Northwestern University

Education School Overview

U.S. News Rankings

Ranking score and category

Rank Category Name #7 Best Education Schools

Specialties Locked in Education policy Locked in Educational psychology

Education School Overview

Students looking for a intimate academic community may find an ideal fit at the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP), the smallest department at Northwestern University. There are only about 300 graduate students and slightly more than 20 faculty members. Students can live on Northwestern’s lakefront campus in Evanston, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, and can complete teaching placements and service work in nearby city schools.

There are five degree options for students to earn a master of arts or science or a doctorate. There is also an accelerated program, NU-TEACH, which puts students in their own, supervised classrooms after a single summer of coursework. Following a successful first year, NU-TEACH students must commit to teaching for at least four more years at Chicago schools.

Students can get involved in research projects at school centers like the Asset-Based Community Development Institute and the Center for Connected Learning. Students can also participate in initiatives like Promote 360, a campus organization committed to the well being of minority students through high school mentoring and advocacy work. After completing a degree, SESP alumni can get job placement help through the Northwestern University Public Interest Program.

Notable alumni of the Northwesten School of Education and Social Policy include Amy Liu, cofounder of the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, and author Shadd Maruna, who wrote the award-winning “Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives.”

Admissions

Application deadline	rolling
Application fee	$75
Director of admissions	Susan Olson

Academics

Full-time faculty	31
Student-faculty ratio	2.1:1 - Medium

Student Body

Enrollment (full-time)	166
Gender distribution (full-time)

Cost

Tuition
Full-time: $39,840 per year Part-time: $4,427 per credit
Required fees	$232 per year

Teacher Preparation

Students who took an assessment to become a certified or licensed teacher during 2009-2010

57

* Education School Overview details based on 2010 data