School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Education

MA in Educational Studies

The MA in Educational Studies is an opportunity for motivated, independent-minded learners seeking new ideas in education. Students have the flexibility to design programs of study specifically around their backgrounds and interests. The department matches students with faculty advisors, who work with them to create their plans, selecting courses from Education and across the university, and, as appropriate, planning internships, independent studies, or projects. A significant project could develop into a master's thesis.

Students in the program include K-12 teachers interested in furthering their intellectual and professional development; community activists who see education as key to societal health; and educators in any setting who would like to conduct research on learning and instruction.

Some students look to apply studies of critical theory in STEM Education. Others are interested in developing community spaces of learning — to enhance their practices as K-12 teachers or their preparation for college teaching, to work with students making the transition from high school to college, or to study educational practices in other countries. There are lots of possibilities.

Office of Graduate Admissions

We invite you to learn more about this program.

Application Information

Program Requirements and Policies

The MA in Educational Studies degree is awarded after successful completion of 30 credits at the graduate level (courses numbers 100 or above). At least 18 credits must be from courses taken within the Department of Education.

Due to the flexible nature of the Educational Studies MA program, there are limited required courses. All students must take the ED 207 CORE Seminar their first semester in the program. We also require that at least one of the Education courses is from the "Foundations" group of courses, typically within the ED 16X number range. We encourage you to work with your Faculty Advisor to develop a program of study tailored to your interests and goals.

See the current semester's course offerings and a full list of descriptions of courses from the Department of Education by visiting the Courses page.

If you have questions regarding the Educational Studies program reach out to your advisor or to the program director, Brian Gravel. 

Review examples of programs:

  • Study race, class, gender and other categories of identity, culture, and institutional and structural power as they relate to education. This was the main focus of the program for more than a decade, and it is still a central area of work in the department. Possibilities include:

  • Prepare to promote and advocate for students' emotional health and development. Possibilities include designing a program connected with:

  • Study learning in environmental science and policy, drawing on courses in the Tufts Environmental Studies Program. Possibilities include:http://as.tufts.edu/uep/http://as.tufts.edu/uep/

  • Study learning in art education drawing on courses in the Department of Education, SMFA, Art History, Dance, and more. Possibilities include, but are not limited to:

    •    All SMFA graduate level (100 number or higher) studio art classes.
    •    Graduate level Art History courses
    •    Current Issues in Art Ed, EDS 0191 (fall)
    •    Innovative Methods, PK-8, EDS 271 or 5-12, EDS 272 (summer)
    •    Art Ed, Human Development, & Culturally Sustaining Teaching, EDS 121
    •    Inclusive Practices in Art Education, EDS 122
    •    Universal Design in Art Education: EDS 270 (summer)
    •    Creating Inclusive Educational Spaces, ED 172 (summer)
    •    Human Development & Learning, ED 130 (summer and fall)
    •    Foundations in Education - ED 16X series 
    •    Education of the Exceptional Child, ED 142 (summer and fall)
    •    Creative Dance for Children, DNC 189
    •    Dance Maker’s Workshop, DNC 117
    •    Advanced Dance Studies, DNC 191
    •    EDS 175, Foundations in Art Education, PreK-8 or EDS 177, 5-12 (fall)
    •    EDS 176, Art Ed Curriculum, PreK-8 or EDS 178, 5-12 (spring)

     

Student and Alumni Perspectives

Andrew Hurley, Masters, Educational Studies, 2021, speaking about Re-Thinking Education'

Watch more: Video Perspectives and Peek Inside a Classroom

Program Director

faculty photo

Brian Gravel

Associate Professor
Brian's research focuses on students' representational practices in science and engineering studied using design-based research on learning technologies and socio-technical learning environments. This work builds from the development of SAM Animation, which is stop-motion animation software developed at the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach. Brian co-developed SiMSAM: a multi-representational toolkit to support creative computational modeling activities for middle grades learners. Curious about design, play, and making, his work involves partnerships with researchers and educators to explore dimensions of STEM learning at the intersections of people, materials, representations, and cultures. One such example is starting Nedlam's Workshop in 2014, a makerspace in an urban high school that emphasizes multidisciplinary inquiry. Through this work, he developed both empirical and theoretical contributions focused on heterogeneous design, STEM literacies in making, and analyses of how communities of makers organize to support each other's practices. Collectively, his research complicates and expands the field's understandings of how inquiry unfolds in making contexts, and how makerspaces can be a site for equitable and dignified participation in STEM. Brian's newer work involves teachers engaging in playful computational making to study how they (re)negotiate relationships to inquiry, disciplines, computational tools, and heterogeneous ways of knowing. This includes the exploration of geographies of care and responsibility that support STEM learning environments that center wellbeing. His scholarship examines the many facets of making and making spaces in schools, both in the United States and abroad. Brian's collaborative research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the LEGO Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation. Selected Publications Gravel, B. E., & Puckett, C. (2023). What shapes implementation of a school-based makerspace? Teachers as multilevel actors in STEM reforms. International Journal of STEM Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00395-x Gravel, B. E., & Svihla, V. (2021). Fostering heterogeneous engineering through whole-class design work. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 30(2), 279–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2020.1843465 Gravel, B. E., Tucker-Raymond, E., Wagh, A., Klimczak, S., & Wilson, N. (2021). More than mechanisms: Shifting ideologies for asset-based learning in engineering education. Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research 11(1), 276–297. https://doi.org/10.7771/2157-9288.1286 Tucker-Raymond, E., & Gravel, B. E. (2019). STEM literacies in makerspaces: Implications for learning, teaching, and research. Routledge.

Program Faculty

Meet our Educational Studies Faculty

Student Resources

More Resources