Educational Studies Dual Major

https://cola.unh.edu/education/program/educational-studies-dual-major

The Educational Studies Dual Major (ESDM) is designed for students who are interested in an education that integrates field-work and research in a range of educational settings, including classrooms, museums and non-profits,  whether they aspire to become educators, activists, policymakers or deepen their knowledge of education as informed citizens.  

The Educational Studies Dual Major (ESDM) is committed to deepening our understanding of educational institutions and the processes necessary to bring about systemic changes that lead to equity and access to a first-rate educational experience for all students. In addition to core courses and electives taught by educational studies faculty, our dual major benefits from a wide array of cross-referenced courses offered by other departments and programs, including Gender and Women’s Studies, Anthropology, History, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Theatre and Dance, and others. Although the interdisciplinary major does not lead to teacher certification, we do advise students from across the University on pathways to teaching.  

Degree Requirements

Minimum Credit Requirement: 128 credits
Minimum Residency Requirement: 32 credits must be taken at UNH
Minimum GPA: 2.0 required for conferral*
Core Curriculum Required: Discovery & Writing Program Requirements
Foreign Language Requirement: Yes, if primary major is a Bachelor of Arts
Declared Primary Major

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Educational Studies Dual Major Requirements

The dual major in educational studies requires (32 credits) each completed with a C+ or better.  Any education course to be applied for a future teacher licensure requirement must be completed with a grade of B- or better. The dual major cannot be declared until after a first major has been declared and students must have a UNH undergraduate GPA of a 2.50 or better at the time of declaring. The required minimum overall GPA in major coursework is 2.50.

Foundations4
Introduction to Educational Studies: Social Change and Education in Local and Global Contexts
Explorations in Learning and Teaching4
Choose one (1) 500-level exploration and applied experience course:
Exploring Teaching
Education, Poverty, and Development
Core Courses8
Two (2) core courses emphasizing interdisciplinary grounding in education and learning (All 700 level Ed courses are open to only Juniors and Seniors):
Educational Perspectives in Critical Times
Human Development & Learning: Cultural Perspectives
Elective Courses12
Choose three (3) elective courses, providing students with opportunities for focused inquiry in educational studies. Students may either emphasize a single cluster or take elective coursework in more than one cluster below:
Instructional Methods in Schools
Classroom Management: Creating Positive Learning Environments
Teaching Elementary School Science
Teaching Elementary Social Studies
Teaching & Learning Literacy in the Elementary Classroom
Math with Technology in Early Education
Exploring Mathematics for Teachers I
Teaching of Mathematics in Grades K-5
Language and Literacy
Mentoring Readers and Writers in the Elementary Grades
Language and Linguistic Diversity in Schools
Teaching Multilingual Learners
Critical Perspectives on Children's Literature
Special Education
Peer to Peer Mentoring for Students with Disabilities
Introduction to Disability in Inclusive Schools and Communities
Advocating for Diverse and Inclusive Family-School-Community Partnerships
Inclusive Elementary Education: Literacies and Learning for Diverse Learners
Methods of Inclusive Secondary Education: Literacies, Learning, and Transitions
Introduction to Young Children with Special Needs
Designing Curriculum for Inclusive, Equitable Settings for Young Children (birth-8)
Critical and Diverse Perspectives
Public Issues, Democratic Schooling & Active Citizenship in a Global Context
Education, Poverty, and Development
Teaching Race
Critical Social Justice in and Beyond Education
Law and Educational Policy
Students, Teachers, and the Law
Capstone Course4
Educators as Community-Engaged Researchers
or Semester in the City if completed during senior year
or INCO 790 Advanced Research Experience and URC Presentation
or McNair Research Thesis
or A capstone in their first major-if it's related to an Educational Studies project and approved by both advisors and the director of Undergraduate Studies.
Total Credits32

Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of each individual major program. Bachelor of arts candidates must also satisfy the foreign language proficiency requirement.

Students who are interested in a dual major in Educational Studies will need to file an Intent to Dual Major Form. The form is available from the program website at cola.unh.edu/education. For more information, please contact education.department@unh.edu.

GOAL ONE: Our students effectively analyze the social dimensions of education, to include issues of culture, gender, equity, health, and economics. Specifically, students will:

  • demonstrate understanding of the roles of gender, race, ethnicity, and economic class in effecting education in formal and informal settings.
  • demonstrate understanding of the history and politics of education including the principles, assumptions and impacts of school reform initiatives, education, international development and economic globalization as well as alternatives for defining and pursuing diverse conceptions of education, quality of life, and equity.
  • demonstrate understanding of how economics and markets shape private and public actions and outcomes with respect to education on local, regional, national and global scales.
  • demonstrate understanding of the origins, similarities and differences among concepts of diversity, universality, pluralism, multiculturalism, and cosmopolitanism and their implications for education in formal and informal at a variety of scales.
  • demonstrate cultural self-awareness and cultural sensitivity in analysis, synthesis, visioning, design and intervention related to studies in education.
  • demonstrate an understanding of the role of public health related to education at various scales.

GOAL TWO: Our students engage diverse histories of education in the context of civic engagement, activism, and commitment to equity and justice for Social Good. Specifically, students will:

  • demonstrate understanding of the relationship between awareness and action and be able to articulate theories of ethics and civic engagement in the context of educational initiatives on local, national and international levels.
  • demonstrate understanding of the principles, assumptions and frameworks of educating for equity and justice from diverse perspectives.
  • critique these issues based on their direct experience in "engaged learning" projects as well as in historical social movement analogues, including civil rights, abolition, environmental movements, and women's suffrage.