Formal education has become a vast enterprise in our society. On any given school day, nearly one in four Americans---students, teachers, other workers and professionals---are engaged in the schools. Coursework in the social foundations area of study helps students analyze the contradictory purposes that formal education contains in the contemporary world. Social Foundations refers to interdisciplinary study that builds upon the disciplines of history, sociology, philosophy, cultural studies, anthropology, political science, and comparative and international education. The courses offered by the Department at the undergraduate level are also interdisciplinary in that our students come from most of the five departments in the College of Education and Human Services as well as from across the campus. Social Foundations courses at the graduate level encompass two strands. The first utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to study diverse topics crucial to education. The second approaches critical topics in education through a particular discipline, such as philosophy or history. Both strands are designed to build theoretical understanding and analytical strengths in examining foundational questions concerning the field of education.