Home > Programs & Degrees > Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education (CTE)

Area Description
Area Faculty
Degree Requirements - PhD
Master's Program

Recent Graduates : Job Placement

Area Description (CTE)

The Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education (CTE) Area offers a Ph.D. and MA degrees. The Area is designed to prepare scholars and practitioners to address a number of fundamental educational questions: what should be taught, to whom, for what ends? How can school programs be organized to optimize the educational development of students? What processes can be employed to enable teachers and policy makers to understand the strengths and weaknesses of schools? CTE is based on the premise that schools are most likely to improve when those engaged in their improvement recognize the highly interactive nature of school processes. How science is taught, for example, is not independent of the time teachers spend planning their programs or how they believe their efforts will be evaluated. How school subjects are defined and the time allocated to them influence what students are able to learn. What options exist for the organization of the school curriculum? How do evaluation practices influence the priorities of both teachers and students and how can such practices be designed so that they support, rather than inhibit the achievement of educational aims? The CTE Area helps graduate students learn how to think about such questions and how to develop the specialized understanding and research skills needed to study and improve educational practice.

The CTE Area Chair is Professor Claude Goldenberg.

Area Faculty (CTE)

Degree Requirements - PhD

The PhD degree is intended for students who wish to pursue careers in research and scholarship.
First year doctoral students are expected to take the required SUSE core sequence. All students must show proficiency in a special interest area of educational design/evaluation and demonstrate competence in educational research methods. These may be quantitative, qualitative, or a combination of the two.

Expertise in a special interest area is gained through course work and independent study of the literature in the chosen area. Quite often this specialization is a key factor in getting a job upon graduation. Special interest areas might include the design and evaluation of text materials, visual aids for learning, large-scale programs for general education, classroom environments, or programs of teacher in-service education as well as specific reserach foci related to the learning and teaching of core school subjects--English, history, mathematics and science.


Master's Program

The Curriculum and Teacher Education Master of Arts (M.A.) program is intended for people with experience in schools or other educational settings (e.g., museums, community-based organizations) who are interested in furthering their ability to work at the intersection of theory, research, and practice around issues of teaching, learning, curriculum, teacher education, and school reform.

The CTE Master's program only accepts a very small number of M.A. candidates depending on a match with the interests and availability of appropriate faculty. Students are encouraged to discuss in their statements of purpose as explicitly as possible how their interests coordinate with the research and scholarship of one or more prospective advisors.

Once admitted, each student will work closely with a faculty advisor to develop an individualized program of study that reflects the student’s particular interests. As students in this program are not part of a cohort taking courses together, they must be able to work independently, under an advisor’s supervision, in order to complete program requirements based on current course offerings. 

The following CTE faculty are willing to consider supervising qualified master's students for the academic year 2010-2011:
Nicole Ardoin, Shelley Goldman, Sam Wineburg, Jonathan Osborne, Claude Goldenberg

Students have the opportunity to develop specializations around particular subject matters or areas (e.g., English, literacy, mathematics, science, history). These specializations are negotiated individually with the faculty advisor and are contingent upon course offerings and directed reading/research opportunities. Students can take courses across the School of Education and the university at large. In addition to coursework, students conduct a final project that will allow them to focus in depth on a particular area of interest. The CTE Master's program aims to prepare students to serve as educational leaders in a variety of contexts as well as pave the way to further graduate study.

Recent Graduates : Job Placement (CTE)

Master's graduates often work in museums in education programs. Some develop curriculum materials for education products companies, or work for training departments of for-profit companies, developing learning materials for employees. Others take teaching jobs, primarily in private schools, or work in education-related non-profits. Approximately 10 percent go on to doctoral programs immediately after completing the master's degree.

The great majority of doctoral graduates in this area become university professors, often in schools or departments of education that have teacher preparation programs. Others teach in departments that reflect their discipline within CTE, such as mathematics or English. Some take program officer or executive roles in non-profit research firms, or at universities.



Doctoral Graduates

Assistant Professor, Education
University of Maryland

Associate Chair for Educational Programs
Stanford University School of Medicine

Assistant Professor, Education
University of Massachusetts

Assistant Professor, Education
University of Texas, Austin

Assistant Professor, English
San Francisco State University

Assistant Professor, Mathematics
Sonoma State University

Research Associate
West Ed