Home  ›  Academics  ›  Programs  ›  Education

Education

MA in Education

Request Info Visit Us Apply Now

By framing education as a social justice and educational equity issue, the MA in Education prepares forward-thinking educators, administrators, and educational researchers to solve unprecedented challenges across a range of educational institutions and organizations, from elementary schools to colleges, public policy agencies, and more.

As a student in the School of Educational Studies, you will receive personal attention from engaged, exceptional faculty in small seminar-style courses. We prepare forward-thinking administrators, teachers, community leaders, student affairs professionals, policy makers, and data analysts. Ideal for working professionals, our flexible program teaches you to apply theory and research to important challenges in real-world settings.

Program Highlights
  • Flexible programming for working and commuting professionals. Most classes meet once a week at 4:00 or 7:00 pm, and others are held on weekends.
  • Move through the program at your own pace. Some students take multiple classes and finish in 9-12 months. Other students take a class at a time. Both pathways are supported.
  • Enjoy small, interactive classes. You will also work closely with a faculty mentor who helps you navigate your way through graduate school based upon your specific aspirations and interests.
  • Take some or all the classes needed to concurrently earn an Allies of Dreamers certificate. The first program of its kind nationally, Allies of Dreamers is a graduate‐level certificate program that provides the historical context, theoretical framework, and specific knowledge needed by K12 teachers and administrators, student affairs professionals in higher education, and community leaders to offer mentorship and advocacy for Dreamers and other undocumented students.
  • Once you have earned your MA in Education, you can petition to transfer your credits if admitted to a PhD in Education program at CGU.
  • Join a well-established network of alumni from the School of Educational Studies. There are educators across the nation (and especially prevalent in California) who are ready to welcome new students as kindred spirits and advocates of “the CGU Way.”

Program At a Glance

UNITS
32 units

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME*
2–2.5 years

*Actual completion times will vary and may be higher, depending on full- or part-time course registration, units transferred, and time to complete other degree requirements.

COURSES BEGIN
Fall | Spring | Summer

DEGREE AWARDED
MA in Education

Featured Courses

EDUC 407
Education Policy

Prepares students with an understanding of the systems, structures, and forces that shape K-12 educational policy.

EDUC 424
Gender & Education

Examines the historical and current debate surrounding the historical impact of gender on education—in particular the role of race, ethnicity, immigrant status, religion, sexual orientation, and social class.

EDUC 425
Race & Racism in Education

Broadens student understanding of the foundations of racial inequities in education and how racism has shaped students’ educational experiences and outcomes.

EDUC 426
Social Capital, Cultural Capital & Educational Opportunity

Focuses on the impact of cultural and social capital on educational trajectories, the procedural knowledge families have at their disposal, and the connections that they develop with key institutional agents.

EDUC 438
From Behaviorism to Postmodernism: Learning & Pedagogical Theories

Examines how philosophical, psychological, and sociopolitical assumptions have yielded a number of distinct pedagogies and learning theories in the 20th century that shape classrooms in schools and universities.

EDUC 461
The College Student Experience

Explores literature, theory, and research on the increasing diversity of college students, identity issues in college, factors that influence success, and implications for practice in college and universities.

Degree Concentrations

Choosing a degree concentration is optional. Whether you choose one of the official concentrations below or not, you will be paired with a faculty mentor, and together design a program custom-fit to your aspirations and interests. Past students have focused on a myriad of topics, including gender equity, policy (sometimes focusing on the school, district, state or federal level), the school-to-prison pipeline, learning pedagogies, and family/school/community partnerships, professional development for K-12 educators, and undocumented youth.

Student Affairs & Educational Justice

Take an approach to study based on a multidisciplinary view of theory and research and a commitment to developing educational environments that are just, relevant, and rigorous.

Learn more about SAEJ

Educational Evaluation & Data Analysis

Rigorous study of evaluation theory, research design, statistical methods, and educational policy will prepare you to conduct evaluation and research in order to improve educational decision-making.

Learn more about EEDA

Faculty & Research

  • David Drew profile image

    David Drew

    Professor of Education
    Joseph B. Platt Chair in the Management of Technology

    Research Interests

    STEM education, data science, model building, technology development and management

    View profile ›
  • Deborah Faye Carter profile image

    Deborah Faye Carter

    Associate Professor of Higher Education

    Research Interests

    Higher education; transition to college; college student outcomes; access to college; race in education; mentoring, equity, and diverse learning environments in STEM

    View profile ›
  • DeLacy Ganley profile image

    DeLacy Ganley

    Dean, School of Educational Studies
    Professor of Education

    Research Interests

    Culturally relevant education; resiliency and achievement of marginalized populations; intersection of families, community, and school; language acquisition; social capital theory; systems theory

    View profile ›
  • Dina C. Maramba profile image

    Dina C. Maramba

    Professor of Education

    Research Interests

    Equity and diversity issues in higher education; theory and practice in student affairs; college student development; access and retention; first-generation college students; Asian American and Pacific Islander populations; minority serving institutions

    View profile ›
  • Frances Marie Gipson profile image

    Frances Marie Gipson

    Clinical Professor of Education
    Director, Urban Leadership Program

    Research Interests

    Urban schooling; distributed leadership; social-emotional learning; culturally relevant and linguistically responsive education; systems theory; learning and achievement; talent and leadership development; P-20 school policy

    View profile ›
  • Gwen Garrison profile image

    Gwen Garrison

    Clinical Professor of Education
    Director of Educational Evaluation and Data Analysis

    Research Interests

    Organizational effectiveness; diversity & inclusion; research & evaluation process; data systems; data management; data visualization and storytelling

    View profile ›
  • Linda Perkins profile image

    Linda Perkins

    University Professor
    Director, Applied Gender Studies

    Research Interests

    Women and African-American higher education, history and contemporary issues on women in higher education, especially Black women, global gender issues.

    View profile ›
  • Mary Simpson Poplin profile image

    Mary Simpson Poplin

    Senior Research Fellow
    Professor Emerita

    Research Interests

    Highly effective teachers in Los Angeles area; effective teaching methods; students, schools and poverty; differences between Judeo Christian and secular thought; Mother Teresa (worked with her in 1996)

    View profile ›
  • Susan J. Paik profile image

    Susan J. Paik

    Professor of Education

    Research Interests

    Educational productivity; talent and leader development; giftedness and creativity; learning and achievement; psychosocial and environmental factors; urban and international studies; underserved students; Asian Americans and education; family-school-community partnerships; research methods, design, and evaluation

    View profile ›
  • Tom Luschei profile image

    Tom Luschei

    Professor of Education

    Research Interests

    International and Comparative Education; Economics of Education; Teacher Quality, Teacher Policy, and Teacher Distribution; Education Policy across the Americas; Bilingual Education Policy and Practice

    View profile ›
  • Torie Weiston-Serdan profile image

    Torie Weiston-Serdan

    Clinical Assistant Professor
    Director, MA in Community Engaged Education & Social Change

    Research Interests

    Critical mentoring; critical youth work; non-profits and social enterprises; diversity and equity; non-profits and philanthropy; youth-serving non-profits; culturally sustaining pedagogy; abolitionist teaching; Black Feminism in education; learning and teaching

    View profile ›
  • Guan K. Saw profile image

    Guan K. Saw

    Associate Professor of Education

    Research Interests

    Educational inequality; diversity and inclusion; STEM education and workforce; college access and success; sociology of education; educational psychology; educational evaluation and policy analysis; quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods; health disparities

    View profile ›
  • Rebecca Hatkoff profile image

    Rebecca Hatkoff

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Research Interests

    Critical Social Justice Teaching Competencies; Classroom and School Ecology; Effective and Empowering Pedagogy for all Students, Teacher Candidates, and Teachers; Strength-Based Views of Schools, Teachers, Students, Households, and Communities

    View profile ›
  • Carl Cohn profile image

    Carl Cohn

    Senior Research Fellow
    Professor Emeritus

    Research Interests

    Education, Urban education, Education policy

    View profile ›
  • Deborah Deutsch Smith profile image

    Deborah Deutsch Smith

    Professor Emerita of Education

    Research Interests

    Special education, Special education faculty, Disability policy, Learning disabilities, Cross-cultural and inclusive education

    View profile ›
  • Eligio Martinez profile image

    Eligio Martinez

    Senior Research Fellow

    Research Interests

    P-20 education pipeline; college access and retention; community colleges; boys and men of color; middle school education; Chicana/o and Latina/o Students

    View profile ›
  • Jack H. Schuster profile image

    Jack H. Schuster

    Senior Research Fellow
    Professor Emeritus

    View profile ›

Where You Can Find Our Alumni

Request information about the Education program

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Gabriela Krupa

Associate Director of Admissions
T: 909-607-9101
E: gabriela.krupa@cgu.edu