Five Questions with Bridget Terry Long

In the fall of 2014, the Harvard Graduate School of Education will enroll its first cohort of students into the Ph.D. in Education. The program combines the social sciences, sciences, arts, and humanities with deep expertise in educational research, policy, and practice. The Ph.D. will train students for careers as academics, researchers, policymakers, and leaders who will improve educational outcomes in the United States and around the world. Professor Bridget Terry Long, HGSE’s academic dean, took time to answer some questions about the new Ph.D. in Education Program.

What excites you most about the new Ph.D.? The fact that it offers students access to rigorous, multidisciplinary scholarship, and to practical, real-world knowledge and skills across the field of education. The way it’s organized into three concentrations around issues of human development; policy; and cultures, schools, and institutions will help break through some of the current academic silos that slow progress in educational scholarship. The amazing faculty and outstanding students it will bring together will address major problems through innovative solutions. And, finally, the way it helps formalize the relationships that already exist between us and other research centers, faculty, and disciplines across the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and around Harvard University — no one beats Harvard in terms of access to leaders in every field and every aspect of education.

How does the new Ph.D. Program differ from the Ed.D. concentration? The Ph.D. Program is somewhat a of continuation of the Ed.D. Program, [but] with several changes. It’s taking and solidifying partnerships and adding some additional requirements. So we’ve had students in the past, to varying degrees, interact with the school of arts and sciences or other schools at the university. The Ph.D. gives us an opportunity to formalize those partnerships, with the expectation that even more students will have opportunities to take courses at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Business School, or the Kennedy School of Government.

The students in the Ph.D. Program will also have to do general exams similar to what you see in other Ph.D. programs, which is a new addition, but it’s also seen as a way for students to formalize and demonstrate knowledge in particular areas in a different way.

Thirdly, we are changing how we are organizing ourselves. Right now, with the Ed.D., we have five concentrations. Under the Ph.D., there will be three: human development; policy; and cultures, schools, and institutions. We believe that in grouping students together this way, as well as faculty, it will help us to foster stronger intellectual communities.

What kind of students would you invite to apply to this program? The things that set our doctoral students apart are curiosity, dedication, and a passion for education. They are not just very smart and very hardworking, they are people with that extra spark, those who think big, who are highly motivated to engage with the complex challenges in the field, and deeply committed to the kind of cutting-edge, multidisciplinary scholarship that helps find solutions. And they tend to prefer not to work within ivory towers but to engage with the educational community to actually create change out in the field. There’s an optimism about the future of education here and that comes from the quality, ambition, and real-world impact of the work of our students and faculty.

What sets it apart from other education Ph.D. programs? HGSE has amazing, outstanding faculty, who are studying education, addressing the major problems in education, developing innovation solutions and doing cutting-edge research. Both at the Ed School and in partnership with school districts, colleges, and nonprofits. So the faculty would be number one.

Number two would be the other students, who are incredibly talented. They often come with research experience and a lot of professional experience, and they come already knowing a great deal and can contribute a great deal to their peers and faculty, in terms of what they know and what they are learning and doing. Plus, the fact that many of them start doing research as soon as they arrive and are developing projects all the way throughout their time here, not just for their dissertation, but because of their drive and their curiosity to try to address problems of education.

Then, I’d say the larger Harvard community. Harvard has outstanding people, relationships, and partnerships that give students access to not only the most rigorous training but also things like data, research sites, and most importantly, leaders, teachers, and other top officials.

What kind of impact will this program make within the field? My hope is that our graduates will engage both in the kind of cutting-edge research that points us toward potential solutions as well as in actually communicating and partnering with school districts, universities, and other entities to implement such scholarship. I expect them to serve in top leadership positions at research organizations, nonprofits, and policy organizations; to continue their research as faculty at the world’s best institutions; and to make an impact as innovative practitioners. But the possibilities are endless. What we do very well is to take smart students with some idea of where they are headed, and provide them with the foundation of research, rigorous training, and the real-world connections they need to impact education the most.