education Studies
http://www.des.emory.edu/
INTRODUCTION
The Division of Educational Studies is located in the modern North Decatur Building of Emory University. The Division offers a full range of programs that includes the Ph.D. in Educational Studies and the Master of Arts (M.A.) both with strong research orientations. The Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) is intended for individuals seeking both a master's degree and their initial teaching field certification. The Division also offers undergraduates the opportunity to major or minor in educational studies as part of their Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. Undergraduate students may also complete an Honors Thesis. The Division's programs are aimed at preparing preservice teachers, strengthening the skills of practicing teachers, and developing a new generation of educational researchers. Because of its outstanding work in preparing doctoral students, in 1999 the Division became one of the Spencer Foundation Research Training Grant (RTG) institutions, a select group of education schools and colleges recognized for the excellence of their Ph.D. program.
The faculty is composed of a distinguished group of scholars who are dedicated to research, teaching, and mentoring students. Faculty awards and recognition have included the Emory Williams Award for Distinguished Teaching, Emory University's most prestigious teaching award; the Excellence in Teaching in the Social Sciences Award from Emory's Center for Teaching and Curriculum; two Crystal Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching; four National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Research Fellowships; a Rockefeller Fellowship in the Humanities; the Exemplary Research Award from the National Council for the Social Studies; the Richard E. Snow Award for Early Contributions from the American Psychological Association; the Early Career Research Award from Kappa Delta Pi/AERA Division K; the Raymond Cattell Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association; a Spencer Mentoring Award; two Jefferson Awards from Emory University; the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in Education; and numerous outstanding book awards. The Division is also home to two of Emory's endowed chairs.
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PROGRAMS OF STUDY - Brief Description
Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies
The Division of Educational Studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of education with a special emphasis on urban and comparative issues. In particular, the Division seeks to provide students with a foundation for understanding the social and cultural context in which education occurs and for interpreting the complex relationships among education, the individual, and society. Interdisciplinary in its requirements, the educational studies major provides a foundation that is appropriate for students who may choose to enter a teacher certification program at the graduate level as well as students who may later wish to embark upon other careers in education. The major is also appropriate for students who intend to pursue graduate study in other areas such as law or business, but who need a more comprehensive understanding of the complexity of educational issues in order to contribute to meaningful decision making in their professional and private lives. In addition to the major, the Division offers a minor in Educational Studies. Graduates of this program do not meet the requirements for teacher certification.
Click here for a pdf file outlining the Course Requirements for a DES Major
Click here for a pdf file outlining the Course Requirements for a DES Minor
The Division also offers an Honors Program that provides Educational Studies majors with the opportunity to distinguish themselves by writing a thesis on an intellectual problem of importance to the discipline of education. Students who have demonstrated their capacity for such work are invited by the Division in the spring of their junior year to participate in the Honors Program during their senior year. The honors student proposes, conducts, writes, and defends an honors thesis under the supervision of a 3-member faculty Thesis Committee. The thesis is evaluated by the Committee and, if it is approved for some level of honors, this distinction is recorded on the student's diploma.
The Division offers an Introduction to Teaching class that enables Emory College undergraduate students to take a course that provides them with the opportunity to consider teaching as a career as well as to learn about Emory's Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program. The MAT leads to teacher certification in either middle grades (to teach Grades 4-8) or one of several fields at the secondary level (to teach Grades 6-12). Graduate students accepted into the MAT Program begin in the summer semester and, with successful completion of course work during two additional semesters, fulfill the requirements for Georgia's teaching certificate at the master's degree level. After being admitted to the MAT program, students receive a substantial tuition award for courses taken in the Graduate School during the Summer, Fall, and Spring semesters. To be considered for the MAT program, a student must have sufficient coursework in a teaching field appropriate for teacher certification, a 3.0 or above GPA in junior and senior years, completed the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), and an interest in teaching in urban and/or multicultural settings.
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Master of Arts in Teaching
The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program is designed for students interested in earning a master's degree while preparing to become classroom teachers. Applicants should have a strong undergraduate record and an undergraduate major appropriate for the anticipated teaching field. Programs are available in middle grades education (Grades 4-8) and in secondary education (Grades 6-12) in four content areas (English, mathematics, science, and social studies). With emphasis placed on excellence in teaching, these programs are designed to develop knowledge and skills in the processes of instruction and advanced competence in subject matter. Each program provides the experiences necessary for developing reflective professional educators, able to teach diverse student populations and assume roles as educational leaders in their school systems. Successful completion of the program of study leads to initial Georgia teacher certification at the fifth year level. All MAT students receive substantial tuition awards from the Graduate School. The DES received the Teacher Education Award for 2007-2008. The annual award is sponsored by the Georgia Association of Teacher Educators (GATE)
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Master of Arts
The Master of Arts (M.A.) program is designed to develop knowledge and skill in disciplined inquiry appropriate to the advanced student's selected area of educational concern. Emphasis is on developing a high level of research and scholarly competence, and a research thesis is required. M.A. applicants should review the various fields of research in which the DES faculty are engaged.
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Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies
The Ph.D. program is designed to extend knowledge and develop skills for independent scholarly work and research in education. Progress toward attainment of those goals is demonstrated through course work, by the caliber of the work completed in the qualifying examinations and, ultimately, by the production of a dissertation. In conjunction with the Department of French and Italian, the Division also offers a joint Ph.D. program in French and Educational Studies. Requirements are the same as those of the Ph.D. in Educational Studies, with second language acquisition as the area of concentration.
Admission
The Division's faculty maintains rigorous admissions criteria to the doctoral program and is committed to the early development of a mentoring relationship with students. Applications are evaluated on the basis of demonstrated potential for advanced scholarly work, as well as with regard to the fit between the applicant's scholarly goals and the interests and expertise of the faculty.
Applicants must satisfy admission requirements described in the Emory University Graduate School online application. This includes (a) a Statement of Purpose that outlines the applicant's goals in undertaking doctoral study in the Division; (b) competitive scores attained on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken within five years prior to application; (c) three letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant's academic and/or professional performance; and (d) transcripts and other evidence of academic performance of all previous graduate and undergraduate coursework attempted. Applicants whose native language is not English should provide evidence of a minimum score of 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), together with any other evidence of English-language fluency. Faculty may request the applicant to schedule a personal interview. Applicants must have earned a master's degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university in a field of specialization appropriate to the proposed doctoral work.
Course Requirements
Ph.D. students complete professional seminars, colloquia, and course work in foundations courses drawn from four context areas (Historical, Philosophical/Psychological, Social/Political, and Cultural), research methodology, and their area of specialization. In addition, they complete internships in teaching, research, and curriculum, as well as dissertation research. Each semester, full-time students are assigned activities designed to extend their experiences to include a w