Urban Education

Minor

Many children in urban environments, including Oakland, have been underserved by educational institutions. At Mills, you’ll be emboldened to explore ways that teaching can be an act of social justice.

About the Program

The urban education minor will prepare you for graduate-level teacher training and a career in education that is based on a strong commitment to equity. You’ll explore race, class, and other factors that limit the opportunities available to children in high-poverty neighborhoods, as well as ways to improve conditions for learning.

Your required courses will provide with you with foundational knowledge of educational policies, practices, and challenges in urban settings. Making use of Mills’ location in Oakland, the program will enable you to use this knowledge and develop your own ideas during field research in an urban school or community organization. Your professors will include experienced school teachers and accomplished researchers at our highly rated School of Education. In addition, you’ll choose from electives that span several disciplines, including economics, ethnic studies, public policy, and sociology.

This minor can prepare you to earn an accelerated master’s degree in education and a teaching credential in just one year of study at Mills beyond your BA. View our program details for in-depth information on the urban education minor.

Courses You Could Take

Social Foundations of Education
Inquiry and Action in Urban Contexts
Teaching for Diversity
Public Policy: Children, Youth, and Family Issues
Hip Hip Pedagogy
Economics of Education

Beyond the Classroom

Learning isn’t limited to the classroom at Mills. Take a look at some of the opportunities you can have while studying urban education.

Hands-On Learning

Inquiry and Action in Urban Contexts—This required course for urban education minors combines class meetings at Mills with supervised action-oriented field research in a local urban school or community organization.
The Mills College Children’s School—The oldest laboratory school on the West Coast provides high-quality educational programs for children from infancy through fifth grade. It also serves as a setting where students and faculty can test theories about education and conduct research. In addition, the school offers work-study opportunities during the summer and academic year.

Mills College School of Education

Ranked among the best in the nation, our School of Education maintains strong partnerships with the Oakland community. Its Center for Urban Schools and Partnerships (CUSP) convenes community coalitions to support the academic achievement of underserved youth in Oakland’s most challenged neighborhoods. The school and CUSP sponsor lectures and panel discussions that connect graduate and undergraduate students with researchers, policy makers, and other leaders in the field of education.