FAQs
- Where does EPS stand in U.S. World and News rankings?
- What positions do EPS masters degree recipients hold?
- What positions do EPS doctoral graduates hold?
- I am applying to several programs. They all seem strong. What are some reasons to come to EPS rather than to enroll in another program?
- Are the masters and doctoral programs separate?
-
I am sure that I want to take a doctoral degree but I do not have a masters degree. Can I be admitted directly to the doctoral program?
- If I am admitted to the masters program, do I need to reapply for the doctoral program?
- If I already have a masters degree, will I have to complete another one?
- What percent of students complete a degree?
- How many advisees does each faculty member have?
- How many students does EPS enroll annually?
- How large are course classes?
- Are graduate courses separate from undergraduate courses?
- How flexible are EPS degree requirements?
- What is the time-to-completion for the masters degree?
- What is the time-to-completion for the doctoral degree?
- How can I arrange to visit EPS?
- What kind of financial aid opportunities are available?
- Are your course syllabi on your website? Where?
- How are advisors assigned? Can I switch advisors?
- I am a student of color. Are there any campus or departmental resources that may address my needs and interests?
- I am a non-U.S. citizen. Are there any campus or departmental resources that may address my needs and interests?
- Can I transfer credits that I’ve taken in other graduate programs?
- What kinds of topics do masters and doctoral students write about?
Q: Where does EPS stand in U.S. World and News rankings?
A: Typically, EPS is among the top three in its category. See http://www.usnews.com/usnews/rankguide/rghome.htm
for the latest information.
Q: What positions do EPS masters degree recipients hold?
A: Here is a partial list of positions held by EPS masters graduates:
Project
Manager at the National Institute for Science Education
Masters Graduates
Research Specialist: Peoria, AZ School District
CEO/President of East End Neighborhood House, Cleveland, OH
Director of College Counseling at Rowland-St.Mark’s School,
Salt Lake City, UT, also
President of the Rocky Mountain Association for College Admission Counseling
Teacher and Curriculum Writer, Clark County School District (Las Vegas, NV)
Education Advisor for Save the Children, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Cross Cultural Relations Specialist in the Office for Institutional Equity, Duke
University
Q: What positions do EPS doctoral graduates hold?
A: Here is a partial list of positions held by EPS doctoral graduates:
Professor of Education at DePaul University
Senior Program Officer for The Spencer Foundation
Assistant Professor, Univ. of Iowa
Assistant Professor and Director of the Educational Studies Program
at Trinity College
Special Assistant to the Provost, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Associate Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Dept.
of Educational Organization and Leadership
Professor and leading scholar at Seoul National University, Dept.
of Education
Associate Dean of the School of Education, UW-Eau Claire
Assistant Professor, Grad School of Education, University of California
at Riverside
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Educational Leadership & Policy,
SUNY at Buffalo
CEO of the African Virtual University
Senior Education Specialist at the World Bank in Washington DC.
Director of Service and Service Learning, Cornell College
Director of Educational Linguistics Program, Penn State
Dean of the College of Education at North Carolina State University
President of the Rocky Mountain Association for College Admission
Counseling
Professor & Chair, Dept. of Teaching & Leadership, Univ. of
Kansas
Post-doctoral Research Associate in the School of Education at Stanford
Assistant Professor at Tamagawa University, Tokyo
Professor, Graduate School of Education, SUNY Buffalo
Q: I am applying to several programs. They all seem strong. What are some reasons to come to EPS rather than to enroll in another program?
A: There are many reasons, among them:
Our approach to policy studies is rooted in a strong belief that policy
researchers and policy experts need to be well versed in interdisciplinary
conversations about the meaning, purposes, scope, and limits of education
analyzed through historical, social/cultural, and philosophical lenses.
Conversely, in these times, scholars who study education through the
disciplines need to be aware of the policy implications of their work.
Our department includes scholars who study education through several
disciplines as well as scholars primarily concerned with educational
policy. Departmental conversations both deepen and broaden participants’
perspectives.
Further, our department encourages students to explore ideas and perspectives
available across the University. Our credit requirements inside the
department are modest to facilitate students’ ability to draw
on courses that complement our offerings from other departments. We
maintain rich and active intellectual ties with departments and programs
across the School of Education and also in Letters and Science, especially
the Departments of Anthropology, History, Philosophy, Sociology, the
LaFollette Institute of Public Policy, Women’s and Ethnic Studies
Programs, and various International Area Studies Programs. The location
of our university in a capitol city facilitates research that examines
state policy formation and implementation.
Our faculty are actively publishing scholars who hold leadership positions
in national professional organizations related to their varied disciplines.
Students are admitted to study in the Department, not to work with
individual advisors. Students have the freedom to explore the varied
perspectives of the department before declaring a concentration. They
are free to change advisors in accordance with changes that may occur
in their interests as their studies unfold.
Because the department is small, there is opportunity for students
to become well acquainted with both faculty and other students.
Each faculty member typically advises no more than eight students
at any time, making it possible for faculty to work closely and intensively
with doctoral and masters students.
Q: Are the masters and doctoral programs separate?
A: No. Credits taken in working toward a masters degree also provide
progress toward the doctoral degree. Students can and do enter intending
to take a masters degree and decide to stay for the doctorate. Conversely,
some students who enter planning to take a doctoral degree decide
to take a masters degree and leave for the working world.
Q: I am sure that I want to take a doctoral degree but I do not have a masters degree. Can I be admitted directly to the doctoral program?
A: No. All students who do not hold masters degree are initially
admitted to the masters program.
Q: If I am admitted to the masters program, do I need to reapply for the doctoral program?
A: No. At the time of the defense of your masters thesis, a decision
is made about your admission to the doctoral program.
Q: If I already have a masters degree, will I have to complete another one?
A: No, provided the degree is in Educational Policy Studies or a
comparable field, and you have completed a piece of writing comparable
to a masters thesis. In borderline cases, the Admissions Committee
and temporary advisor decide together whether the applicant is admitted
to the masters or to the doctoral program.
Q: What percent of students complete a degree?
A: About 75 to 80 percent.
Q: How many advisees does each faculty member have?
A: Typically, each faculty member advises four or five masters students
and three or four doctoral students.
Q: How many students does EPS enroll annually?
A: Entering classes typically range from 12 to 20 students. Generally
about fifty students are actively present on campus.
Q: How large are course classes?
A: Graduate classes typically range from eight to fifteen students.
Mixed undergraduate/graduate classes (classes below the 700 level)
typically range from twenty to forty-five students, with one exception:
eps/History 412: The History of American Education (about 150 students).
Q: Are graduate courses separate from undergraduate courses?
A: Generally yes. Courses numbered 700 and above are open to undergraduates
only through petition. However, courses numbered from 400 to 699 are
open to both undergraduate juniors and seniors and to graduate students
and do count for graduate credit when taken by graduate students.
Q: How flexible are EPS degree requirements?
A: The requirements are very flexible. Students’ programs and
preliminary (comprehensive) examinations are generally individually
tailored. For a detailed answer, see our Graduate
Student Handbook.
Q: What is the time-to-completion for the masters degree?
A: The requirements for the masters degree can be completed in two
years.
Q: What is the time-to-completion for the doctoral degree?
A: For a doctoral degree, time to completion typically ranges from
three to five years if you enter with a masters degree and from five
to seven years if you earn both a masters degree and a doctoral degree
in EPS.
Q: How can I arrange to visit EPS?
A: Visitors are always welcome. Feel free to email individual faculty
for appointments. You may also contact our Graduate Coordinator, Mary
Jo Gessler (608-262-1761 or gessler@education.wisc.edu)
to make arrangements for longer visits. However, you may wish to wait
until you hear whether you are admitted and to take advantage of our
Annual Visitation Weekend.
Each March, our department hosts an Annual Visitation Weekend for
students admitted for the following fall. Visitors meet with faculty,
current graduate students, and other admitted applicants, attend Monday
or Friday classes, and are introduced to students’ and faculties’
research during a day-long question-and-answer panel. Some current
graduate students help out by opening their houses and apartments
to visitors and some funding is available to help defray travel expenses.
Q: What kind of financial aid opportunities are available?
A: There are a very small number of fellowships for first year students
and for students working on dissertations. Most of our students work
as Project, Research, and Teaching Assistants in a great variety of
settings across campus. Positions anywhere on campus contracted at
33% or more provide you with tuition, health insurance, and a stipend.
Contact Mary Jo Gessler (gessler@education.wisc.edu)
for details and see our EPS web site for announcements of employment
opportunities. The research resources
link on the EPS home page lists additional on- and off-campus sources
of funding.
Q: Are your course syllabi on your website? Where?
A: Short
descriptions of EPS
courses are available on our website.
Q: How are advisors assigned? Can I switch advisors?
A: The admissions committee matches newly admitted students with
temporary advisors, based on the committee’s assessment of student-faculty
research interests. Students can switch advisors at any time.
Q: I am a student of color. Are there any campus or departmental resources that may address my needs and interests?
A: The Multicultural
Student Center
is a campus-wide center that serves as a meeting place and information
center for students of color. See also the Department of Afro-American
Studies,
the American Indian Studies Program,
the Asian American Studies Program,
and the Chicana/o Studies Program.
Q: I am a non-U.S. citizen. Are there any campus or departmental resources that may address my needs and interests?
A: International Student Services
and the Multicultural Student Center
serve as meeting places and information centers for international
students. See also weekly informal Friday meetings for international
students held at Union South.
Q: Can I transfer credits that I’ve taken in other graduate programs?
A: Yes, however transfer credits are not routinely approved and decisions
are made after you have been here for a semester. For details, see
our Graduate
Student Handbook.
Q: What kinds of topics do masters and doctoral students write about?
A: Here is a partial list of titles of recently completed masters papers and doctoral theses:MA titles:
The New State of Education: Education and the Delinquent in Wisconsin
from Statehood to 1860
Secularization and the Presence of Islam in Early Turkish Education
(1923-1949)
Popular Education and Civil Society in Mexico
Choosing and Committing to an Applied Science Major: Exploring
Differences in the Factors that Influence Men’s and Women’s
Decisions
Parallel Souls: Studies on Early Twentieth-Century Native American
Leaders in Relation to Black Activists W.E.B. DuBois and Marcus Garvey,
1900-1934
(Re)Contextualizing Indian Higher Education: A Qualitative Study of
Indigenous Women at Predominantly White University
An Instrumental Case Study of Multicultural Democratic Education:
The Facing History and Ourselves Leadership Program
Can Teachers and Students be Friends?
Dissertation titles:
Painting Outside the Lines? Tensions and Possibilities of Alternative
Schools for Marginalized Students
Addressing the Achievement Gap: A Study in Two High Schools Attempting
Reform
Claiming Belonging and Difference: Cultural Citizenship and Identity
Construction in Schools
Principal Leadership and Teacher Expectancy in a High-Stakes Accountability
Policy Context
Accountability and the Search for Instructional Strategies: Changes
in Search Activity by Elementary Teachers in the Chicago Public Schools
after the Implementation of Outcomes Based Accountability
Forgiveness and Education
Consolidation for Democracy: Rural School Reform in the Midwest 1910-1930.
Teachers Notions of Diversity: An Ethnographic Study of Two Multiethnic
and Multiracial Head Start Classrooms
Youth Development, Participation and School Reform: Creating Opportunities
and Supports for Student Decision-Making in a High School
