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Degrees & Programs
If you have program-specific questions, please contact the TTL Program Staff.
If you have admissions-related questions, please email gseadmissions@harvard.edu.
Teachers change lives — and at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, you can be part of the change. The Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) Program at HGSE will prepare you with the skills, knowledge, support, and professional network you need to design and lead transformative learning experiences, advance equity and social justice, and generate the best outcomes for students in U.S. schools.
The program’s innovative approach is intentionally designed to serve both individuals seeking to learn to teach and experienced teachers who are deepening their craft as teachers or developing their leadership to advance teaching and learning in classrooms, schools, and districts. You’ll learn alongside inspiring Harvard faculty, develop meaningful networks, and gain the tools to pursue a wide range of career goals.
And through the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching, HGSE offers significant financial support to qualified candidates to help reduce the burden of loan debt for teachers.
Whether you are starting your career or taking the next steps to advance it, the TTL Program will prepare you to make a deep impact — anchoring you in a community of practice, allowing you to reflect on your craft, and helping you to build the core competencies you need — with the latest and best knowledge about how teachers grow, learn, thrive, and expand opportunity and achievement for their students.
The intentional mixture of experience levels and diverse backgrounds is one of the signature strengths of the program. Ideal candidates will come with the intention to work in U.S. schools.
“At the heart of TTL is helping teachers reach all students. Whether you are preparing for the classroom yourself or are an experienced teacher preparing to improve teaching and learning on a wider scale, our goal is to provide you with the knowledge and skills to lead others in learning.” Heather Hill Faculty Co-Chair
“At the heart of TTL is helping teachers reach all students. Whether you are preparing for the classroom yourself or are an experienced teacher preparing to improve teaching and learning on a wider scale, our goal is to provide you with the knowledge and skills to lead others in learning.”
Heather Hill Faculty Co-Chair
After completing the Teaching and Teacher Leadership Program, you will be able to:
HGSE is committed to investing in the future of the teaching profession — and minimizing the student debt that teachers carry. We offer a signature fellowship — the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching — to qualified candidates. The fellowship package covers 80 percent of tuition and provides for a $10,000 living stipend.
This prestigious fellowship will be awarded to all admitted students pursuing the Teaching Licensure Residency model. Additional fellowships may be awarded to qualified candidates admitted to the Teaching Licensure Internship model and the Teaching and Leading strand. Fellowship decisions are determined during the admissions process. Fellowship recipients must be enrolled as full-time students. HGSE offers a range of other financial aid and fellowship opportunities to provide greater access and affordability to our students.
The TTL Program is designed to help you gain the knowledge and practice the skills essential to leading others in learning — and will create pathways to success that will allow you to thrive as an expert practitioner and mentor in your community. A minimum of 42 credits are required to graduate with an Ed.M. degree from HGSE.
To fulfill the program requirement, students must take a minimum of 12 credits specific to TTL.
As a student in the TTL Program, you will have the opportunity to contribute to HGSE’s research on what makes effective teacher preparation. This research seeks to build an evidence base that contributes to the field’s understanding of effective approaches to teacher training, including how to support high-quality instruction, successful models of coaching and mentorship, and effective approaches to addressing the range of challenges facing our students.
TTL students will be able to participate in research studies as part of their courses, and some will also serve as research assistants, gaining knowledge of what works, as well as a doctoral-type experience at a major research university.
Explore our course catalog. (All information and courses are subject to change.)
Note: The TTL Program trains educators to work in U.S. classrooms. Required coursework focuses on U.S. examples and contexts.
Students who want to earn certification to teach at the middle school and high school levels in U.S. schools should select the Teaching Licensure strand. TTL provides coursework and fieldwork that can lead to licensure in grades 5–8 in English, general science, history, and mathematics, as well as grades 8–12 in biology, chemistry, English, history, mathematics, and physics. In the Teaching Licensure strand, you will apply to one of two fieldwork models:
In both models, you will be supported by Harvard faculty and school-based mentors — as well as by peers in the TTL Program, with additional opportunities for network-building with HGSE alumni. Both models require applicants to have an existing familiarity with U.S. schools to be successful. Learn more about the differences between the residency and internship models.
All students in the Teaching Licensure strand will participate in the Summer Experience supporting the Cambridge-Harvard Summer Academy (CHSA), which takes place in Cambridge in July 2023. Through your work at CHSA, you will help middle and high school students in the Cambridge Public Schools with credit recovery, academic enrichment, and preparation for high school. Students in the Teaching Licensure strand will teach students directly as part of the teaching team. This is an opportunity for you to immediately immerse yourself in a school environment and begin to practice the skills necessary to advance your career.
The Teaching and Leading strand is designed for applicants who want to enhance their knowledge of the craft of teaching or assume roles as teacher leaders. Candidates for the Teaching and Leading strand will share a common interest in exploring and advancing the practice of effective teaching, with the goal of understanding how to improve learning experiences for all students. The program will be valuable for three types of applicant:
As a candidate in the Teaching and Leading strand, your own interests will guide your journey. If you are seeking a teacher leader role, TTL faculty will guide you to courses that focus on growing your skills as a reflective leader, preparing you to facilitate adult learning, helping you understand how to disrupt inequity, and teaching you how to engage in best practices around coaching, mentoring, and data analysis. If you are seeking to learn about the craft of teaching, our faculty will similarly direct you to recommended courses and opportunities that will meet your goals.
Students in this strand can also take on internships within the TTL Program (e.g., program supervisor, early career coach) or the HGSE community, and at surrounding schools or organizations. And you can customize your learning experience by pursuing one of HGSE's six Concentrations.
Note: Applicants in the Teaching and Leading strand should expect a focus on leadership within U.S. schools.
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.
Heather Hill studies policies and programs to improve teaching quality. Research interests include teacher professional development and instructional coaching.
Victor Pereira's focus is on teacher preperation, developing new teachers, and improving science teaching and learning in middle and high school classrooms.
The TTL Program prepares you for a variety of career pathways, including:
The TTL Program prioritizes the development of ongoing teacher communities that provide continued support, learning, and collaboration. Our cohort-based approach is designed to encourage and allow aspiring teachers and leaders to build relationships with one another, as well as with instructors and mentors — ultimately building a strong, dynamic network.
As a TTL student, you will build a community around a shared commitment to teaching and teacher development. You will learn from and with colleagues from diverse backgrounds, levels of expertise, and instructional settings. To further connections with the field, you are invited to attend “meet the researcher” chats, engage in learning through affinity groups, and interact with teaching-focused colleagues across the larger university, by taking courses and participating in activities both at HGSE and at other Harvard schools.
Explore examples of the Teaching and Teacher Leadership experience and the impact its community is making on the field: