Learning Sciences Major

Students must also complete the Undergraduate Registration Requirement and the degree requirements of their home school.

Concentration Program—16 units*

*

8 of the 16 units need to be at the 300-level

Course Title
Required Courses (9 units)
LRN_SCI 201-0Cognition and Action
or LRN_SCI 251-0 Special Topics in Learning Sciences
LRN_SCI 202-0Culture, Language, & Identity
LRN_SCI 301-0Design of Learning Environments
1 course for the Cognition cluster from:
Introduction to Cognitive Science
Introduction to Cognitive Modeling
Learning, Representation & Reasoning
Mapping and Spatial Analysis for Social Issues
Cognitive Psychology
1 course for the Language and Culture cluster from:
The Study of Culture through Language
Language and Society
Language and Prejudice
Language, Politics, and Identity Crosslisted with SLAVIC 222
Language & Gender Crosslisted with GNDR_ST 234
1 course for the Learning in Schools cluster from:
Social, Cultural, and Linguistic Contexts of Education
Learning and Teaching with Technology
Topics in Learning Sciences (Identity, Power, and the Historical Imaginary Across Social Contexts)
Topics in Learning Sciences (Computer Science Education)
Race and Education
Special Topics in Social Policy (Urban Education Policy and Practice)
Schooling in America
1 course for the Out of School Learning cluster from:
Culture and Cognition
Culture and Cognition: SESP Leadership Institute
Holocaust Education Design
Redesigning Everyday Organizations
Topics in Learning Sciences (Text Mining for Education, Organizations and Social Science Research)
Studies in Organizational Change
Topics in Learning and Organizational Change (Cognition in Contexts)
Designing for Social Change
Special Topics (Finding Your Path: Future Possibilities and Social Change)
Trauma and Atrocity: Holocaust Memory, Memorial and Museums
Special Topics (Computing, Ethics, and Society )
Magic Monsters & the Holocaust
Cognition and Culture in Teaching and Learning
1 course for the Design of Learning Environments cluster from:
Community Based Research Methodologies: Educational Justice
Special Topics (Youth Participatory Action Research and Community-Based Design Research)
Holocaust Education Design
Inclusive Making
Tangible Interaction Design and Learning
Design of Technological Tools for Thinking and Learning
Topics in Learning Sciences (Sports, Technology and Learning or Design of Sociotechnical Systems or Computer Science Education)
Designing and Constructing Models with Multi-agent Languages
1 additional course in student’s specialization
Concentration Extension Course (7 units)
Must be selected from an approved list of courses in learning sciences, other SESP concentrations, and disciplines such as anthropology, communication studies, computer science, design, linguistics, and psychology. Must include at least 3 courses at the 300 level. Up to 3 units of SESP 390-0 Research Apprenticeship or SESP 399-0 Independent Study and 3 units of SESP 398-0 Honors Thesis may be counted toward this requirement.

SESP Core (8 units)

Course Title
Seminar—1 unit
SESP 200-0Understanding Knowledge
Human Development—1 unit
SESP 201-0Human Development: Childhood and Adolescence 1
or PSYCH 244-0 Developmental Psychology
OR
SESP 203-0Human Development: Adulthood and Aging
OR
HDC 310-0The Art and Science of Aging
OR
SESP 251-0Special Topics (Adult Development)
Methodologies —2 units
SESP 210-0Introduction to Statistics and Research Methodology
or STAT 202-0 Introduction to Statistics and Data Science
or STAT 210-0 Introduction to Probability and Statistics
or PSYCH 201-0 Statistical Methods in Psychology
or SOCIOL 303-0 Analysis and Interpretation of Social Data
SESP 272-0Field Research Methods
Experiential Learning—4 units 2
SESP 392-0Experiential Learning: Practicum
or SESP 392-SA Experiential Learning: Practicum Study Abroad
1

PSYCH 110-0 Introduction to Psychology is a prerequisite for PSYCH 244-0 and PSYCH 201-0.

2

This 4-unit course may be taken either for 1 quarter during junior year or for nine weeks during the Summer Session before or after junior year; no fifth unit may be taken concurrently without special permission. At least 2 quarters before registering for the course, students must consult the SESP practicum director regarding procedures and site-placement application materials. For Summer Session practicums, consultation should be scheduled at least 3 quarters in advance.

Overlay Requirements*

*

Overlay requirements are fulfilled by courses taken for the concentration

Course Title
Global Engagement
1 quarter of study abroad or 3 quarters of foreign language or equivalent.
Heterogeneities, Systems, and Inequalities
1 course counted towards the concentration: HDC 305-0, LOC 214-0, LOC 214-BR, LOC 351-0 (Identities, Intersection, and Organizations or Global Organizations & Leadership), LRN_SCI 202-0, LRN_SCI 214-0, LRN_SCI 224, LRN_SCI 302-0, LRN_SCI 309-0, LRN_SCI 351-0 (Identity, Power, and the Historical Imaginary Across Social Contexts), SESP 251-0 (Finding Your Path: Future Possibilities and Social Change), SESP 260-0, SESP 317-0, SESP 320-0, SESP 323-0, SESP 325-0, SESP 351-0 (Computing, Ethics, and Society or Youth Participatory Action Research and Community-Based Design Research), SESP 360-0, SOC_POL 313-0, SOC_POL 315-0, SOC_POL 331-0, SOC_POL 333-0, SOC_POL 351-0 (Intersectionality, Measurement, and Public Policy or Urban Education Policy and Practice or Religion and Policy or Racialization, Stress and Development in the US or Social Side of College), TEACH_ED 301-0, TEACH_ED 302-0, TEACH_ED 329-0
Methods in Context
1 course counted towards the concentration: HDC 330-0, HDC 347-0, LOC 308-0, LOC 311-0, LOC 313, LOC 347-0, LRN_SCI 224, LRN_SCI 301-0, LRN_SCI 309-0, LRN_SCI 313-0, LRN_SCI 326, LRN_SCI 351-0 (Sports, Technology and Learning or Text Mining for Education, Organizations, and Social Science Research or Computer Science Education or Indigenous Methods in Research), LRN_SCI 372-0, SESP 204-0, SESP 260-0, SESP 310-0, SESP 323-0, SESP 351-0 (Youth Participatory Action Research and Community-Based Design Research) SESP 360-0, SOC_POL 330-0, SOC_POL 331-0, SOC_POL 332-0, SOC_POL 333-0, SOC_POL 334-0, SOC_POL 351-0 (Social Side of College or Intersectionality, Measurement, and Public Policy)

Foundational Disciplines (10 units)

  • 2 natural sciences (NS) courses
  • 2 empirical and deductive reasoning (EDR) courses 
  • 2 historical studies (HS) courses
  • 2 ethical and evaluative thinking (EET) courses 
  • 2 literature and arts (LA) courses

Selected courses from Weinberg College and professional schools across the University may be used to fulfill distribution requirements with the consent of the student’s adviser and the SESP assistant dean for student affairs.

Electives (8 units)

Courses from any school across the University may be used to fulfill elective requirements. Students are encouraged to discuss their elective plans with their advisers; they may be able to pursue a second major or a minor using elective credits.