Masters Program in Cultural Foundations of Education (CFE)
"Multidisciplinary Degrees for Multifaceted Professionals"
Now available fully online!
*Please note that GRE scores are not required for entrance into the CFE program and applications are accepted year round.
If you're interested in a Ph.D. program, check out the Social Foundations of Education web page.
Examine the historical, political, and social dynamics of urban communities and schools.
Concentrations available in:
Program Overview
The MS in Cultural Foundations of Education provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the social forces that affect urban schools and communities. Our program is for people who want to look deeply at the challenges facing urban areas in the 21st Century and are willing to explore creative solutions.
Flexible Coursework for Diverse Working Adults
Courses are available during the day, as well as online, in the evening, and on weekends for working professionals. We offer many of our courses online, and hope to be able to offer the MS in Cultural Foundations of Education fully online in the near future. *Please note that our online courses can be taken by out-of-state students for in-state tuition.
Our students are extremely diverse, and come from and have moved into a diverse range of careers, including:
- Teachers in Public, Private, and Alternative Schools
- Administrators in Community Based Organizations
- Youth Workers
- Community Organizers and Social Activists
- Community Developers
- Police Officers
- Directors of Child Care Centers
- Ph.D. Candidates
Real World Preparation
Graduates who go on to pursue a Ph.D. after graduation tell us that the MS in Cultural Foundations of Education provided an invaluable foundation for work in a range of fields, including Sociology, Urban Studies, Education, and many others.
Many of our students are looking for a degree that will help them change direction in their professional lives.
Core Courses
- ED POL 705: Sociology of Education and Community Engagement (sample syllabus)
- ED POL 710: Research Methods in Education and Community Engagement (sample syllabus)
- ED POL 740: Philosophy of Education and Community (sample syllabus)
- ED POL 750: History of Education in American Communities (sample syllabus)
Electives
Students can choose from a range of electives within and outside of our Department. In-Department electives include:
- ED POL 401: Foundations of Community Based Organizations
- ED POL 500: Sociology and Policy of Urban Communities and Schools
- ED POL 533: Educating Black Males
- ED POL 535: Educating At-Risk Students
- ED POL 560: Education and Hispanics
- ED POL 580: Overview of Child/Youth Care
- ED POL 584: Early Childhood Programs and the External Environment
- ED POL 610: Reproduction of Minority Communities
- ED POL 612: Community Participation and Power
- ED POL 625: Race Relations in Education
- ED POL 711: Community Organizing and Social Change
- ED POL 822: Global Educational Studies
CFE Faculty
Our faculty is one of the most diverse in the entire Wisconsin system, and our professors are engaged in a range of cutting-edge research projects, including:
- New approaches to urban community organizing and social action
- Cross-national education programs for immigrant Latino students
- Approaches to community development in Milwaukee
- Innovative practices for improving pedagogy in alternative schools
- Methods for anti-racist education
- Strategies for engaging inner-city youth in social action
- International approaches to holistic education
- Critiques of current visions of democratic education
- The history of African Americans in Milwaukee
- Explorations of the relationship between social class and social action
- And more. . . .
Useful Links
For application information and to apply online, click here.
Want to see what courses are offered during the upcoming semester? Check out the Schedule of Classes for the most up-to-date information on UWM courses!
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Concentration Requirements
Alternative Education Concentration
In addition to the standard requirements for the CFE degree, students must take:
ED POL 531: Alternative Schools
ED POL 534: Students At Risk (sample syllabus)
ED POL 535: Educating At Risk Students (sample syllabus)
ED POL 625: Race Relations in Education (sample syllabus)
(Note: another course can be substituted for Ed Pol 625 with permission of advisor)
For more information, please contact:
Professor Raji Swaminathan
(414) 229-5752
swaminar@uwm.edu
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Community Organizing and Social Change Concentration
In addition to the standard requirements for the CFE degree, students must take:
ED POL 711: Community Organizing for Collective Action (Advanced) (sample syllabus)
ED POL 612: Community Participation and Power
(Note: These courses are in the process of being approved and will be available Spring 2010)
And at least two of the following courses:
ED POL 508: Problems of Change in Community-Based Organizations*
ED POL 630: Race and Public Policy in Urban America
ED POL 610: Reproduction of Minority Communities
ED POL 688: Fieldwork in Multicultural Education**
AD LDSP 507: Introduction to Group Leadership
AD LDSP 537: Leadership and Management of Volunteer Programs
COMMUN 762: Argumentation in Theory and Practice
COMMUN 872: Rhetorics of Constituting Community and Social Controversy
COMMUN 865: Theory and Practice of Mediation
*This course involves attending an external community organizing training program, usually the Midwest Academy (see midwestacademy.com).
**An internship arranged at a local community organizing or community participation group arranged with your advisor. Can also be completed internationally as Ed Pol 689.
For more information, please contact:
Professor Aaron Schutz
(414) 229-4150
schutz@uwm.edu
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Gender and Education Concentration
In addition to the standard requirements for the CFE degree, students must take:
Required Course
ED POL 624: Gender and Education
Feminist Theory Elective (3 credits)
(Take one of the following courses)
ENGL 744: Feminist Critical Theory. 3 cr. G.
ENGL 878: Seminar in Feminist Critical Theory: (Subtitled). 3 cr. G
WMNS 410: Feminist Theory. 3 cr. U/G
WMNS 710: Advanced Feminist Theory. 3 cr. G.
Social Science Elective (3 credits)
(Take one of the following courses)
COMMUN 803: Gender and Communication. 3 cr. G
ED POL 532 Male Identity: Education and Development. 3 cr. U/G.
GEOG 410: Gendered Geographies. 3 cr. U/G.
HIST 468: The American Feminist Movement. 3 cr. U/G.
HIST 469: Manhood in America. 3 cr. U/G
SOCIOL 444: Sociology of the Body. 3 cr. U/G
WMNS 401: Global Feminisms. 3 cr. U/G
WMNS 500: Advanced Social Science Seminar in Women's Studies: (Subtitled). 3 cr. U/G
Professor Raji Swaminathan
(414) 229-5752
swaminar@uwm.edu
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Race Relations Concentration
In addition to the standard requirements for the CFE degree, students must take:
ED POL 625: Race Relations (sample syllabus)
ED POL 626: Antiracist Education
And one of either:
ED POL 612: Community Participation and Power
ED POL 711: Community Organizing and Collective Action (Advanced) (sample syllabus)
For more information, please contact:
Professor Julie Kailin
(414) 229-6623
jkailin@uwm.edu
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Urban Communities and Education Concentration
The Urban Communities and Education option represents the most flexible approach to the Cultural Foundations (CFE) Masters Program. Students take the four required courses, and then choose themselves from electives in the Department and across the University. Many students choose the Urban Communities and Education option so they can fit the CFE Masters program to their own unique interests, needs, and scheduling restrictions. This is the "default" option for students who do not choose a specific concentration in the program.
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Youth Work Concentration
In addition to the standard requirements for the CFE degree, students must take:
ED POL 581: Overview of Child/Youth Care (sample syllabus)
ED POL 582: Youth Work Practice
ED POL 585: Supervised Practicum in Child and Youth Care
One of the following two courses:
ED POL 534: Students At Risk (Causes) (sample syllabus)
ED POL 535: Educating At Risk Students (sample syllabus)
And the following course:
AD LDSP: 617 Leadership in Youth-Serving Organizations
For more information, please contact:
Professor Mark Krueger
(414) 229-5797
markkrue@uwm.edu
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Special Note Concerning Concentrations
Students do not need to formally "declare" a concentration. However, students must notify the Graduate Chair of the Department that they have completed the required courses for a concentration in the semester they graduate to ensure it is recorded on their record.
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