Prof. Shulman is President Emiritus of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Foundation was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered by the United States Congress in 1906.

Shulman was the first Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education and Professor (by courtesy) of Psychology at Stanford University. He was previously Professor of Educational Psychology and Medical Education at Michigan State University, serving as a member of that faculty from 1963 to 1982. He was the founding Co-Director of the Institute for Research on Teaching (IRT) at Michigan State University from 1976.

Shulman is a past president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He is a member of the National Academy of Education, having served as both vice-president and president of that organization. In 2002 he was elected a Fellow of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Shulman's research and writings have dealt with the study of teaching and teacher education; the growth of knowledge among those learning to teach; the assessment of teaching; medical education; the psychology of instruction in science, mathematics, and medicine; the logic of educational research; and the quality of teaching in higher education.