SESP@100

Northwestern University is founded; Old College is its first and only building.

Northwestern offers education courses for the first time.

The School of Education is established, expanded to a four-year program, and housed inside Old College, which becomes the Education Building.

John Stout is named the first dean.

In June, 38 people received the first degrees ever conferred by Northwestern's newly established School of Education.

The School of Education establishes the nation’s first graduate internship program for prospective teachers.

The school's first research doctorate degree program (EdD) is offered.

Music and speech education move to the respective Northwestern schools.

The school expands as a traditional school of education.

More faculty are hired. Programs in home economics, health, gifted education are added. A master’s in teaching is added in 1961. 

Under Dean B. J. Chandler, the Tutorial Clinical Program replaces methods courses.

Upward Bound brings inner-city high school students to campus in the summer. 

The Center for the Teaching Professions established, directed by Professor B. Claude Mathis.

The School of Education moves to Anderson Hall.

Old College, built as a temporary structure but somehow still standing, is hit by lightning and razed after the sprinkler floods the building.

The sign reading “Old College” that hung above the building’s entrance is now located at the west entrance of University Hall. 

The Human Development in Non-School Settings program is founded, paving the way for Human Development and Social Policy program.

The groundbreaking Human Development and Social Policy (HDSP) doctoral program is founded by Bernice L. Neugarten.

It highlights the contributions of psychology, sociology, and economics toward understanding human development throughout life and how it life is shaped by policies and institutions.

The Center for Talent Development (originally called Midwest Talent Search) is founded by Joyce VanTassel-Baska, now Professor Emerita of Education at William and Mary.

The program offered above grade testing for what was then known as talent identification; soon educational enrichment and acceleration programs were added to the mix.

The School of Education announces a new Master of Science degree program, the first graduate degree fully administered by the School of Education rather than the Graduate School.

The School of Education is renamed the School of Education and Social Policy under Dean David Wiley to reflect a broader mission and the importance of connecting education with the family, school, work, and community.

Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, who earned her PhD from SESP in 1983, is named the new director of CTD.

Olszewski-Kubilius spent the next four decades with CTD and retired in 2023 as one of the world’s leading figures in the field of talent development and gifted education.

Northwestern opens the Institute for Learning Sciences to partner with the private sector to develop education technology.

The world’s first learning sciences graduate program accepts its first cohort of students.

The program was designed and launched by Roy Pea; when Pea became SESP dean, professor Brian Reiser served as director.

The School of Education announces a new Master of Science degree program, the first graduate degree fully administered by the School of Education rather than the Graduate School.

Penelope Peterson becomes the first woman to assume the deanship.

She leads for a record-breaking two decades, helping the school strengthen its identity as an interdisciplinary, research-driven institution.

An alternative route to teacher certification, called NU-TEACH, is established.

The program is a partnership between the school, the Golden Apple Foundation, and Inner-City Teaching Corps.

The Leadership Academy and Urban Network for Chicago collaboration is founded to strengthen leadership skills for aspiring principals.

The Tarry Center opens in Annenberg Hall, increasing space by more than 25 percent and bringing online two new cutting-edge teaching and learning spaces that became the model for classroom design going forward.

The Master’s in Learning and Organizational Change program is established to prepare leaders who want to improve organizations.

US News and World Report ranks SESP among the nation’s top ten graduate schools of education for the first time. Since then, SESP has been rated in the top ten 21 times.

SESP wins the highly competitive Institute for Education Sciences predoctoral training grant to establish the Multidisciplinary Program in Education Sciences.

The Baxter Center for Science Education is founded in conjunction with Lindblom Math and Science Academy (and later also Round Lake High School) and the Baxter International Foundation to support students in STEM education and career pathways.

Northwestern and SESP establish a partnership office inside Evanston Township High School to help connect Northwestern resources and expertise with the community.

The first-of-its-kind undergraduate program in Learning Sciences admits its first students.

At the graduate level, SESP launches the nation’s first joint learning sciences + computer science doctoral program.

The Office of Stem Education Partnerships becomes the Office of Community Education Partnerships (OCEP), where it continues to work with schools and community leaders in Evanston and Chicago.

OCEP supports Northwestern's Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations and bridges the research, practice, and service missions of the school and the university.

The first cohort of students enroll in the dual-degree applied economics and social and economic policy master’s program, a joint program with The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The Center for Education Efficacy, Excellence and Equity is founded with support from a $5.8 million Gates Foundation grant.

Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy is named dean.

An anthropologist of education, Brayboy is the first Native American dean in the history of Northwestern University.

The school receives a $1 million gift from the Kapor foundation to establish The Center for Responsible Technology, Policy, and Public Dialogue.

The practicum expands to give it more global reach than ever.

In addition to options through the Global Engagement Summer Institute study abroad program—which include South America and Asia—undergrads can study in Dublin, Sydney, and Milan.

The first cohort of students join the new Master’s in Technology, People, and Policy Program,  which looks at how new technologies influence ethics, law, the environment, people, and public policy.

SESP ranked No. 2 graduate school of education by U.S. News & World Report, its highest rating ever.

SESP moves into the newly renovated 2001 Sheridan building , formerly known as Jacobs Hall.

Jackson Carsello becomes the first graduate of The Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics program, which was launched in 2025 for recent college graduates who want to become leaders in learning, change, and innovation across complex workplaces.