The information below refers to the HGSE application for enrollment to the Ed.L.D. and Ed.M. programs only for the 2023-2024 academic year. If you are applying to the Ph.D. program, please see our website for information.
Statement of Purpose
Your statement should be your own original work and may not be written, in part or in whole, by a third party. It should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than 1,500 words. International applicants must write their statement in English; the use of translators is not permitted.
Please note that the admissions committee will carefully consider both the content and the writing in its assessment of your candidacy for graduate study at HGSE.
Program-Specific Requirements
Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) applicants only
To help us better understand your decision to become a system-level leader, please discuss the following:
Your background:
- What key experiences have contributed to your commitment to education?
- What do you view as your most significant professional accomplishment(s) and your most significant professional failure(s) to date? How did they inform your development?
Your plans:
- What issues would you like to tackle in your career as a system-level leader in education?
- How do you envision yourself effecting significant change in the American preK-12 education sector?
Master of Education (Ed.M.) applicants only
As a reminder, competitive candidates need not have prior direct experience in an education setting though should have a clear conception of why they’re pursuing a master's degree in education. In addition, "education" and "education-related" are broadly defined at HGSE and encompass all fields, roles, and contexts covered by the Ed.M. Programs and Concentrations we offer.
- Your background: What key experiences have contributed to your commitment to work in the field of education or with education-related issues?
- Your objectives for graduate study: What are your academic and professional goals and what knowledge, skills, and tools are you hoping to develop through enrollment in a graduate program?
- Why HGSE, and why this specific Program (and Concentration, if relevant): why is enrollment at HGSE, and in this master’s Program and Concentration specifically, critical in helping you achieve your goals?
Education Leadership, Organization, and Entrepreneurship, School Leadership pathway
If you are interested in the School Leadership pathway, you must submit the following item(s) with the application:
- A photocopy of your teaching license, if you have a teaching license (can be expired) Principal Licensure ONLY
- An employment verification form on school letterhead verifying your employment.
This form should include the school(s) where you were employed as a full-time teacher for at least one year under your teaching license, if applicable, and include the dates of employment.
Please note: 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 complete the form confirming your teaching experience.)
To assist you, we will provide a template of the form that both HGSE and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will accept to document experience. Both the copy of your teaching license and your employment verification form should be uploaded in the Additional Materials section of the online application.
Human Development and Education: Counseling Licensure Pathway
- Counseling licensure applicants are required to respond to the following prompt with a short essay (500 words)
- Describe your interest in counseling, as well as your general preparedness to pursue this curricular pathway.
Teaching and Teacher Leadership (Ed.M. Licensure only)
The application includes a template for you to list all of the post-secondary courses you have taken relevant to your intended subject area and AP credits you have earned that address each particular topic. You should also list any courses that you have taken/are taking during the fall of 2022 or intend to take in the spring of 2023.
The licensure subject areas are:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- English
- General Science
- History
- Mathematics
- Physics
Certificate of Advanced Study
Your statement should be your own original work and may not be written, in part or in whole, by a third party. It should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than 1,500 words. International applicants must write their statement in English; the use of translators is not permitted.
Please note that the admissions committee will carefully consider both the content and the writing in its assessment of your candidacy for graduate study at HGSE.
In your statement, please address the following questions:
- How has your experience in the Human Development and Education (School Counseling Strand), Prevention Science & Practice, or Risk and Prevention master's program motivated you or influenced you to pursue the C.A.S.? What skills or knowledge do you hope to gain in this second year of graduate study?
- Given the importance of cultural humility in the field of counseling, please talk about where you are on your own journey in learning and incorporating this into your work. How have you grown in your personal awareness and/or understanding of cultural humility? Please share an example of a time when you exercised cultural humility this year; give us a sense of what happened, how you engaged, and what you learned.
Résumé/Curriculum Vitae
The length and format of your résumé or C.V. is up to your discretion.