About the Department
The Education Department at UC Santa Cruz is a small department with a big agenda. We develop leaders and pursue research that will affect the future of teaching and learning in formal classroom settings and far beyond.
Faculty research attends to the socio-cultural and socio-political contexts of learning and teaching with close attention to the intersection of race, culture, language, and power. We lead numerous interdisciplinary projects that contribute to engaged scholarship on campus, in the local community, and across the nation.
Our research also informs our approach to academics. The Education Department has a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) program that prepares scholars whose research deepens and expands knowledge of the barriers and pathways to a more equitable and just school system and society. We also offer a model teacher-preparation program that produces new social justice-oriented K-12 teachers who can help to address current statewide and national teacher shortages. And our undergraduate programs, including the education, democracy, and justice major and two vibrant minor tracks, engage and serve more than 300 undergraduates each year in opportunities to broadly consider educational questions, theories, practices, and research.
Local school districts speak highly of our teacher graduates and the preparation training that they receive. In light of the increasingly aggressive, active recruitment of our students, we expect the demand for MA/C program graduates to remain strong.
Our History
In 1975 the study of education as a field started on this campus with just four faculty members. It quickly grew to full department status in the 1990s, and by 2003, we offered programs and degrees at all levels of the university: undergraduate minors, masters level teacher preparation, and doctoral research study. In 2020, we added the Education, Democracy, and Justice B.A., which enables more students to study education with an eye toward careers, teaching credential programs, or other graduate programs or degrees in education. In our first year, 70% of students who declared the new major were students of color, a statistic that is encouraging in light of the need for more educators of color in both formal and informal education settings.
Alumni success stories
Kalwis Lo: Expanding access
Kalwis Lo (Stevenson ’11, education and politics) was the director of policy for Scholarship America, which provides $250 million in annual scholarships, as well as mentorships, fiscal-literacy resources, and emergency grants to students. Now he is a senior associate at Operativo, leading public engagement, government affairs, and partnerships.
Benjamin Ahlvik-Garrison: sixth-grade language arts teacher
A 2022 graduate of our M.A./credential program, Benjamin Ahlvik-Garrison is now a language arts teacher at Edward A Hall Middle School for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. Garrison was drawn to UCSC by the opportunity to pursue a one-year master’s in education plus a Bilingual Authorization on his teaching credential.
Yuzhu Xia: Evaluation and data manager for Boston Public Schools
2022 Ph.D. program alumna Yuzhu Xia leverages data-driven insights to inform educational policies and practices. Her goals are advancing student outcomes and promoting equity in education. She has contributed to initiatives such as scaling quality in universal Pre-K programs, strategic literacy outcomes projects, and teacher workforce studies.
More alumni stories
More student stories
Are you one of our alumni? If so, we’d love to stay in touch. Be sure to update your contact and employment information with the campus, so that we can celebrate your successes and keep you in the loop on opportunities. You can also follow the Economics Department on social media at the links on the bottom of this page.
Support Education
Join us in building a brighter future for education, across California and throughout the United States. Your gift will support our path-breaking research, innovative curriculum development, and hands-on learning experiences for our students, who are the next generation of aspiring leaders in the field of education. Together, we can unlock the transformative power of learning.
Education Department by the numbers
40%
of undergraduate students take courses with a diversity focus
$4.4
million in research funding awarded in the past five years
38%
of M.A./credential program participants identify as ethnic minorities
84%
of undergraduates complete a research project or paper in their coursework
94%
percent of Ph.D. candidates agreed their advisor provides quality mentorship and advocacy
60
research grants won in the past five years