Program Description
The Master of Arts in Learning Sciences program is a full-time, 11-month course of study that prepares researchers, developers and practitioners to advance the scientific understanding and practice of teaching and learning. As with the PhD program, the master's program focuses on learning from three interacting perspectives, namely, cognition, design and social context.
Academic Director Andrew Ortony informally discusses key aspects of the program.Request a Learning Sciences Program e-brochure.
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Program Distinctiveness
Access to Faculty
Master’s students have a great deal of contact with the faculty and the wider community of researchers, both through their coursework and through independent research projects. Faculty members make it a high priority to take time with students to provide direction in courses, answer questions and recommend resources. The Dean of the School of Education and Social Policy also teaches in the program and often mentors students.
Connected Community
Because the number of master’s students (typically 10 to 12 per year) and the LS community as a whole is relatively small, students are easily able to form connections with the faculty and full-time researchers. Indeed, the LS graduate programs are designed to foster a sense of community and encourage knowledge sharing both inside and outside the classroom. Master’s students and first-year PhD students share offices and participate in a substantially overlapping curriculum. Shared common workspace is also available for students to form study groups, work on project teams and socialize. In addition, students gather regularly for Brown Bag discussions to share knowledge and research findings.
Interdisciplinary Emphasis
Understanding how cognition is crucial to learning involves understanding models of the mental structures and processes relating to learning and teaching by which organized knowledge, skills and understanding are acquired. Our focus on design emphasizes the principles governing the creation of effective, often technologically based, learning environments, including innovative curriculum and classroom activity structures. Finally, the influence of social context on learning results from the social, organizational and cultural dynamics of learning and teaching situations, including classrooms, schools, school districts, museums, corporations and homes.
Customized Curriculum
Whereas some aspects of the program are fixed (e.g., required courses), there is sufficient flexibility to allow students to tailor their courses and project work to suit their own particular interests. As the program progresses, students are given increasing options for electives, and they join research teams composed of faculty and PhD students, allowing for in-depth research experience. Review the 2007-2008 curriculum.
A Focus on Projects
In addition to extensive course offerings, research projects provide invaluable opportunities for student participation in innovative investigations of learning and teaching in schools, workplaces and other settings. As part of the curriculum, students conduct research with faculty projects or, occasionally, with external organizations.
The Learning Environment
Learning Sciences master's students and first-year PhDs form one cohort. All have extensive interaction with faculty through advising relationships, project work, informal Brown Bag gatherings, reading groups and seminars. Special lecture series bring in outside scholars and educators on a regular basis. Project work is supported by a state-of-the-art computer and video environment.
When not involved in school activities, students enjoy the many coffee houses, restaurants, bookstores and shops in Evanston and the variety of waterfront activities on Lake Michigan, including the University’s sailing club, a short walk from campus. Neighboring Chicago offers all the cultural activities of a large metropolitan city – theater, blues and jazz clubs, sporting events, museums and more.
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