Programs & Degrees

We see the teaching of English as more than just a school subject. Our vision of English education involves young people reading and writing not only to develop school or workplace skills, but also to understand and change their own lives and the world they (and we) live in.  In this vision, literacy is a powerful tool for learning and action, and the English classroom is a site of authentic encounters with important ideas-- both in the texts young people read and in the ones they create.

The Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Penn State offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and many options for teacher certification.

There is a growing demand for graduates of teacher education programs. This department offers professional programs leading to certification in early childhood (PK-4), middle-level education (grades 4-8), and in a variety of discipline areas leading to certification at the secondary-school level. Admission to a specific teacher certification program occurs only after a student applies to a particular program during or at the conclusion of the freshman year. This department also provides a variety of clinical field experiences, including student teaching.

Welcome to the Educational Theory and Policy Program in the Department of Education Policy Studies at The Pennsylvania State University!  Our program consists of faculty with diverse interests and vibrant research portfolios encompassing educational policy, history of education, sociology of education and comparative and international education.

Welcome to Education and Public Policy (EPP). We offer an interdisciplinary major for students interested in the design, implementation and improvement of policy aimed at the betterment of a diverse and democratic society. 

Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) is a new program providing doctoral training to motivated students interested in career areas pertaining to educational policy, educational leadership, and higher education

Penn State’s Higher Education program is perennially ranked among the best higher education programs in the country. Its combination of compelling academics, premier university context, verdant geographical location, culture of camaraderie and mutuality, and gifted faculty and student colleagues provides a terrific backdrop for graduate study. 

Welcome to the Educational Leadership program of The Pennsylvania State University. This program is available to those who want to exercise leadership roles in educational policy and management or engage in research about educational leadership.

From the earliest proposals for public schooling in the U.S., researchers and practitioners have relied on comparative and international perspectives to illuminate the field of education. Today more than ever, in an era of information technology and an interconnected global economy of skills and ideas, scholars need to understand how the processes of schooling and learning vary across societies and what implications these variations have for education in the world today.