Prospective Students: 

The Fall application cycle is approaching. Please view our Application Deadlines to ensure a timely application.

We Work to Make a Difference in Education

Welcome to the Department of Education at UC Santa Barbara. Our faculty strive to prepare the next generation of thinkers, leaders, and scholars in the diverse subfields of education. We aim to help our students understand not only classroom instruction, but also the broader, increasingly multicultural, multilingual, and digital world we occupy.

Through intensive coursework and research, our students explore education from diverse critical perspectives:

  • Institutional & Policy Analysis: Investigating the differing effects of schools, public policy, and leadership on educational equity and student outcomes.
  • Cultural & Linguistic Exploration: Studying the profound mediating effects of culture, language, and human differences in diverse learning environments.
  • Inclusive Community Advocacy: Fostering a supportive environment that values and elevates divergent perspectives, ethnic backgrounds, and student lived experiences.

We are Committed to Your Growth

Through dedicated research and teaching, our faculty members mentor each of our students personally, working to elevate you as an educator and to inspire enduring commitments to learning, scholarship, and excellence.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In the pursuit of academic excellence, the Department of Education, as part of the Gevirtz School of Education, is dedicated to fostering a community that reflects the rich diversity of out state and nation. We recognize, value, and respect the inherent dignity, worth, and lived experiences of all people. 

We actively champion inclusive academic excellence through:

  • Diverse Representation & Support: Actively recruiting, supporting, and retaining a vibrant community of students, faculty, and staff of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, religions, socioeconomic statuses, and ages. 
  • Inclusive Dialogue & Academic Freedom: Fostering safe, collaborative spaces where complex, critical issues surrounding diversity and educational equity are openly discussed inside and outside the classroom. 
  • Amplifying Voices: Providing multiple, dedicated pathways within the GGSE community to ensure that all diverse perspectives and student voices are heard and valued. 

We believe a dedication to those principles of inclusion is essential to our scholarship, leadership, citizenship, and democracy.

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Application Deadlines and Funding Status

  • Ph.D. and Joint M.A. / Ph.D. Programs: Final Deadline
    • December 1, 2026, 11:59 PM (PST)
    • Eligible for funding
  • M.A. Only Program: Primary Consideration Deadline
    • December 1, 2026, 11:59 PM (PST)
    • Eligible for funding
  • M.A. Only Program: Secondary and Final Deadline
    • May 13, 2027, 11:59 Pm (PST)
    • No departmental funding available

Department of Education Leadership Contact Information

Contact Information for Program

Office: ED 3103
Email: progoffice@education.ucsb.edu
Phone: (805) 893-4515
Fax: (805) 893-7264

Mailing Address:

GGSE Dept. of Education
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9490

Program Office Staff

Antoniya "Toni" Terzieva
Department Administrator
aterzieva@ucsb.edu
Office: ED 3103
(805) 893-7675

Leonora "Léo" Naser-Saravia
Program Coordinator
lnasersa@ucsb.edu
Office: ED 3105
(805) 893-4515


Chair

Tarek Azzam, Professor
tarekazzam@ucsb.edu
Chair's Office: ED 3153
(805) 893-3711

Vice Chair

Danielle Harlow
danielle.harlow@ucsb.edu
Office:  ED 3129
(805) 893-5165

Graduate Advisor

Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj
carolynsattin-bajaj@ucsb.edu
Office:  ED 3117

Graduate Diversity Officer

Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, Associate Professor
carolynsattin-bajaj@ucsb.edu
Office:  ED 3117

Department of Education News

AI illustration by Glenn Gehlke/Local News Matters via ChatGPT. Picture shows a girl on top of a jenga like structure. With people in suits removing pieces of the structure.

Opinion: The rollback of DEI initiatives in higher education puts student success at risk

Lucy Arellano Jr., The OpEd Project. Opinion: The rollback of DEI initiatives in higher education puts student success at risk. 

GGSE in the News > Dept. of Education

Jaime Lester, shoulder-length blonde hair in gray blazer and blue blouse.

Jaime Lester Appointed New Dean for Gevirtz School

UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Dennis Assanis announced the appointment of  Jaime Lester as the new Jules Zimmer Dean of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, effective July 1, 2026. 

GGSE News > Dept. of Education

Munira Kairat, with dark shoulder-length hair, wearing white blazer and blouse

Munira Kairat Receives the National Academy of Education Spencer Dissertation Fellowship

Munira Kairat, a Ph.D. candidate at the UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, has been selected as a 2026 National Academy of Education (NAEd) Spencer Dissertation Fellow.

GGSE News > Dept. of Education

Kaylee Laub presenting at Grad Slam 2026

Innovative Environmental Education Earns Top Honors at 2026 Grad Slam for Kaylee Laub

Department of Education graduate student Kaylee Laub won the UCSB 2026 Grad Slam championship event with her three-minute presentation on “Reimagining Climate Solutions Through Speculative Designs.” Kaylee shared that to discover creative solutions to the challenges of climate change, educators are increasingly turning to those who could someday be impacted the most: today’s children. 

GGSE News > Dept. of Education

Dept of Education News