While we enter the dog days of summer, that can only mean one thing: the back-to-school season is upon us.

To prepare for the onslaught of syllabi, course schedules, and runs on department store backpack aisles, the Press has collected a handful of titles exploring the multifaceted world of education. From guides navigating college financial aid to investigations into creativity’s role in schooling, below is a list of books that, taken together, illuminate the ever-changing nature of higher education, teaching, and what it means to be a student in 2026.

All of these books are available from our website. Use the code UCPNEW to take 30% off when you order directly from us. Happy reading!

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Hidden Tuition: An Insider’s Guide to College Pricing and Financial Aid by Phillip B. Levine

The secret economics of maximizing college financial aid (and why it’s not as miserable as you think).

In the college admissions process, a terrifying unknown looms large: How much is this really going to cost? For prospective students and their families, there’s no easy answer. While college prices continue to rise, so do their promises of financial aid for qualified students. But who qualifies? And for how much? How can this monumental life decision be so utterly impossible to understand?

Hidden Tuition is an insider’s guide for navigating college financial aid to maximum effect and with (relatively) minimal pain. Economist and financial-aid expert Phillip B. Levine draws on his unique experience—including years of research in higher-education finance and work alongside admissions and financial-aid departments—to help readers first identify, then minimize, what they’ll actually pay for different types of colleges based on their circumstances. With expertise, clarity, and the warmth of someone who’s been through it, Levine details how students can find the hidden tuition costs in the opaque landscape of college pricing and financial aid.

Internships in the Private Sector: How You Can Find, Prepare for, and Thrive in Them by Charles A. Fishkin

A practical, start-to-finish guide to securing an internship in the private sector and making the most of the transition from student to professional.

Every year, college students across the country seek internships to build experience in their chosen fields. In this highly competitive job market, students and recent graduates need to seek out every possible opportunity to differentiate themselves and demonstrate that they are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. One important way to do so is an internship in the private sector, which can lead to a full-time job with a well-regarded organization. Yet the process of finding an internship can appear challenging. This book can make it easier.

For more than a decade, finance professional Charles Fishkin has been preparing students to thrive in internship programs. In this book, he shares his advice for those who are seeking a private-sector internship. With insights relevant to a variety of fields—from finance to the tech sector—he covers the process from start to finish, beginning with exploring the range of internship opportunities available. Several chapters offer advice on best practices for crafting effective resumes, networking, and interviewing to get the position. Fishkin offers checklists, action items, real-life scenarios, and practical suggestions, each arising from the experiences of former interns and hiring managers. The heart of the book focuses on the nine to twelve weeks of the internship itself, with tips on how to interact with supervisors and colleagues, how to learn and apply new skills, and how to solve problems and address challenges that arise.

Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online by Mike Caulfield and Sam Wineburg

An indispensable guide for telling fact from fiction on the internet—often in less than 30 seconds.
The internet brings information to our fingertips almost instantly. The result is that we often jump to thinking too fast, without taking a few moments to verify the source before engaging with a claim or viral piece of media. Information literacy expert Mike Caulfield and educational researcher Sam Wineburg are here to enable us to take a moment for due diligence with this informative, approachable guide to the internet. With this illustrated tool kit, you will learn to identify red flags, get quick context, and make better use of common websites like Google and Wikipedia that can help and hinder in equal measure. This how-to guide will teach you how to use the web to verify the web, quickly and efficiently. Building on techniques like SIFT and lateral reading, Verified will help students and anyone else looking to get a handle on the internet’s endless flood of information through quick, practical, and accessible steps.

Creativity in Education: International Perspectives, Edited by Nicole Brown, Amanda Ince, and Karen Ramlackhan
UCL Press

An international exploration of creativity as a socio-cultural phenomenon, with practical insights for application in educational settings.

Creativity has become a buzzword across all disciplines in education, from early years through to higher education. Although the meaning of creativity might depend on its cultural context, it is impossible to ignore the applicability and relevance of creativity as an educational tool, philosophical framework, and pedagogical approach.

This collection explores the case studies of ground-breaking work undertaken internationally to support and develop learners with, and for, creativity. The chapters are based on empirical research, which provides the scholarly framework for reconceptualizing creativity in the country-specific context of each study. Each case study is supplemented by critical, reflective, and analytical responses from contributors from different countries, which provide a dialogue for educators into how methods and approaches from a certain context can be transferred, translated, and contextually mediated for different environments. Creativity in Education thus provides practical insights for application in a wide range of educational settings, as well as philosophical approaches to teacher education, leadership for learning, and creativity as a universal phenomenon.

Doing Research In Education: A Beginner’s Guide, Edited by Declan Fahie and Shane D. Bergin
University College Dublin Press

A practical guidebook for people learning to conduct research in education.

Doing Research in Education offers practical advice and guidance for those learning to conduct educational research. It addresses each step of the research process, including choosing what to research, formulating a research question, and deciding on a suitable research methodology. and writing a thesis. The contributors address a range of research methodologies, with chapters that outline the suitability and applicability of each methodology and offer concrete suggestions for its use. Further chapters are dedicated to navigating the relevant research literature, ethics, researching vulnerable groups, the use of technology, and connecting research to teaching practice.