Summer Courses 2026
Are you interested in taking a course this summer? Most summer courses are open to both UMass Amherst students and people who are not currently pursuing a degree. There are Undergraduate (UG) and Graduate courses offered for 6 week or 12 week sessions. All of these are offered online, and most are asynchronous.
Below are the undergraduate and graduate courses offered through the College of Education in Summer 2026. Please go to the course link for more information.
*Courses may be cancelled pending enrollment and instructor availability. Please register early.
Undergraduate Classes
Summer Session 1 (Monday, May 18 - Tuesday, June 30, 2026)
EDUC 210 - Social Diversity in Education - UG
Focus on issues of social identity, social and cultural diversity, and societal manifestations of oppression. Draws on interdisciplinary perspectives of social identity development, social learning theory, and sociological analyses of power and privilege within broad social contexts. (Requirements met: Gen.Ed. I, DU)*
EDUC 306 - Educational Psychology - UG
This course explores how students develop cognitively, socially, and emotionally, and how those processes influence learning and classroom dynamics. You'll explore major learning theories and research on how students think, grow, and stay motivated, and apply that understanding to design instruction that supports both academic growth and emotional well-being.
This class develops the skills needed to begin to understand the complex components of human relationships and career decisions, with a focus on critical thinking and intentional decision making. (Requirements met: Gen. Ed. SB)*
EDUC 377 - Introduction to Multicultural Education - UG
Introduction to the sociohistorical, philosophical, and pedagogical foundations of cultural pluralism and multicultural education. Topics include experiences of racial minorities, white ethnic groups and women; intergroup relations in American society, sociocultural influences and biases in schools; and philosophies of cultural pluralism.
EDUC 378 - Survey of Children’s Literature - UG
Survey of traditional and recent examples of children's literature and review of the varieties of books available.
EDUC 393M - Introduction to Early Childhood Education - UG
This course helps prospective early childhood teachers explore what it means to teach, and examines their assumptions about the teaching-learning process, and helps them formulate their own beliefs about educational practice based on how young children think and learn.
EDUC 428- Language and Literacy Development in the Early Childhood Curriculum - UG
Introduction to reading instruction. Critical overview of current approaches, methods, materials. Introduction to theories about the reading process and children's acquisition of written language.
HUMDEV 270- Child Development - UG
Examines current concepts, themes, and theories in child development. Traces natural course of development from beginning of human life through adolescence. (Requirements met: Gen.Ed. SB)*
Summer Session 2 Courses (Monday, July 6 - Friday, August 14, 2026)
EDUC 229 - International Education - UG
This course is designed to introduce students to the role of culture in education. After exploring the theoretical basis of culture, and its relationship to education, students will be exposed to a range of cultural perspectives from Africa, Asia and Latin America. (Requirements met: Gen.Ed. SB, DG)*
EDUC 301 - Young Children Families & Schools - UG
This course provides an overview of research and practices related to working with families in the educational contexts of young children. Methods for developing positive partnerships between educational institutions and families are explored. *Pre-requisite is HUMDEV 270
EDUC 325 - Introduction to Special Education - UG
This course is a study of the origin, diagnosis, and treatment of special needs children with an emphasis on learning, goal planning, and understanding their intellectual, social, physical and sensory needs.
EDUC 351 - Foundations of Education - UG
A study of selected problems and issues in modern education through the disciplines of educational sociology, educational history, educational philosophy, comparative education, or social psychology.
Graduate Classes
12-week Summer Courses (Monday, May 18* - Friday, August 14, 2026)
EDUC 641 - Assessment, Evaluation, and Research in Higher Education - Graduate
The purpose of this course is two-fold: (1) to provide a general understanding of selected past and current research regarding undergraduate students, and (2) to provide knowledge of and practical experience in the assessment of various aspects of undergraduate student life. One major goal of the course is for students to learn to analyze survey data and write a research paper based on survey data. The following topics will be studied: research, assessment, and evaluation; survey design; data collection and analysis; literature reviews; report writing; and writing for publication. *Also serves for International Education
EDUC 643 - Foundations of Higher Education - Graduate
This is the first of a two semester course required of all entering students in the Master's program in higher education. It provides an overview of higher education in America and investigates the ways higher education is constructed, defined, managed, studied, and thought about.
EDUC 675 - Master's Integrative Seminar - Graduate
This course is the capstone course of the Master's program in higher education. The purpose is to demonstrate a command of the program's competencies through a culminating project. *May serve for International Education, with instructor consent.
Summer Session 1 Courses (Monday, May 18 - Tuesday, June 30, 2026)
EDUC 555 - Introduction to Educational Statistics - Graduate
The purpose of this course is to give students in the social sciences and, in particular, education, skills in statistical reasoning so that they will be critical readers of research literature in their fields and in a position to design research studies and analyze data on their own.
EDUC 562 - Abnormal Child & Adolescent Psychology - Graduate
This course is designed to provide students with foundational knowledge in the area of abnormal child and adolescent psychology. Using a developmental approach to understanding psychopathology, the course seeks to understand the multiple transactional influences and the individual in context (social, cultural, life experiences) that influence child and adolescent development. Beginning with an overview of the field and foundational concepts, as well as the various factors that affect psychological development; the course will then examine the classification, assessment, and intervention of various diagnostic disorders (anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, trauma and stressor related disorders, mood disorders, conduct disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, communication and learning disorders, intellectual disabilities, and autism).
EDUC 604P - Psych in the Classroom - Graduate CANCELLED
This course will focus on the application of psychology to the process of educating adolescents in schools.
EDUC 674A - International Higher Education Policy - Graduate
This seminar explores the increasingly global nature of higher education with a focus on contemporary trends, issues, and dynamics in higher education, and the policies that attempt to address them.
EDUC 678A - Teaching & Facilitation in Social Justice Education - Graduate
This course develops your knowledge and skills in group facilitation in social justice education. Students will be introduced to models for facilitating conversations about social justice change, at both the personal and group level. We focus on self-awareness, developing critical reflective lenses related to your current work and contexts, and the development and delivery of action strategies intended to strengthen individual and collective social justice efforts.
EDUC 748 - Current Issues in Community Colleges - Graduate
Study of the variant forms of two-year degree granting institutions, with attention to current philosophical and social issues.
Summer Session 2 Courses (Monday, July 6 - Friday, August 14, 2026)
EDUC 594P Child & Adolescent Development for the Helping Professional - Graduate
Course surveys typical and atypical child and adolescent development in PreK-12 school environments. It provides students opportunities to learn current theories and applications related to the specific helping professions work settings that students will enter.
EDUC 615 AK - Inclusive Classroom: Application - Graduate
This course is designed to support graduate level students, who are preparing for the role of teacher at the elementary education level, in acquiring an understanding of principles and practices underlying the creation of an inclusive learning environment for all students in the regular classroom. Adaptations to the curriculum and in the delivery of instruction which will enable all children, regardless of their learning strengths and needs, to reach their potential and achieve the goals and objectives as outlined with the general education curriculum, will be presented and discussed. Differentiation in content, process and product, based on students' readiness levels, learning profiles and interests will be modeled and analyzed in preparation for the planning of lessons and units, based on the principals of differentiated instruction.
EDUC 723 - Organizing Higher Education - Graduate
This course focuses on organizations in higher education, including the conceptual foundations and practical applications of major theories of organization from a variety of social science perspectives.
*Preview Week begins one week prior to the class start
Registration
Please register as soon as possible. Course registration information can be found on the How to Enroll in Online Classes page If you are registering as a non-degree student for the first time, there is a $10 fee to fill out the non-degree enrollment application form in addition to the online tuition and fees as noted on each course webpage.