Message from the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy (ELP) in the College of Education at UT Austin. ELP is one of the premier graduate programs in the nation devoted to understanding and improving the complex world of public schools, postsecondary institutions and education policy.

The motto of the University of Texas is “What Starts Here Changes the World,” so what starts at ELP, changes educational organizations, policies and outcomes around the globe. Specifically, ELP develops mission-driven leaders and researchers who think critically with the aim of improving education for all students. We prepare innovative leaders and scholars who will change the world by expanding opportunities and outcomes for all learners. As a department, we are committed to making the highest impact for public schools and post-secondary institutions by developing ground-breaking research and translating it into practice.

I encourage prospective students interested in applying to our graduate programs to consider our strong legacy of training scholars, policy leaders and practitioners that are focused on equatable opportunities and outcomes. Thus, we organize our research and teaching around the college’s three signature impact areas:

• Advancing equity and eliminating disparities in education,
• Thriving through transitions and
• Attending to place and context.

In doing so, we have research clusters addressing pressing challenges facing public education, including:

• School Leadership,
• Addressing disparities in K-12 and Post-secondary Outcomes
• Policy and Reform Research

Our graduate students emerge from our programs equipped to not only navigate multiple policy arenas and institutional contexts but also to influence key policy and practice conversations across sectors of education.

Pedro Reyes, Ph.D.
Ashbel Smith Professor of School Leadership and Policy