Social Sciences & Comparative Education Division
In the Social Sciences & Comparative Education graduate division, students explore issues of social, cultural, historical, philosophical and comparative/international contexts of education. The Division is multidisciplinary and brings various methodologies and vocabularies to the study of education. The SSCE Division offers two degree programs: the M.A. and Ph.D. Sub-specializations in Comparative/International Studies in Education or Race, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies in Education are offered for both programs.
The education that SSCE students receive prepares them for work in a variety of fields. Recent SSCE graduates have assumed positions either as faculty, consultants, specialists or researchers in a number of institutions around the globe.
Academic Information
The Social Sciences and Comparative Education (SSCE) Division is concerned with issues of social, cultural, historical, and comparative/international contexts of education. The Division is multidisciplinary and brings various methodologies and vocabularies — discourse analysis, philosophical analysis, agency, representation and structure — as well as classical approaches to the study of education.
SSCE shares its commitment to theory with an equal commitment to empirical research, policy, and practice in terms of formal education (e.g., classroom research), informal education (e.g., mass media research and representation) and non-formal education (e.g., participatory action research, popular education).
SSCE aims to prepare students to:
- Teach and conduct research in philosophical, cultural, race, ethnic, gender, and comparative/international studies in education
- Act as specialists for U.S. and overseas programs, non-governmental agencies, and multilateral and bilateral technical assistance agencies
- Engage in philosophical, critical theoretical, cross-cultural, comparative, and social science analysis of educational issues in the United States and in other areas of the world
- Provide resource assistance for institutions and programs concerned with cultural studies, media technology, critical pedagogy, and multicultural, ethnic and cross-cultural education.
The Comparative/International Education program trains students in various facets of comparative, international, and cross-cultural education studies. Its general aims are: First, to train specialists in comparative/international education. Second, to train specialists in the development of comparative/international education theories, as well as research in field settings. Third, to promote and foster understanding of how educational policies and programs impact social, political, and economic development. Fourth, to focus on issues of equity, social justice, and education in global and domestic contexts. Fifth, to train students for leadership roles in government and non-government agencies, international, multilateral and bilateral institutions. Structurally, the specialization follows the pattern of the general UCLA campus, in that its specialists operate within an area studies structure. That is, comparative education specialists give attention to specific geographic regions of the world, though their research is also of a broader nature. Comparative education relies on a social science foundation. Its specialists are identified with the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, and history. Students are recruited from these backgrounds, though other fields, such as applied linguistics or the humanities, are relevant to the field.
The SSCE Division offers both the Master’s and Ph.D. degree in Comparative/International Studies in Education.
The program in Race, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies in Education is an interdisciplinary program of educational research, practice, and policy that focuses on the role of race, ethnicity, and culture in the United States and abroad. The program has a particular emphasis on the relationship between educational practice and structure (i.e., social and cultural contexts) and the production and reproduction of inequality and conflict. The program is also interested in critical approaches to representations of gender, race, class, and sexuality in education and culture and the new literacies necessary to analyze critically and interpret media culture, cyber culture, and multimedia culture. Courses in Race, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies in Education examine contemporary issues in education situated in historical and comparative contexts, such as the impact of postmodernism, feminism, and critical race theories on education. These conceptual approaches inform a critical approach to theory and methods that yield new insight into research, practice, and policy in educational settings.
The SSCE Division offers both the Master’s and Ph.D. degree in Race, Ethnic and Cultural Studies in Education.
What Graduates Do
SSCE alumni go on to do amazing work in their fields. This information is designed to provide an introduction to the diverse research interests of SSCE scholars.
![Current Students](https://seis.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/our-current-students-e1712959052217.png)
Our Current Students
Visit the student directory and see what they are working on.
Meet Our Current StudentsGraduate students at UCLA Department of Education benefit from—and contribute to—the resources of the country’s number one public graduate school of education.
A distinguished faculty committed to research and teaching and excellent research centers and institutes offer extraordinary opportunities for graduate endeavors. We are preparing the next generation of researchers and professionals to address some of the most pressing challenges in the field.
Learn how SSCE could be the right fit for you.
The UCLA Ed & IS Office of Student Services looks forward to assisting you through the application process. If we can be of service to you in any step of this process, please feel free to contact any one of our advisors.
Contact Us
Division Head
Robert Teranishi
robert.teranishi@ucla.edu
(310) 825-5380
Division Administrative Assistant
Trenessa Kennedy
tkennedy@gseis.ucla.edu
(310) 825-2817
Division Graduate Advisor
Harmeet Singh
hsingh@gseis.ucla.edu
(310) 825-8327