HGSE’s Online Students On Campus for Semester Kickoff

The 2025–26 academic year at the Harvard Graduate School of Education began in earnest this week, as the Online Master’s in Education cohorts came to Appian Way to officially begin the fall semester.

The part-time, two-year online program in education leadership brought back its third cohort and welcomed a fourth with a weekend On Campus Institute — the short residency part of the program — that brought educators from around the world to Cambridge to connect, get inspired, and embark on the next chapter of their journey as leaders and learners.

“HGSE is a dream come true. I have for a really, really long time used the pedagogies and the research and the data that’s come out of this institution,” said master’s student Tarik Bell, who works as an associate director of a nonprofit in New York City. “To be a part of that history, to be a part of the programming, and to be a part of the lineage is really powerful. I’m excited and grateful to be a part of the HGSE family.”

Designed for experienced professionals to deepen their learning by attending HGSE without leaving their educational roles in communities across the world, students in the Online Master’s in Education Program showcase how the Ed School can impact education leadership and systems far from its campus.

“You are an instrumental part of the Harvard community,” Dean Nonie Lesaux told the program’s newest cohort during a session on Monday. “Whether you’re logging in from a school office, a kitchen table, or a quiet corner of a library, you are shaping the future of education, and we are here to support you every step of the way.”

For many, the first step to creating change in their communities is sharing their experiences with others in their cohort. The opportunity to learn and build community in person during the On Campus Institute, students said, lays the foundation for that shared experience they continue online in all the places they call home as the semester continues.

“The greatest thing I’ve learned has been from the people alongside me in this program,” said Ruth Vernotico, a master’s student who works as a student program coordinator at a community college in Oregon. “We can learn until the cows come home but being able to actually bring that to a place where it’s expressed and understood by people around you, and you’re actually able to implement these things in real life, that’s an art form. And I’m learning that art from the people in this cohort of mine and from our faculty and staff.”