School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Education

BA/BS in Education (co-major)

The undergraduate major in Education is a co-major, meaning students must pursue it in conjunction with another major. The program is flexible and allows students to work with a faculty advisor to design a tailored program that meets their interests and goals. 

Some students have recently completed co-majors in Education with majors in Community Health, English, and American Studies. Learn about the experiences of some of our current students and alumni.

Message from Program Director

Steven Cohen
Director, Undergraduate Education

Program Requirements and Policies

  • A minimum of 10 courses of 30 credits or more are required for the BA in Education. 
  • Up to three of the ten courses (a maximum of nine credits) may come from other departments. Three courses may count for the primary major as well, if that major also approves.
  • The student and advisor complete the major advising worksheet along with a one page description of the program of study the student hopes to pursue. Students who declare a major in Education must submit their plan to the Undergraduate Committee by the following semester's add/drop deadline.

Course Requirements

The core requirements are designed to focus on scholarship, research, and practice in the field of education. To gain a broad understanding in the field of education, students will take at least one course in each of these fields. The following courses are pre-approved as meeting the core requirements; students may also submit additional courses for consideration by the Undergraduate Committee.

Cognitive and Social Development

  • ED 15: Social-Emotional Development & Ethical Civic Learning in Schools
  • ED 130: Human Development and Learning
  • CSHD 51: Intellectual Development of the Young Child
  • CSHD 82: Social Policy for Children and Families
  • CSHD 151: Advanced Intellectual Development of the Young Child
  • CSHD 152: Development of Thought and Language
  • CSHD 153: Culture and Learning: Issues for Education

School as Institutions

  • ED 160: Post-colonial Theories
  • ED 161: Anthropology and Sociology of Schooling
  • ED 162: Critical Histories of U.S. Education
  • ED 164: Education for Peace and Justice
  • ED 167: Critical Race Theories
  • ED 168: Pedagogies

Teaching and Learning

  • ED 10: Teaching and Learning in K-12 History and Social Studies
  • ED 11: Observing Theory in Action
  • ED 91: Language Arts in Action
  • ED 110: History and Political Science/Political Philosophy Curricula
  • ED 111: Development of Knowledge and Reasoning in the Science Curriculum
  • ED 112: Mathematics Learning Environments
  • ED 113: Language Arts Curricula in the Middle and Secondary School
  • ED 114: Linguistic Approaches to Second Language Acquisition
  • ED 116, 117: Interdisciplinary Elementary Curriculum
  • ED 119: Development of Knowledge and Reasoning in Engineering
  • ED 198: Step-Up Boston

Capstone

All students complete a Capstone experience designed in consultation with their advisors. This could involve teaching as a guest or intern in K-12 schools, or as an undergraduate teaching assistant at Tufts; an internship at a museum; developing educational materials; or research on learning and teaching, independently or as part of a faculty member's project.