How to Apply

• Application Requirements for 2009-2010
• Statement of Purpose
• Programs with additional application requirements or procedures
• Mailing Transcripts
• Reapplication Procedure
• Technical Problems
• FAQs

Application Requirements for 2009-2010

A completed application to a Doctoral or Master's program consists of the following:

• Online Application Form
  • 2 Short Essay Questions (Ed.L.D. only)
• $85 Application Fee - paid via credit card with the online application
• Statement of Purpose
• Three Letters of Recommendation (these must be submitted through the online application system)
• Resume
• Official Transcript(s) from each Postsecondary Institution Attended
  • International Transcript Request Form (1.3MB pdf) for each institution outside the United States
• Standardized Test Score(s):
  • GRE (mandatory for all applicants)
  • GMAT (option for Ed.L.D. applicants ONLY who wish to submit in lieu of GRE scores)
  • TOEFL (if applicable)

Please note: Interviews are only a part of the Ed.L.D. admissions process at HGSE, and will take place from March 1-5, 2010; there are no interviews for the Ed.D. or Ed.M. degree programs. Also, several programs have additional requirements; please see below.

There is no downloadable or paper application form. However, if you are not ready to start an application but would like to review the content and instructions, you may download a printable version of the application and the application instructions. These documents are for viewing purposes only and may not be submitted in lieu of the online application.

You must submit all of your required documents online except for your academic transcripts. We prefer that you collect all of your academic transcripts (each individual transcript should be in a signed and sealed envelope) and place them together in one envelope before sending them to the Admissions Office.

When filling out the application, please enter your academic history as early as possible, so that we are able to match incoming transcripts to the schools you have entered. Once you have submitted your application, you will be able to view which transcripts the admissions office has received.

After you enter the contact information for your three recommenders on your application, we will send each of them an email with instructions about logging onto our system. At that time, they will have the opportunity to fill out the Recommendation Form and upload a recommendation letter. Recommendations must be submitted online.

Statement of Purpose

Your statement should be written by you alone and represent your original work. It should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than 1,500 words.

Ed.D. and Ed.M. Applicants Only

In your statement, please discuss:

1. Your objectives for graduate study: how this HGSE program will help you achieve your goals
   • Ed.D. applicants: In addition, describe the research you would like to pursue as a student within the doctoral program. Indicate with which HGSE faculty you would like to study.
2. Your background: what key experiences have contributed to your commitment to work in the field of education or with education-related issues

Ed.L.D. Applicants Only:

In your statement, please discuss:

1. Your background
   • Your most significant professional accomplishment(s)
   • What key experiences have contributed to your commitment to education
   • How you came to your decision to become a system-level leader in education
2. Your plans - what you hope to achieve:
   • Through the Ed.L.D. program as a student
   • In your career as a leader in education

Programs with additional application requirements or instructions

• Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.)
• Language and Literacy (Ed.M.)
• Learning and Teaching (Ed.M.)
• School Leadership (Ed.M.)
• Special Studies (Ed.M.)
• Teacher Education (Ed.M.)

Doctor of Education Leadership

Ed.L.D. applicants are required to answer two short essay questions, each of which must be no more than 400 words.

Required

• Describe an idea (yours or someone else's) that you believe could significantly improve education. How would it change education?

Choose One

• Describe a mistake or failure. What did you learn?
• Describe a situation in which you changed your opinion/view on a particular topic or issue.
• What challenge or obstacles have you overcome to get where you are now?

Language and Literacy
Literacy Coach

If you are interested in the Literacy Coach strand of the Language and Literacy Program, you must submit the following items with the application:

1. Applicants to the Literacy Coach strand of the Language and Literacy program must possess a minimum of three years of K-12 teaching experience. Please list the dates and locations of your teaching employment in a Word Document and upload it in the Additional Information section of the online application.
2. In your Statement of Purpose, please explain how your previous experience has prepared you to become a literacy coach, and what you hope to gain from this strand of Language and Literacy with respect to your career goals.

Licensure as a Reading Specialist Teacher

If you are interested in pursuing licensure as a Reading Specialist, you must submit the following:

1. A photocopy of your teaching license
2. An official letter signed by your principal on school letterhead verifying your employment. This letter must clearly state that you have taught as a full-time teacher for at least one year under your teaching license and include the dates of employment. Please note that the teaching experience must be in the state in which you hold the license. (If you are not currently working as a teacher, you will still need to obtain from your former principal a letter confirming your teaching experience.)

To assist you and your principal, we are providing a template (25KB Word doc) of the letter that both HGSE and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will accept.

If you have not yet completed one full year of employment, but will do so prior to September 2010, you should use this template (25KB Word doc) instead.

Learning and Teaching
Instructional Leadership

If you are interested in the Instructional Leadership strand of the Learning and Teaching Program, you must submit the following items with the application:

1. Applicants to the Instructional Leadership strand of the Learning and Teaching program must possess a minimum of three years of K-12 teaching experience. Please list the dates and locations of your teaching employment in a Word Document and upload it in the Additional Information section of the online application.
2. In your Statement of Purpose, please explain how your previous experience has prepared you to become an instructional leader, and what you hope to gain from the Instructional Leadership strand with respect to your career goals.

School Leadership
Principal Licensure

If you are interested in the Principal Licensure strand of the School Leadership Program, you must submit the following items with the application:

1. A photocopy of your teaching license
2. An official letter signed by your principal on school letterhead verifying your employment. This letter must clearly state that you have taught as a full-time teacher for at least four years and include the dates of employment. (If you have taught at more than one school, please send a separate letter from each school's principal.)
3. Four original transcripts from every school attended

To assist you and your principal, we are providing a template (25KB Word doc) of the letter that both HGSE and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will accept.

Special Studies

The Special Studies program is designed for students who are highly focused and whose academic and professional interests do not fit within any of the school's more structured programs. Successful applicants are those who have a clear sense of the topics they wish to study and present a convincing argument of how this academic program will help to achieve larger goals.

In your statement of purpose, you should mention the following:

• Your academic interests, i.e. what you hope to study
• Courses that will help fulfill your academic objectives
• Faculty with whom you would like to work
• Your career goals upon completing the program

Teacher Education

All TEP applicants:

1. Please address the following in your Statement of Purpose:
• Why you have decided to become an urban public school teacher
• What you have learned from previous experience (with adolescents, in instructional roles, and with your subject matter) that you can apply to your teaching
• Your own learning experiences and how they have affected your thinking about teaching in an urban setting
• How your experiences as a learner influence your thinking about teaching in an urban setting
• What you would like students to take away from your classroom
2. Please visit the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's website, which lists the subject-matter requirements for middle and high school disciplines. Copy the list of subject-matter requirements for your teaching discipline, and under each requirement, list all of the post-secondary courses you have taken and AP credits you have earned that address each particular topic. Also list any courses that you have taken/are taking during the fall of 2009 or intend to take in the spring of 2010. You may upload this list in the Academic Information section of the application.

TEP applicants applying in the areas of math or science:

All math and science applicants are invited to submit an application for the Noyce scholarship. This application consists of a two-page response to the following: Noyce Scholars are required to complete a two-year teaching commitment in the Boston Public Schools (or, because of circumstances, a similar high-need district).  Please explain why you want to make this commitment. 

Individuals who meet TEP's admissions criteria and have expressed interest in the Noyce program will be asked to participate in an interview with a representative from BPS. TEP and BPS will then jointly select a cohort of Noyce Scholars by late April/early May.

Mailing Transcripts

When mailing your transcripts, please use one of the following addresses:

For Doctoral applicants:

Ed.D. Admissions
Harvard Graduate School of Education
114 Longfellow Hall
13 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138

Ed.L.D. Admissions
Harvard Graduate School of Education
114 Longfellow Hall
13 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138

For C.A.S. and Special Student applicants:

C.A.S. and Special Student Admissions
Harvard Graduate School of Education
115 Longfellow Hall
13 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138

For Master's applicants:

Master's Admissions
Harvard Graduate School of Education
116 Longfellow Hall
13 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138

Reapplication Procedure

You are welcome to apply to HGSE up to three times. If you applied for admission for the either the 2008-2009 or the 2009-2010 academic year, you are eligible to reapply for the 2010-2011 academic year without resubmitting all supporting documents. In this case, your requirements are as follows:

• Online Application Form (Note: you must start a new application)
• $85 Application Fee - paid via credit card with the online application
• New or updated Statement of Purpose
• Updated resume
• At least one new letter of recommendation, updated from a previous recommender or a new letter from a new referee* (Note that you may still submit up to a maximum of three letters.)

*If you apply to the Ed.L.D. program, you must submit three new/updated letters of recommendation. The admissions committee would like recommenders to comment specifically on leadership ability and potential and respond to two short questions.

Please note that you need not resend your transcripts, unless new courses were taken or a new degree program was completed. You will not need to resubmit your GRE scores unless your score report is from a test administered before February 1, 2005. If applicable, you will not need to resubmit your TOEFL scores unless your score report is from a test administered before February 1, 2008.

If you applied for an academic year prior to 2008-2009, you must resubmit all of your supporting document when you reapply.

HGSE alumni and currently-registered Ed.D., Ed.M., or C.A.S. students at HGSE may follow the "Reapplication Procedures" outlined above if they applied for admission for 2008-2009 or 2009-2010. Alumni and current students are advised, however, to obtain a minimum of two new letters of recommendation.

HGSE alumni and currently-registered Ed.D., Ed.M., or C.A.S. students at HGSE who matriculated before 2008-2009 must submit a new application and all supporting documents. At the applicant's request, the Admissions Office will obtain from the Office of the Registrar all transcripts (including the HGSE transcript) and applicable test scores. Please self-report your scores in the Standardized Test section of the application.

Non-degree HGSE students must submit an application and all supporting documents, including their HGSE transcript.

Technical Problems

If you encounter a problem with the online application process, such as difficulty uploading a document, please click on the "Tech Support" link at the top of the page within the online application. If one of your recommenders encounters a problem, please ask your recommender to click on the "Need Help" link on the recommender form. Please be advised that these are the most efficient methods for getting help. If you continue to experience difficulty and would prefer to speak with someone on the phone, you may contact technical support at +1 (800) 526-3313.