Master Plan

This year, the school’s master’s programs will see big changes: a major redesign. The redesign of the master’s program has been in the works for several years. Last fall, the final cohort of students enrolled in the 13 “legacy” programs like Specialized Studies and Language and Literacy. This fall, the school’s new master’s curriculum will launch, starting with the four “foundations” courses that all students will take: How People Learn, Evidence, Equity and Opportunity, and Leading Change. These courses will be required of all master’s students, no matter what program they choose to study or personal pathway they plan on following after graduation.

The idea, says Professor Meira Levinson, that “education should be built up as a profession, like medicine or law. These professions all have common foundational knowledge and skills.” Everyone who goes to medical school, for example, takes courses in anatomy regardless if they plan on becoming a surgeon or a psychiatrist.

Beyond the foundations courses, students will also choose one of four “programs of study” (Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship; Education Policy and Analysis; Human Development and Education; and Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology), with the option to personalize with one of five “concentrations” (arts and learning; early childhood; global, international, and comparative education; higher education; and literacy and languages).

For details: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/masters

Watch a video about the Foundations courses: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/masters/foundations