Not everyone aspires to be a teacher, but we are all educators in one sense or another.
Occidental’s education department invites you to complement your major course of study with an education minor. While Oxy does not have an accredited teacher preparation program, studying education at Oxy will prepare you to become an excellent ‘educator’ in the broadest sense of the word. You’ll learn to think clearly and analytically about pedagogy and policy, and gain firsthand experience in a variety of school- and community-based educational settings. You’ll be equipped to advocate for issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion as they play out in the realms of public and private education.
Oxy’s education program is centered on foundational preparation for urban schooling, educational advocacy with community-based organizations, and education policy. We believe an understanding of the urban community and neighborhood is essential to developing the problem-solving skills necessary for effective agency in urban educational settings.
Our program integrates key coursework with a culminating community-based engagement experience (EDUC 300) in order to provide a rich, collaborative and informative context for understanding issues of school reform/abolition, school improvement, and education organizing and activism. The partnerships education minors take on are supported and facilitated by Oxy’s Center for Community Based Learning; we also have long-standing relationships with public schools in Northeast Los Angeles, Pasadena and Glendale, plus two area charter schools.
For almost a century, the education department has produced sought-after education leaders who bring high levels of preparation to engage professionally across a number of contexts, including classroom teaching, school and district administration, leadership of community-based organizations, and educational policy-making. Join us!
