About EDPS
Our Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Education Policy Studies (EDPS) is to prepare professionals to apply a range of theories and disciplinary perspectives to the enterprise of education in governmental and non-governmental agencies.
EDPS offers programs of study at the graduate level that prepare students to assume a variety of roles, including scholars, researchers, policy analysts, policymakers, education leaders, and advocates for children and youth.
Through its teaching, research, and service, faculty promote critical and discipline-based studies of education policy; encourage thoughtful and responsive explorations of the social and education issues; and the creation of an academic community committed to informing education policy at the local, national, and international levels.
Our Goals
The goals of the Department of Education Policy Studies include:
- To produce high-quality research and to cultivate the scholarly habits of mind and critical capacities essential to the design and implementation of effective policies and practices.
- To promote the systematic analysis of alternative ways to achieve equal opportunity, the reduction of social and economic inequality, fair and open decision-making, social justice, and greater understanding and appreciation of diversity.
- To improve educational and related social policies and practices by promoting an understanding of the social, cultural, economic, historical, philosophical, and political contexts in which education occurs.
- To prepare individuals within the state of Maryland, the nation, and the world to provide thoughtful leadership in promoting educational equity and effective educational institutions.
Strategic Initiatives
The strategic initiatives of the Department of Education Policy Studies include:
- To further develop and increase the prominence of the Department's education policy program, currently ranked 9th by U.S. News & World Report, by developing closer affiliations with policy-related units on campus and policy-related agencies in the metropolitan Washington D.C., area.
- To create new and pedagogically richer opportunities for students to develop the capacity to conduct thoughtful and informative studies of school policies and practices through research partnerships with local school districts, professional organizations, and governmental agencies.
- To develop a stronger affiliation with the Center for Teaching Excellence and strengthen departmental courses that provide graduate students pursuing careers in academia with opportunities to develop expertise in curriculum planning and teaching at the undergraduate level.
- To develop an off-campus executive M.A. or M.Ed. program targeted at individuals who help to shape education policies and priorities at the local, state, and national levels. The development of an off-campus executive Ed.D. program will also be explored.
To provide new opportunities to support graduate students and post-doctoral students through the department's two centers: the Center for Education Policy Analysis and Leadership (CEPAL) and the International Center for Transcultural Education (ICTE) through funded research and education training grants. To enhance the prominence of phenomenology within the department by creating a new center, the Center for Phenomenology, exploring re-instituting the Phenomenology + Pedagogy Journal formerly published at the University of Alberta, and collaborating more fully with the department of philosophy on campus and surrounding education institutions.
To continue the department's successful Diversity and Community in American Life Colloquium Series by inviting leading public intellectuals and policymakers to the University of Maryland campus to discuss issues of importance to a democratic polity. To develop new materials and communications strategies through which to inform prospective students, faculty, colleagues, and stakeholders about the departments mission, programs, and future initiatives.
Top of page