LECL Program of Study

The LECL program requires a minimum of 45 credits, including:

  • ELP Professional Studies Core (16 credits)
  • Thematic Specialization (20-22 credits)
  • Electives (7-9 credits)
  • Culminating Experience

Students typically take 2-3 courses during each quarter, selecting courses from the professional core, the LECL core, and electives. Students are expected to establish linkages with a community partner and to begin their project or thesis research while taking courses. If this time line is followed, a master's degree can be completed within a period of 18 months to two years.

LECL Electives and Course Offerings 2009-2010

Community-Based Learning

Many ELP courses carry a requirement for 30 credit hours of community-based learning. Specific requirements for community-based learning are set by the instructor. Community-based learning can be carried out in a variety of organizations and educational settings across the metropolitan region. LECL students with an interest in school and community gardens often volunteer at the Learning Gardens Laboratory assisting with classes for middle school students or for special events. Other students volunteer in local non-formal and formal education organizations or for non-profit organizations. The LECL program includes 240 hours of community-based learning requirements. Students are advised to create a plan for their CBL hours that creates a variety of meaningful experiences that supports their future career goals. Please see the LECL CBL Directory for a listing of CBL opportunites and contact information for organizations in the Portland area.

Internships/Practicum: Local, Regional or International

Students have the option of pursing an internship or practicum. Such internship must match the student's interest, the content of the LECL program, and the host institution's mission and human resource needs. Internships are arranged on an individual basis and must be approved by the LECL program coordinator as well as the student's advisor. For international internships, all rules, regulations, policies, and procedures set by the International Studies Office of PSU must be followed.

Professional Studies Core (16 credits required)

Foundations of Education (4 credits)

ELP 551 Social Foundations of Education (4)

OR

ELP 554 Philosophy of Education (4)

Research and Evaluation (4 credits)

ELP 511 Principles of Educational Research and Data Analysis I (4)

Organizational Systems (4 credits)

ELP 568 Educational Organization and Administration (4)

Adult Development (4 credits)

ELP 520 Developmental Perspectives on Adult Learning (4)

 

Thematic Specialization (20-22 credits)

Education and Sustainability Specialization

ELP 516 Collaborative Ethnographic Research Methods (4)

ELP 517 Ecological and Cultural Foundations of Learning (4)

ELP 548 Advanced Global Political Ecology (4)

ELP 550 Advanced Leadership for Sustainability (4)

 

ELP 503 LECL Master's Thesis (6)

OR

ELP 506 LECL Culminating Project (6)

Although students may take courses in any order, the LECL faculty recommend that students take ELP 516 during their first term in the program. ELP 550 Advanced Leadership for Sustainability should be taken the first or second term in the program.

Electives (2-9 credits)

LECL students are encouraged to select 7 to 9 credit hours of electives courses that align with their interests and support their future careers. Students select 3 to 4 courses from the PSU Bulletin to form a concentration. Those created by previous and current LECL student include permaculture and community gardens, food systems and agriculture, social justice, indigenous cultures and knowledge systems, research methods, environmental education, and feminism and ecology.

Other LECL graduate level courses in the ELP Department include:

ELP 501 Theory and Practice of Sustainability (1-4)

ELP 510 International Trends and Issues in Education (4)

ELP 510 Education and Sustainability: K-12 (4)

ELP 510 Interfacing Nonformal and Formal Education (4)

ELP 510 School and Community Gardens (4)

ELP 510 Ecology and Social Justice (4)

ELP 510 Global Indigenous Culture: Journey into Biocultural Diversities (4)

ELP 510: Permaculture and Whole Systems Design I (4)

ELP 510: Permaculture and Whole Systems Design II (4)

ELP 510: Urban Education Farm: Food Policy, Curriculum Design, and Action! (1-4)

ELP 510: LECL Naturalist Training (2)

ELP 510 Ecological Education in K-8 Schools (4)

ELP 519 Sustainability Education (4)

ELP 506 Self-Directed Learning Credit (Independent Study)

ELP 509 Practicum

Students may work with ELP faculty to design a self-directed learning experience, ELP 506. Most students engage in independent study after they have completed at least 20 credits of course work. At this point, the student may identify specific learning needs and interests that are outside of ELP course offerings. Students typically engage in research, program evaluation, practicum, internship, special project or reading and conference on a specific topic(s). For more information, contact your faculty advisor or instructor.

Culminating Experience (6 credits)

Candidates for the Master's degree with a specialization in Education and Sustainability must select, in consultation with their faculty adviser, one of two culminating experiences: Culminating Project or Thesis.

Culminating Project Option

A Culminating Project is a project-based experience. Culminating projects take a variety of forms depending on student interests, knowledge base, skills, and professional experience. A culminating project can include a comprehensive report on student's engagement in an applied project, such as development of curriculum, instructional materials, or a video documentary; evaluation of a current program; a survey; or analysis of learning in a specific educational context. Projects often grow out of collaborative work in the community. The student in consultation with the faculty advisor will decide the nature, content, and the depth of the culminating project. Typically, students enrolled in ELP 506 meet with their advisor 4 to 6 times during the semester. Projects are submitted in writing and presented orally in a public forum.

The Culminating Project requires enrollment in ELP 506: Culminating Project for each term that the student works with her/his advisor and during the term in which the student presents the final project.

Thesis Option

The Thesis option requires enrollment in 6-9 credits of ELP 503 Thesis. The thesis is likely to require 2-4 quarters of additional work for completion of the program. Thesis also requires the appointment of a 3-member thesis committee, 2 from the ELP Department and one member appointed from the Office of Graduate Studies. Visit the Office of Graduate Studies website for Thesis guidelines, http://www.gsr.pdx.edu/ogs.html