New Minor in Educational Studies

For the first time, the Graduate School of Education is offering courses to undergraduate students through its new minor in educational studies. 

The minor, offered by the Department of International and Comparative Education, gives students an opportunity to study issues related to education reform, as well as theories and practices of teaching and learning. 

“Interest in education among AUC undergraduate students has grown tremendously over the past few years,” said Ted Purinton, dean of the Graduate School of Education. “An increasing number of clubs focusing on education reform clued us to this growing interest. We also noticed that AUC graduates were getting very good jobs as teachers at private schools.”

Although the new minor does not offer professional training for teaching, it serves as a base from which undergraduate students can explore postgraduate interests in the fields of education, social sciences, law and social development. The minor is also a valuable addition for students interested in professional careers that intersect with policy, development organizations and projects, academia, school or university leadership, web design and corporate training. 

According to Purinton, the study of education is an applied version of the liberal arts. “Education is, by its very nature, interdisciplinary,” he noted. “Beyond this, it taps into a variety of social and natural sciences, and in doing so, reveals to these disciplines how their theoretical constructs look in practice. In many ways, fields such as sociology, political science, psychology, biology and anthropology have all been strongly influenced by applications within education.”

AUC students will have a great influence on the educational system in Egypt in the coming decades, whether or not they pursue education as a profession, noted Purinton. “It is important that the future leaders of this country have a strong sense of the issues facing schools and universities in Egypt,” he said. “With a minor in educational studies, we intend to open up opportunities for undergraduate students to see firsthand how their liberal arts experience at AUC provides meaningful applications to the real world.”

Students who declare the educational studies minor are required to take 15 credit hours from a series of courses including Education and Society; Fundamentals of Teaching and Learning; Educating Children and Youth for a Sustainable Future; Educational Assessment and Instructional Design; Gender and Education; and Education, Civil Society and International Development, in addition to selected topics for the Core Curriculum.

For more information on the minor in educational studies, click here.