Educational Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

The University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a rich environment for the study of Educational Policy. The Department of Educational Policy Studies was founded in 1964. Since then, it has been offering intellectual training grounded in several academic disciplines related to educational policy. The balance and content of our offerings has evolved with the times.

Other departments have begun also offering studies related to educational policy. The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, formerly the Department of Educational Administration, now offers study in educational policy analysis. The LaFollette School of Public Affairs includes the study of educational policy in its wider study of public policy. There is considerable research on educational policy in several centers and research projects within the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Students in the Department of Educational Policy Studies take advantage of all these resources as appropriate for their individual programs of study.

In the Department of Educational Policy Studies, we have a doctoral concentration in Public Policy and Education, but we also have many courses in our other fields such as Sociology, Anthropology, History, and Philosophy that have very strong policy components or are predominantly concerned with policy. Virtually every member of the EPS faculty teaches and does research relating to policy, some more directly than others. Faculty who teach courses and do research that relates directly to policy or has strong policy components include Michael Apple, Harry Brighouse, Patricia Burch, Michael Fultz, Adam Gamoran, Mary Metz, Adam Nelson, Michael Olneck, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Francis Schrag, and Amy Stambach.

Degree Concentrations

Doctoral Concentration in Anthropology of Education
Doctoral Concentration in Comparative and International Education
Doctoral Concentration in History of Education
Doctoral Concentration in Philosophy of Education
Doctoral Concentration in Public Policy and Education
Doctoral Concentration in Sociology of Education