What you can earn

Credits earned

16

Format

On-campus

Advance educational justice

The Education, Equity, and Society (EES) certificate provides extra training for current UW graduate students who are interested in civic engagement, or jobs that aim to promote fairness in education and society. By completing the certificate requirements, you gain academic knowledge about how educational fairness can be understood, studied, and applied in various educational fields and situations. This certificate program encourages continuous learning and integrates different aspects of equity work, preparing you to contribute to educational justice.

Earning the EES certificate means joining a community that explores the meaning and importance of education in diverse communities. The goal is to contribute to local and global educational fairness and social change. The program is interdisciplinary, drawing on expertise from various traditions and cultural contexts. Through a combination of solid academic foundations and practical study, the program aims to uncover ways individuals and communities can take action in education.

Important: EES is only available to graduate students who are currently enrolled at the University of Washington.

Questions about the EES intellectual community, colloquium series, or certificate program? Email Jondou Chen.

Teacher high-fiving a student

Curriculum

    To receive the EES certificate as part of their University of Washington graduate degree, students must complete 16 graduate credits (with course numbers 400 or higher).

    • Credits may be shared between the EES certificate and a degree program.
    • At least 9 of the 16 credits must be graded, and students must receive a GPA of 2.8 for each of these courses (and 3.0 overall) to count toward the certificate.

    12 credits must come from the following list of approved elective courses and be taught by EES faculty. All EES elective courses have been assigned to one of five course categories: 

    • Structure & Agency in Education
    • Education in Community, Cultural, and Global Contexts 
    • Culture and Knowledge Construction
    • Multicultural and Multilingual Learning and Development
    • Equitable Research Design and Methodologies

    Students may complete their 12 elective credits with all 12 credits coming from one course category or the 12 credits coming from at least three of the course categories.

    See full list of courses

    Four credits must come from enrolling in the EES Colloquium Series (EDLPS 549 or EDUC 503) for three quarters, twice for one credit and then the third time for two credits as the capstone project for the certificate. This capstone project will involve co-designing and co-facilitating the colloquium series for that particular quarter.

    It is important that students complete the EES application form before enrolling in the EES Colloquium Series (EDLPS 549 or EDUC 503).

    Admission requirements and process

      Application form

      The EES certificate program is open to all UW graduate students. If you would like to pursue the certificate, submit an EES Application Form at any time before enrolling in the EES Colloquium Series (EDLPS 549 or EDUC 503).

      Completion form

      If you have completed all requirements for the EES certificate, submit an EES Completion Form after completing your capstone project. Unless it is the final quarter of your graduate program. In this situation you should submit the form before the end of the quarter's third week.

      Costs and funding

        Students who are enrolled in a UW program and also pursuing the certificate may enroll in approved EES courses. They will pay separate, additional course fees for these EES courses. There is no application fee or fee to have your certificate added to your degree.

        Our intellectual community

        Education, Equity, and Society) is an intellectual community within the College of Education that encourages us to explore the meaning, purpose, and significance of education in diverse community contexts with the aim of contributing to local and global educational equity and social change. We are an interdisciplinary group that draws on expertise in several traditions and cultural contexts. Combining strong disciplinary foundations with applied study and research, we seek to uncover traditions of agency and collective action in education and to help students build upon these traditions by partnering with schools, social agencies, families, and community networks to advance educational justice.

        Faculty seeking to join the EES faculty or petition to have their courses added to the EES certificate program must complete the EES Certificate Course Approval Form.

        Program Faculty

        Emeritus Professor
        Associate Professor
        Professor
        Professor
        Chair, Faculty Council
        Associate Professor
        Associate Teaching Professor
        Associate Professor
        Professor
        Professor
        Professor
        Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
        Emeritus Professor
        Associate Professor
        Emeritus Professor
        Teaching Professor
        Chair, Educational Foundations, Leadership & Policy
        Associate Professor
        Emeritus Professor
        Professor
        Assistant Professor
        Emeritus Professor
        Associate Professor
        Assistant Professor
        Associate Professor
        Professor
        Professor
        Dean, College of Education
        Professor
        Chair, Teaching Learning and Curriculum
        Assistant Professor