Online Master's in Education: Higher Education

Our prescribed curriculum is intentionally designed to meet your professional needs. It is anchored in both foundational knowledge and core competencies in education leadership related to the U.S. education system. You will also complete pathway-specific courses to advance your leadership in higher education, as well as the Foundations courses. You will also have the opportunity to select courses from a small subset of electives. A minimum of 42 credits are required to graduate with an Ed.M. degree from HGSE.

The main elements of this academic year curriculum are:

Foundations Courses

Throughout the two-year program, you will participate in Foundations courses in up to four areas: How People Learn, Leading Change, Evidence, and Advancing Equity and Opportunity. Through the Foundations, you’ll build core skills central to the profession of education.

• The online Ed.M. program commences with How People Learn, which runs online June–July and requires a time commitment of 12–15 hours per week.  
• You will take Advancing Equity and Opportunity and Evidence during your two-year program.
• Additional Foundations learning goals and experiences tied to Leading Change will be incorporated into other required courses during your two-year program. 

Professional Pathways

All students will choose between the Higher Education and PreK–12 Pathways. Throughout the program, you will take both cross-pathway courses and pathway-specific courses. Cross-pathway courses will allow you to develop leadership skills that are important across sectors, as well as have discussions about how higher education and preK–12 can work more effectively together. Cross-pathway courses include:

• Negotiation Workshop
• Real Talk: The Art and Practice of Brave Communication 
• Strategic Finance for Nonprofit Leaders

Pathway-specific courses are directed to the knowledge and skills important for leadership in the Pathway professional setting. 

Sample courses for the Higher Education Pathway:

• Creating the Future of American Postsecondary Education
• Higher Education Leadership & Governance
• Student Development in Context: Promoting Success and Well-being in Higher Education

You will also have the opportunity to engage with accomplished leaders through HGSE’s unique President-in-Residence program.

Elective Coursework

Students will have the opportunity to choose from a curated list of electives during the optional January terms, and during the fall and spring of their second year. Sample elective courses: 

• Coaching for Equity 
• College Admissions and Strategic Enrollment Management
• Leading a School through Challenge and Crisis
• Why Can’t Higher Education Change?
• Writing Workshop

Note: Though some courses may include comparative and international examples, applicants should expect a focus on leadership within U.S. domestic educational institutions and systems. 

Leadership Core Competencies

To help you manage, lead, and implement change in complex organizations, our curriculum explores the core leadership competencies that you'll need to elevate your skills, knowledge, and expertise, wherever you are in your career. Throughout your coursework, you 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 

Courses combine synchronous meetings and asynchronous work and assignments. Live or synchronous aspects of required courses will occur on weekdays (Monday–Friday) between 6 and 9 p.m. ET. Some elective courses, outside the required curriculum, may be offered at alternative times. On average, this degree requires 14 to 20 hours of work per week, though the weekly commitment will vary by term, courses taken, and students' own work styles. Students can expect to spend approximately five to seven hours per week in synchronous online class sessions with faculty members and classmates. The remaining hours will be spent working independently on asynchronous class preparation, in self-scheduled small-group work with other students or working on assignments. 

Students will work closely with faculty associated with their area of study, but students can also work with and take courses with faculty throughout HGSE and Harvard. View our faculty directory for a full list of HGSE faculty.

Prior to kicking off your first fall semester, you will participate in the On-Campus Institute, an immersive experience on the HGSE campus in Cambridge. This will provide the opportunity to not only form deep relationships with your cohort, but also learn together with the faculty and advisers with whom you will spend two years. The immersive residential experience is a core component to the two-year degree program that is required of all students in the program.

Over several days in late July and/or early August, you and your fellow peers will discuss your professional experiences and examine some of the persistent challenges in your organizations. You will immerse yourself in rich exercises and community building, set expectations of what it means to be in a rigorous HGSE degree program, and set intentions for yourself, your cohort, and your course of study. 

The Master's in Education Leadership Program prepares you to advance to a senior leadership role in a variety of career pathways, including:

Higher Education Pathway

• College or university senior administrator in such areas as:
  • Academic affairs 
  • Admissions and financial aid
  • Development
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Institutional research
  • Student affairs

Overall Program

• Education nonprofit CEO/COO 
• Educational advocate and organizer 
• Entrepreneur