An Empirical Examination of Evaluation’s Presence in the Undergraduate Curriculum in the United States

Abstract

Evaluator education programs have developed to help support the growth of professional evaluators and improve evaluation practice. Empirical research has described where and how evaluation is taught at the graduate level of education, but little is known about the undergraduate level. This study empirically explores how, if at all, evaluation is taught at the undergraduate level by systematically analyzing the publicly available curricula of the top 40 public and top 40 private universities in the United States. Findings demonstrate that 470 evaluation-specific and associated courses were offered across public colleges and universities (335 courses offered) and private colleges (135 courses offered). However, among these 470 courses, the extent to which evaluation is taught varies from a specific method of systematic inquiry to a tool used for assessment or judgment, or minor topic within a broader subject. Implications for the field are discussed.