All students must choose one of our Programs, in which you will develop expertise in a specific area of education practice that aligns with your professional aspirations. Each program is designed to prepare you to meet the challenges of your chosen career pathway and will include the flexibility to customize your learning experience through core course, electives, and by combining your Program of study with a Concentration.
Today’s learning landscape requires strong leadership abilities, change-management skills, and deep organizational experience — whether you seek to transform the education sector to promote equity or to launch an innovative education venture. Through our Education Leadership, Organizations and Entrepreneurship (ELOE) Program, you will attain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to lead with impact in diverse roles, including preK–12 schools and districts, higher education, nonprofits, government, philanthropy, and entrepreneurial ventures.
Our Education Policy and Analysis (EPA) Program will prepare you to lead and engage in education policy development, analysis, and change in a variety of organizations and settings. You also will learn how to scale effective education practices and understand how to leverage policy in order to expand their reach. In addition to providing a shared set of knowledge, skills, and professional competencies, EPA allows you to focus on specific contexts and interests, preparing you for roles in policy development, research, analysis, and organizational leadership in the United States, as well as in developing countries around the world.
Whether you are interested in exploring a direct service role, engaging in clinical or counseling work, starting a nonprofit, or pursuing doctoral research, our Human Development and Education (HDE) Program prepares you to support the unique needs and individual growth of learners. Through immersion in theories and pioneering research in child, adolescent, and adult development, you will have opportunities to examine different developmental domains — including cognitive, emotional, social, moral, and neurological — as well as to design strategies and interventions to promote healthy development.
In our Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology (LDIT) Program, you will tackle promising and challenging frontiers of education — innovating education technology, leveraging the science of learning, and developing powerful pedagogies to improve learning outcomes. Our program prepares you to lead educational change around the world, whether you are an instructional designer or learning specialist, project director or program manager, software designer or media producer, formative evaluator or museum educator, start-up founder or partner.
Teacher Education and Licensure
Due to the uncertainty of public health restrictions and the potential impact on teacher licensure opportunities, HGSE has made the difficult decision not to accept new applications for the Teacher Education Program (TEP) for fall 2021 enrollment. We will continue the program for students who were already accepted. Though we are pausing additional enrollment for TEP in fall 2021, HGSE remains committed to helping teachers gain the skills they need to design and lead transformative learning experiences that generate better outcomes for all students. Complete the Introduce Yourself form to stay informed about opportunities to pursue teaching certification at HGSE for fall 2022 enrollment.
You also have the option to further personalize your learning at HGSE by choosing to specialize in a Concentration. While optional, HGSE’s Concentrations allow you to deepen your knowledge in a particular context or area of education through courses and co-curricular activities, ranging from applied learning experiences to professional development opportunities to speaker and networking events. Through the Concentrations listed below, you can foster connections with peers who share similar interests as you explore your passions and prepare for your career as an education professional. The Concentrations can be combined with the Programs to create personalized pathways and signal investment in developing specific expertise. For examples of possible pathways and combinations, please go here.
In our Arts and Learning (A&L) Concentration, you can explore the integral role the arts play in education — across art forms, age groups, and learning environments. Through a combination of coursework, cultural events, and participation in a vibrant arts community, this concentration will prepare you for roles in teaching, research, and leadership throughout schools, communities, and arts and culture organizations.
Ensuring that all young children have access to quality early childhood education will take a combination of professionals in roles ranging from preschool teachers to curriculum developers to policy analysts. Our Early Childhood (EC) Concentration enables you to explore opportunities within early childhood education research, practice, and policy, while collaborating with cohort members who share your dedication to the field.
By participating in the Global, International, and Comparative Education (GICE) Concentration, you will join a diverse community focused on transforming education by examining the power of global and comparative learning. Through core courses, small group advisory sessions, and co-curricular community learning opportunities, you will gain preparation for a career in education policy, teaching, or organizational leadership.
From addressing issues of college access and affordability to preparing first-generation college students for success, the field of post-secondary education has never been more complex. With activities that include coursework, study groups, events, and internships, our Higher Education (HE) Concentration helps you prepare for a career as a college administrator, educational foundation director, education-related consultant, and more.
The Literacy and Languages (L&L) Concentration will enable you to examine the role of literacy-related developments on student achievement, as well as explore language and literacy issues from a developmental, academic, and cultural perspective. In addition, the concentration’s robust array of courses and community learning opportunities will help inform your future work as a classroom teacher, learning specialist, policy leader, or preK–12 administrator.
