Undergraduate Programs

Major in Education Sciences

Minor in Education

CalTeach

Major in Education Science

Minor in Educational Studies

CalTeach Program

Read about our recent top honors graduates from the Class of 2024

 

Major in Education Sciences

Students in the Education Sciences – the first of its kind in the nation – engage in an interdisciplinary exploration of the field of education in schools, communities, and society. Majors will be introduced to and develop proficiency with the five core concepts and competencies guiding Education Sciences.

Five Core Concepts of Education Sciences

Social Structures and Stratification

• Students will identify how social structures create and reproduce different forms of social inequality in educational processes, and interpret empirical patterns and effects of social inequality in communities, schools and classrooms.
  

Human Development

• Numerous sources interact with each other to influence children's development.  These include factors within the child, proximal systems, such as home, peers, social networks, schools, groups, and formal organizations, as well as more distal sources of influence, such as community - including local, state, and national policies. More distal sources of influence tend to operate through their influence on more proximal sources of influence.
  

Learning

• Numerous sources interact with each other to influence human learning. These include factors within the learner, the tools, the facilitators (teachers) and the features of the setting. Meaningful learning involves processes that may be domain-general or discipline-specific. Theories of learning allow us to analyze the affordances and constraints of the learning situation.
  

Policymaking in Education

• Education policy choices and resource allocations involve both benefits and costs. Policy makers seek to maximize net benefits when considering policy options. Student and parent behaviors are also shaped (and can be predicted) by the benefits and costs they perceive to be associated with different courses of action. Freedom of choice among competing educational options (e.g., for preschool, K-12 and higher education) introduces a competitive element into educational markets.
  

Schools as Organizations

• Governments and other organizations and institutions can regulate or influence economic activity in ways that affect the distribution of resources, individual well-being, and social welfare. Includes government regulations, diffusion of outcomes, finances, management approach and accountability systems.

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I want to work in children's programming within museums and cultural centers

Ashley Leung
​B.A. in Education Sciences, 2015

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B.A. in Education Sciences, 2015

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Five Core Competencies of Education Sciences

Application

• Students will apply theories from Education Sciences to understand educational decisions, processes, and outcomes.
  

Methodological Practices and Research Design

• Students will critically evaluate the quality of educational research.
  

Quantitative and Qualitative Data Literacy

• ​Students will be proficient with the principles in the analysis of educational scientific data.
  

Public Skills and Citizenship

• Students will use knowledge from Education Sciences to inform debates surrounding educational practice and policy, and promote public understanding and effective community engagement.
  

Communication

• Students will effectively communicate theories, practices, policies and research from Education Sciences with a variety of audiences.
  

The Future of Education

Education Sciences graduates are prepared for careers in the global knowledge economy, with opportunities to apply learning modalities and technologies in multicultural contexts. Graduates may choose from career opportunities in public education, informatics, higher education, school counseling, and education software development. Many graduates will pursue advanced degrees leading to instructional credentialing or administrative leadership.
 
The B.A. in Education Sciences is not a professional degree. However, graduates are well prepared to pursue teacher training. Information for aspiring teachers is available through the UC Irvine School of Education Master of Arts in Teaching program.

A 2015 Forbes study identified Education as the most popular vocational field for recent university graduates.
 
Explore the Degree Requirements for the Education Sciences major

With advanced planning, students in the major can complete a minor or second major in another discipline.

Program Learning Outcomes

Click here to learn more about the program learning outcomes for the B.A. in Education Sciences program.

 

Minor in Education

The minor in Education is designed to facilitate exploration of a broad range of issues in the field of education. Graduates with the minor may be employed in schools, government, private industry, and non-profit organizations. Many graduates will pursue advanced training leading to teaching careers or administrative leadership. For more information on teacher preparation, please consult the UCI School of Education MAT + Credential program.
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Explore the Requirements for the Education Minor

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