UB announces new master’s program in educational culture, policy and society

The University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education will add a new graduate program to its academic offerings in 2023. The educational culture, policy and society EdM program  is designed for students interested in exploring the role that education plays in larger society, with a focus on how institutions, policies and practices can both facilitate and limit individuals’ well-being and social, economic and educational outcomes.

Offered in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, the program will allow students to examine education in broad-based social, cultural, political and historical contexts in the U.S. and other nations, and the cross-national differences in educational policies and practices related to the teaching profession, teaching and learning. Attention will be directed toward studying the educational policies and practices of underserved populations—including but not limited to historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.—and populations with limited financial resources.

The EdM program aims to prepare students for versatile career pathways in higher education settings, K-12 schools, international development agencies and governmental or non-governmental organizations.

Jinting Wu, PhD, associate professor of educational leadership and policy, is the program director.

“The program offers a bird’s-eye view of the role education plays in reproducing or mitigating social inequality. It answers the need for big picture thinking in a challenging time when education is besieged by growing social, economic and learning disparities,” said Wu.

“Students have ultimate flexibility in designing their own program of coursework,” she said. “Coursework will be interdisciplinary in nature, and draws from multiple departments, such as Educational Leadership and Policy, Sociology, Anthropology, History, Gender and Sexuality Studies, amongst others.”

The program will enroll its first cohort of students in the spring 2023 term. It will be offered on campus and can be completed in three full-time semesters.

“We are very excited to be recruiting a new cohort of students this coming spring,” Wu said.

The educational culture, policy and society EdM program reflects GSE’s mission of providing rigorous and supportive teaching and learning environments that prepare the next generation of practitioners and researchers. GSE is committed to ensuring that students are provided with the very best experiences in terms of their academic programs, co-curricular experiences, advising and research opportunities.

Students interested in learning more about this program can register for a virtual information session scheduled for Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. GSE’s Office of Graduate Admission can also be contacted with program questions at 716-645-2110 or gse-info@buffalo.edu. Information on all the academic offerings at GSE is available on the school’s website.