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If you have program-specific questions, please contact ELOE Assistant Director Karen Bottari.
If you have admissions-related questions, please email gseadmissions@harvard.edu.
Whether you seek to manage a complex organization or team, launch an entrepreneurial venture, or drive an initiative that sparks new possibilities within an existing school, district, or network, the Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship (ELOE) Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education will help you become an effective, strategic, and innovative leader within the field. Our program prepares you with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to lead with impact in diverse roles, including preK–12, higher education, the nonprofit sector, government, and philanthropy. With a focus on change management, organizational leadership, and entrepreneurial principles, this program equips you to envision, enact, scale, and transform. For individuals who want to expand their preK––12 school leadership skills, ELOE offers the optional School Leadership Pathway, which includes a Principal Licensure option.
“So many people hear the word ‘organization’ and think ‘business.’ But students who want to improve education and become education leaders – either at the school level, state level, or national level – have to understand how schools work. Recognizing the importance of organizational dynamics, the role of leaders, and the potential impact of entrepreneurship, is critical, and these concepts are at the heart of our program.” Ebony Bridwell-MitchellFaculty Co-Chair
“So many people hear the word ‘organization’ and think ‘business.’ But students who want to improve education and become education leaders – either at the school level, state level, or national level – have to understand how schools work. Recognizing the importance of organizational dynamics, the role of leaders, and the potential impact of entrepreneurship, is critical, and these concepts are at the heart of our program.”
Ebony Bridwell-MitchellFaculty Co-Chair
The ELOE Program will help students prepare to lead for impact — to bring greater access, equity, agency, and excellence to education. The program is centered on the core belief that a connected, collaborative, and committed community of students, supported by faculty experts, and guided by the ELOE program model, will successfully transform the field of education across a variety of sector roles and careers. The program's curriculum is anchored in five core competencies:
The ELOE Program is designed to provide a set of scaffolded learning experiences helping students to grow along the five ELOE core competencies, gaining the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to have impact in professional roles as education leaders, organizational innovators, and entrepreneurs. 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:
To fulfill the program requirement, students must take a minimum of 12 credits specific to ELOE, including the following:
Explore our course catalog.Note, all information and courses are subject to change.
There is great demand across the education system for school leaders and principals who are effective – and will help their schools and its students thrive. If you are interested in pursuing leadership and entrepreneurial roles in preK-12 schools and have a minimum of 4 years full-time professional experience in an education setting, you should select the School Leadership Pathway, where you will also have the option to apply to the Principal Licensure strand. As part of the School Leadership Pathway, you will participate in an intensive internship with the support of an experienced mentor and a distinguished leader coach, while also building a strong leadership network and the necessary skills to lead and implement change. Learn more about the School Leadership Pathway and Principal Licensure option.
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.
Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell’s research is on leadership, management, and organizations, exploring how organizational factors affect the success of public school reform.
Jennifer Cheatham focuses on leading for equity and transformational change in urban school districts, with expertise that includes creating instructional coherence and cultivating strong teams.
The ELOE Program prepares you for a variety of career pathways, including:
The ELOE experience is not only about strengthening knowledge, skills and dispositions but also about building a community of colleagues who can provide support during the program and for years afterwards as you work together to transform the field. The ELOE Program purposefully works to honor and build on the diverse backgrounds and experiences of students — from countries and regions around the world – by providing a varied set of cohort-based, community-building experiences. The aim of these experiences is to build a network of current students and future alumni united by a shared commitment to leading for excellence, equity, and impact in the field of education. In ELOE we are, "One Cohort. One Commitment."
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Explore examples of the Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship experience and the impact its community is making on the field:
One current HGSE student writes on how she decided to go back to school
Alum Aria Mustary's Mai Soli Foundation aims to empower young girls through mentorship, unlock their potential, and shift societal perceptions that lead to child marriage