MASTER’S PROGRAMS
WORLD-CLASS FACULTY. CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH.
INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY.
Whether you’re seeking to develop new competencies, hone your leadership skills, or advance your career, HGSE offers master’s programs — residential and online — that provide exceptional academic preparation, deliver opportunities for personal and professional growth, and deepen your knowledge to make an even greater impact on the world.
Our next enrollment cycle is for fall 2025. Learn more at hgse.me/masters.
AT THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION (HGSE),
we are empowering a new generation of educators — from teachers and principals to policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and entrepreneurs. Our Master’s in Education (Ed.M.) degree prepares our students to drive transformative change in education, from early childhood through higher education and beyond. Here you will be surrounded by a diverse, engaged, inclusive, and supportive community; be mentored by world-renowned faculty; and form lifelong connections with talented peers from around the world.
Our five one-year residential master’s programs, built on an extraordinary foundation of expertise and cutting-edge research, train our students to be leaders and innovators. Residential students can further customize their experience through a range of electives and specialized concentrations.
Our two-year career-embedded online program in education leadership is designed for education professionals who want to hone their leadership skills and deepen their impact, as they apply what they learn to their continuing work in the field.
With our comprehensive offerings, co-curricular activities, and experiential learning opportunities, HGSE allows you to explore many pathways for learning and many opportunities for personalized development and growth.
We hope you will join us.
Nonie K. Lesaux
Interim Dean
Roy Edward Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development
Harvard Graduate School of Education
SHAPING EDUCATION — AT EVERY LEVEL, IN EVERY ROLE
We’re committed to changing the world through education — and our unique Master’s in Education (Ed.M.) programs help you make this vision a reality.
Our programs will enable you to tap into your leadership potential, create the conditions for meaningful learning and development, and provide opportunities to address and remedy systemic challenges in the field — across communities and education settings.
TRANSFORMING THE FIELD THROUGH RESEARCH, POLICY, AND PRACTICE
HGSE faculty and alumni are leading the way in improving outcomes for all students. In addition to facilitating academic learning, Ed.M. faculty members are out in the field — conducting cutting-edge research and creating initiatives that transform teaching and learning.
Upon graduation, you’ll join our alumni in translating the leadership, entrepreneurial, and practical skills you’ve learned into a variety of outcomes-focused initiatives — as teachers and think tank researchers, principals and policymakers, counselors and curriculum designers, and more.
THE CORNERSTONE OF EDUCATION
Your time at HGSE will be rooted in our four Foundations courses — rich, immersive learning experiences that prepare you with the skills and competencies that every educator needs, across educational settings, to support all types of learners and communities. The baseline that the Foundations provide will deepen your knowledge and effectiveness — helping you achieve your desired outcomes across your HGSE coursework and into your career.
LET’S START WITH THE FOUNDATIONS
Core Skills + Knowledge + Ways of Thinking
TIMING BY PROGRAM
All Ed.M. programs
HOW PEOPLE LEARN
Offers a deep understanding of how people learn and develop over the lifespan, and how to design systems to support others’ learning.
EVIDENCE
Explores how to interpret common forms of researchbased evidence and how to apply evidence to improve education systems.
EQUITY + OPPORTUNITY
Focuses on the core concept of equity in education — preparing you to identify and address the inequities that exist in the field.
LEADING CHANGE
Provides knowledge on how to work within a team, organization, or education system — with an emphasis on leading and managing change.
Foundations will commence for all Ed.M. students at the start of June with How People Learn. This is an online course that runs in June and July and requires a time commitment of 12–15 hours per week.
Residential programs
Residential Ed.M. students will take Equity and Opportunity, Evidence, and Leading Change courses on campus in August. During the remainder of the academic year, residential Ed.M. students take an additional elective (2+ credits) focused on Equity and Opportunity.
Online program
Students in the online Ed.M. program will take courses in Equity and Opportunity and in Evidence at specific times during the two-year program. Further learning goals and experiences tied to Leading Change and Equity and Opportunity are incorporated into other core courses in the program.
PROGRAMS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
To empower a new generation of educators to meet the emerging challenges of a complex, rapidly changing world, HGSE offers two ways to earn a master’s in education: our flagship residential programs and the online program in education leadership.
Our master’s programs prepare you to make a difference for the learners of today and tomorrow.
TRAINING LEADERS — AT EVERY STEP IN THEIR CAREERS
Students can earn an Ed.M. from Harvard through one of six programs – five residential and one online. All feature the academic rigor, cohort learning, and world-renowned faculty that define Harvard graduate study, and each is tailored to specific student populations.
The residential programs are designed for aspiring or established educators, leaders, and innovators — offering you a full-time, immersive, on-campus experience and the flexibility to concentrate studies on specific areas of interest and pursue experiential learning opportunities.
The online program in education leadership is designed for mid-career educators — offering you the opportunity to stay engaged in your home community while participating in a part-time program that’s conducted almost exclusively online.
MASTER’S IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS OFFERED IN RESIDENCE
In each of our five residential Ed.M. programs, you will benefit from a oneyear, full-time Harvard experience that provides you with the opportunity to design your own pathway at one of the world’s premier education training grounds. The unique curriculum enables you to craft customized experiences that cultivate your ability to foster positive impact and help generate better outcomes for all students.
IT’S TIME TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM
Preparation + Experience + Real-World Engagement
As a residential master’s student, you can choose and apply to one of the following five Programs, where you’ll develop expertise in a specific practice area that aligns with your professional interests:
EDUCATION LEADERSHIP, ORGANIZATIONS, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Cultivates the skills you need to become an effective, strategic, and innovative leader.
EDUCATION POLICY AND ANALYSIS
Provides you with a deep understanding of what works in education and how to leverage policy and data to generate solutions.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
Prepares you to offer learners the academic and social-emotional supports that align with their individual needs.
LEARNING DESIGN, INNOVATION, AND TECHNOLOGY
Offers you the opportunity to create technological innovations and evolve the science of learning to improve student outcomes.
Each program includes coursework, core experiences, and real-world opportunities that will prepare you to meet the challenges of your chosen career path.
TEACHING AND TEACHER LEADERSHIP
Equips you with the skills needed to transform learning, advance social justice, and make a difference in the lives of all students.
IT TAKES CONCENTRATION
Cohort + Community + Collaboration
If you wish to specialize in a specific context or area of education, our flexible curriculum provides a selection of Concentrations — each offering a combination of tailored coursework and co-curricular activities, such as events, speaker series, and workshops. The program also offers curated elective courses that will enable you to customize your HGSE learning experience.
ARTS AND LEARNING
Helps you explore the integral role the arts play across learning environments, age groups, and art forms.
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Prepares you for a variety of roles within the early childhood education sector.
GLOBAL, INTERNATIONAL, AND COMPARATIVE EDUCATION
Enables you to gain experience addressing education inequalities in low- and middle-income countries.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Equips you for a career in postsecondary education — within universities, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and consulting firms.
IDENTITY, POWER, AND JUSTICE IN EDUCATION
Provides you with the skills to create education spaces that aim to eliminate oppressive conditions and inequitable outcomes.
LITERACY AND LANGUAGES
Gives you the tools to address how literacy-related developments support student outcomes.
MASTER’S IN EDUCATION PROGRAM OFFERED ONLINE
Our career-embedded, two-year, part-time online Ed.M. program in education leadership allows you to immediately apply what you are learning to your organization — while developing the skills you need to further develop your career and enhance your impact.
Except for one brief residential experience, the program is conducted fully online and includes a combination of synchronous meetings and asynchronous coursework. Throughout your graduate experience, you will interact with Harvard faculty, build lifelong professional connections, and prepare yourself for new leadership opportunities.
CHOOSE YOUR LEADERSHIP PATHWAY
Practice Area + Aspiration + Impact
The Education Leadership (Online) curriculum offers you two pathways — Higher Education or PreK–12 — that align with your area of interest:
HIGHER EDUCATION
Prepares you as a dynamic leader in a diverse range of postsecondary education contexts
— from college and university settings to nonprofit education organizations. (5+ years related career experience required.)
PREK–12
Equips you to do change-making work on behalf of students from early childhood to secondary education levels — as teacher leaders, afterschool directors, and more. (7+ years related career experience required.)
To help you manage, lead, and implement change in complex organizations, our Education Leadership (Online) curriculum offers leadership core competencies that will strengthen your ability to:
• Lead change and think strategically
• Foster productive organizational conditions
• Navigate politics and practice political inclusion
• Communicate effectively
• Cultivate self-development and team professional development skills
FACULTY MAKING AN IMPACT IN THE FIELD
Junlei Li
Saul Zaentz Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education
Inspired by the work of Fred Rogers, Junlei Li developed the “Simple Interactions” approach to empower and encourage human relationships as the active ingredients in the healthy development of children, adults, and communities. His research and practice focus on understanding and supporting the work of helping professionals across developmental settings, including orphanages, families, early care and education, K–12 schools, youth development programs, and communities.
Karen Mapp Professor of Practice
Karen Mapp is an expert in the cultivation of partnerships among families, community members and educators that support student achievement and school improvement. She collaborated with the U.S. Department of Education on the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, a guide for how each stakeholder — at the state, district, school, and family levels — can best cultivate effective and sustainable family school-partnerships that support student learning and successful schools. Hundreds of districts have since implemented the framework’s suggestions by embedding engagement strategies in their school and district improvement efforts.
Alexis Redding Lecturer on Education
Combining the intellectual traditions of developmental psychology, higher education scholarship, and ethnographic research, Alexis Redding’s work focuses on supporting students during the college years and in the transition to the workforce. She is keenly interested in student well-being and recently launched a new professional development course, Mental Health in Higher Education: A Theory-toPractice Approach for Student Well-Being, for student affairs practitioners.
Fernando Reimers
Ford Foundation Professor of Practice in International Education
An expert in global education, Fernando Reimers concentrates his research around educating children and youth so they can thrive in the 21st century. He directs the Global Education Innovation Initiative — a research, policy, and practice collaborative that supports public education improvement and advancement of 21st-century competencies. He has also served as a member of UNESCO’s Commission on the Futures of Education and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Education, the International Academy of Education, and the Council on Foreign Relations.
ALUMNI MAKING AN IMPACT IN THE FIELD
Tyrell Adeyemi, Ed.M.’21
Harvard-Kent Elementary School
Tyrell Adeyemi, a Harvard Urban Scholars Fellow, studied school leadership while at HGSE. A former English language arts educator, his career post-HGSE brought him to Boston Public Schools where he now serves as the principal of the Harvard-Kent Elementary School. He believes in the power of student-centered decision making to create a nourishing environment for all scholars to express their brilliance.
Staci Cummins, Ed.M.’19
U.S. Department of Education
After graduating from HGSE in 2019, Staci Cummins joined the Department of Education as a presidential management fellow and currently serves as the program manager for the School Infrastructure Programs and an education program specialist for the Rural Education Achievement Program. Having previously taught elementary and middle school at a Tribal school in remote South Dakota, she is committed to supporting sustainable and equitable school buildings and systems, especially those at the heart of rural communities.
Brennon Ham, Ed.M.'21
Q Center at University of Washington
Brennon Ham is a dedicated advocate and leader, currently serving as the director of the Q Center at the University of Washington. Their experience as a queer, bigender, mixedLatinx, formerly homeless survivor of violence informs their mission to create spaces of belonging for students. They work to transform policy and practice in greater Seattle school districts, coach swimming, and drive institutional change at the University of Washington to foster affirming environments for all.
Jessica Tang, Ed.M.'06
AFT Massachusetts
Jessica Tang is the president of AFT Massachusetts, representing over 24,000 educators, librarians, and health and public service workers. She was also the president of the Boston Teachers Union from 2017 to 2024. She was the first person of color and first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve in both roles. She is a co-founder of the Teacher Activist Group–Boston, Boston Education Justice Alliance, and MA Education Justice Alliance, and serves as a board member for several civic and labor groups.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
Regardless of which program you pursue, you will gain critical insights and perspectives through discussions, small-group sessions, and research projects. Yet we also recognize the importance of learning that takes place within your cohort, via alumni networks, and through co-curricular experiences. Here’s a sampling of the community learning you’ll experience as an HGSE student:
COHORT LEARNING
Peer-to-peer learning plays a significant role at HGSE, and you’ll have the opportunity to engage with members of your cohort during in-class and synchronous online discussions and through co-curricular learning experiences. You’ll also be able to join one of many student organizations or start your own.
ALUMNI NETWORKS
Our global alumni base of 30,000+ professionals will serve you throughout your career by providing connections, collaborations, and mentoring opportunities.
CO-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES
Learning continues far beyond your in-class academic experience, and HGSE offers a variety of programming, including:
BEYOND ACADEMICS
Enrich your experience through events with innovative leaders, collaborative learning experiences, and professional development opportunities — both on campus and online.
HARVARD ADVANTAGE
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Take advantage of fellowship programs, including the Equity and Inclusion Fellowship, and advisory committees.
As an HGSE student, you’ll also experience a range of benefits, resources, and opportunities available across the Harvard University system, including online access to the world’s largest library system.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Participate in events and programs that highlight and promote innovative teaching and learning strategies.
BOSTON AND CAMBRIDGE
As a residential student, you can enjoy all that Boston and Cambridge have to offer — from history and innovation to sports and culture. As a student in Education Leadership (Online), you will also have the opportunity to explore the area during your brief residential experience.
ADVANCE YOUR CAREER IN EDUCATION
Our programs will enable you to explore a wide variety of career pathways, while working alongside our faculty and networking with the HGSE and greater Harvard community.
HGSE’s Career Services Office will support you in your professional development and career management — from the moment you join our community to the decades of impact that will follow. Through career coaching, mentorship opportunities, innovative programs, workshops, and recruiting events — they will assist in setting you up for long term success.
As one of the few offices of its kind dedicated to education students, HGSE’s career services team will help you navigate your job search by assisting with resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills, salary negotiations, and internships.
RECENT GRADUATE CAREER OUTCOMES
A recent survey revealed that our Ed.M. graduates go on to work in a variety of fields, including the following:
WHO STUDIES AT HGSE?
2023–24
ENTERING CLASS
Residential Master’s in Education (Ed.M.) students: 632
Online Master’s in Education (Ed.M.) students: 93
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Ph.D.) students: 24
Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) students: 18
Visit hgse.me/hgse-doctoral to learn more about our doctoral programs.
Students came from 44 U.S. states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, and all continents with the exception of Antarctica, and represented 63 countries of citizenship.
*Share of U.S. citizens and permanent residents
READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT THROUGH EDUCATION?
HGSE brings together people who are committed to changing lives through education — people who demonstrate leadership, dedication, curiosity, a sense of mission, and an entrepreneurial spirit. By beginning — or continuing — your education journey through one of our master’s programs, you can forge an enriching pathway that will help you achieve your professional aspirations.
We invite you to learn more about our programs — including the admissions application and financial aid process.
You will find additional resources and next steps here:
ADMISSIONS
Step One
Introduce yourself by filling out an online form at hgse.me/hgse-intro
Deadline
Step Two
Explore and connect with us by visiting our Admissions website at hgse.me/admissions
Step Three
Apply online at hgse.me/application
Submit your online application and materials by January 5, 2025, by 11:59 p.m. EST.
For those applying to the Teaching and Teacher Leadership Teaching Licensure Strand, the application deadline is November 1, 2024, by 11:59 p.m. EDT.
FINANCIAL AID
Graduate education is a significant investment of your time and resources. At HGSE, we partner with applicants to identify workable funding resources to help make graduate study here possible. HGSE’s resources can include grants, scholarships, loans, work-study funding, or fellowships. There are also funding opportunities outside of Harvard to investigate. Start planning now; it’s never too early. Learn more at hgse.me/hgse_aid.
For more information, visit hgse.me/masters.
The Harvard Graduate School of Education does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, or any other protected classification.
ADMISSIONS OFFICE
Gutman Library 1st Floor
6 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-3414
gseadmissions@harvard.edu hgse.me/admissions
FINANCIAL AID OFFICE
Gutman Library 1st Floor
6 Appian Way Cambridge, MA 02138 617-495-3416
finaid@gse.harvard.edu hgse.me/hgse_aid