teachers college phd education policy

• Graduate School
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Teachers College at Columbia University

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• Education Administration
• Special Education Masters

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• Master's Student
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Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, (Ph.D.) - Teacher Education and Professional Development Specialization

Great schools have great teachers. If we want great schools, we must prepare teachers to be great. That is the work of teacher educators.

As the field of teaching has developed more complex ideas of high-quality education, teacher education has become more complex. Teacher educators need to prepare pre-service and in-service educators for equitable and justice-oriented practice. This program leads to a PhD in Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership with a specialization in Teacher Education and Professional Development (TEPD).

Courses examine:

• research on approaches to pre- and in-service teacher education;
• connections among teacher development, student learning, teacher leadership, curriculum, and school improvement;
• the sociopolitical contexts in which teacher education and professional development are embedded;
• humanizing and equity-oriented pedagogies used in different subject areas and in preparing teachers for multilingual and special needs students; and
• scholarship on teacher learning for minoritized and underserved populations in urban schools.

TEPD graduates become researchers, educational leaders, teacher educators, and change agents who forge innovative directions in the education of teachers for universities, state departments of education, school districts, and other research and learning organizations.

To complement the TEPD program requirements, students are encouraged to work with their advisors to tailor their coursework to their interests. Students are encouraged to take courses from other specializations within the department, including:

• Education Policy and Leadership ;
• Language, Literacy and Social Inquiry ;
• Mathematics and Science Education ;
• Urban Education ; and
• Technology, Learning and Leadership .

Courses may also come from other areas of study from within and outside the college including international education, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, urban studies, and women’s studies.

Meet some of our students

For information on graduate admission please see the Graduate School's Admission requirements . We accept both full-time and part-time doctoral students.

Select an area of interest from the various offerings in the College of Education to determine the admission requirements and deadlines.

Applicants who wish to apply to the PhD program with specialization in Teacher Education and Professional development should select Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL) as their “Intended Program of Study,” and TEPD as their “Area of Interest.” Special consideration is given to candidates who have PK-12 teaching experience and/or who have led professional development programs or activities in schools, school systems, and other learning organizations.

Applicants to the PhD program need to submit the following:

• A statement of purpose describing your professional background, research interests, faculty you have interest in working with, and other relevant experiences;
• Official transcripts from undergraduate and graduate work;
• Letters of recommendation from people who can address your academic strengths and abilities as an educator or leader (3);
• A strong academic writing sample; and
• TOEFL/IELTS/PTE (for international graduate students). The requirements are available here .

Please refer to the  Guide to Applying  for instructions on how to apply for graduate admission. If you have questions or concerns, we ask you to first review our list of   Frequently Asked Questions .  International applicants should visit the International admissions webpage for additional information.

INFORMATION SESSION about our Ph.D. and M.A. programs will be held on October 13, 2023 , by zoom. Please email Kay Moon ( [email protected] ) to receive updates.

A typical course sequence for the TEPD specialization is below. Your individual experience may vary and we strongly encourage you to work with your advisor on crafting a course sequence that fits your needs and interests.

Course Sequence: Teacher Education/Professional Development Specialization

Years 4 & 5

The program provides competitive financial support packages for all full-time students.

The doctoral curriculum typically requires at least three years of graduate study beyond the master’s degree. Most students admitted to the doctoral program already have a master’s degree. If a student does not have a master’s degree, an advisor develops an individualized plan that aligns master’s level and doctoral level coursework for the student.

Integrated Department Core : All new TLPL PhD students join a two-course sequence (6 semester hours) in foundations of inquiry and practice with other department specialization students (TLPL 794 and TLPL 795). Full-time students typically take the Core courses in their first year.

Specialization Core : Candidates take at least 9 semester hours in TEPD. An additional 21 semester hours (typically seven courses) is selected in consultation with the advisor. These courses generally take the form of doctoral seminars taught by program faculty and may include doctoral level courses from other departments.

Intermediate and Advanced Methods : Students are required to take at least 12 credit hours of research methods courses, including one qualitative and one quantitative methods course. Students may take research methods courses in TLPL, Human Development and Quantitative Methods ( HDQM ), or other academic departments.

Doctoral Seminars : Doctoral students in TEPD may enroll in the TEPD (or other) one-credit seminar with other students in their area of focus to explore topics of interest with faculty and other students, develop their knowledge of the field, explore policy issues that pertain to the field, and apprentice into the broader research community.

Specialization in Teacher Education and Professional Development

I.  TLPL Department Core (9 cr)

• TLPL 794: Foundations of Education Inquiry: Core I
• TLPL 795: Foundations of Education Inquiry: Core II

II.  Intermediate & Advanced Methods (12 cr)

Though not an exhaustive list, some example courses are below:

Qualitative (at least 1 course)

• TLPL 790: Seminar in Mixed Methods Research in Education
• TLPL 791: Qualitative Research I: Design and Fieldwork
• TLPL 792: Qualitative Research II: Analysis and Interpretation of Data
• TLPL 860: Seminar on Case Study Methods
• TLPL 762: Phenomenological Inquiry I
• TLPL 763: Phenomenological Inquiry II

Quantitative (at least 1 course)

• EDMS 646: Quantitative Analysis II
• EDMS 651: Applied Regression Analysis
• EDMS 657: Factor Analysis
• EDMS 722: Structural Modeling
• TLPL 765: Quantitative Applications for Education Policy Analysis
• TLPL 788 X: Special Topics in Education: Cost Analysis
• SURV 699K: Multilevel Analysis of Survey Data

III.  Specialization Credits (30 cr)

Specialization Core (9 cr)

• TLPL 771: Pedagogy of Teacher Education
• TLPL 772: Teaching, Professional Development, and School Change
• TLPL 788: Teacher Cognition

Electives (21 cr)

Students work with their advisor to develop a program of study that includes at least one teacher education-focused course in another TLPL specialization, or another department in the College of Education.

IV. Comprehensive Exams

PhD students must complete comprehensive exams before starting their dissertation research. Students typically begin their comps near the end of  their second year or beginning of their third year.  

V.  Dissertation Research (12 cr)

Before embarking on collecting and analyzing data for a dissertation, PhD candidates need to submit a dissertation proposal. The most standard format for a proposal is to write it as the first three chapters of your dissertation. Chapter 1 is an introduction, Chapter 2 is a literature review and theoretical framework, and Chapter 3 is the research methods. PhD students should work with their advisor and their dissertation committee to decide on the format that makes the most sense.

If you have questions about our admissions process, contact TLPL Graduate Coordinator Kay Moon at [email protected] . 

If you have questions about the program specifically, contact Dr. Donna Wiseman at [email protected] . 

Deadlines vary by degree and program.  Please refer to the Graduate School's application information .

We encourage you to get in touch with any of the following faculty members who have an interest in teacher education and professional development, and are also affiliated with another specialization:

• Keisha Allen (she/her/hers): Education Policy and Leadership
• David Blazar (he/him/his): Education Policy and Leadership
• Andrew Brantlinger (he/him/his): Science, Technology and Mathematics Education
• Daniel  Chazan (he/him/his): Science, Technology and Mathematics Education
• Daniel Levin (he/him/his): Science, Technology and Mathematics Education
• Megan Madigan  Peercy (she/her/hers): Language, Literacy, and Social Inquiry
• Janet Walkoe (she/her/hers): Science, Technology and Mathematics Education
• Donna Wiseman (she/her/hers): Language, Literacy, and Social Inquiry

CATALOG AND POLICIES

Graduate students in the College of Education are responsible for meeting University and the Graduate School policy, and for meeting Program requirements.  See the  Graduate Catalog  and Graduate  Policies  governing graduate education at the University of Maryland. The  schedule adjustment policy  is available from the Office of the Registrar and provides information on adding and dropping courses, penalties, and refund schedules.

FORMS 

Graduate students are required to submit various forms at specific points in the program and as part of the degree clearance process. Please refer to  Steps Toward Graduation  to determine the steps and forms that are required. To access forms used by graduate students visit the Graduate Studies Forms page in Student Services .

Teaching and Teacher Leadership

Contact Information

Connect with program staff.

If you have program-specific questions, please contact the TTL Program Staff .

• Connect with Admissions

If you have admissions-related questions, please email [email protected] .

Admissions Information

• Application Requirements
• Tuition and Costs
• International Applicants
• Recorded Webinars
• Download Brochure

A groundbreaking approach to teacher education — for people seeking to learn to teach, for experienced teachers building their leadership, and for all educators seeking to enhance their practice and create transformative learning opportunities.

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. 

And through the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching , HGSE offers significant financial support to qualified candidates to reduce the burden of loan debt for teachers.

Applicants will choose between two strands:

• Do you want to become a licensed teacher? The Teaching Licensure strand lets novice and early-career teachers pursue Massachusetts initial licensure in secondary education, which is transferrable to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Licensure candidates have two possible pathways — you can select a preference for either the residency fieldwork model or the internship fieldwork model . The residency model is for people ready to make an immediate impact as a teacher; the internship model offers a more gradual path.
• Do you want to focus on the art of teaching, without licensure? The Teaching and Leading strand will enable you to enhance your own teaching practice or to lead others in transforming learning in classrooms, schools, and other settings. Candidates can pursue a curriculum tailored toward an exploration of teaching practice or toward teacher leadership.

Note: 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

After completing the Teaching and Teacher Leadership Program, you will be able to:

• Leverage your knowledge and skills to lead others in joyful, equitable, rigorous, and transformative learning.
• Analyze instruction for the purpose of improving it.
• Foster productive inquiry and discussion.
• Identify, understand, and counteract systemic inequities within educational institutions.

The Harvard Fellowship for Teaching

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 is prioritized for 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.

Curriculum Information

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.

The main elements of the curriculum are:

• Commence your Foundations studies with How People Learn, an immersive online course that runs June–July and requires a time commitment of 10–15 hours per week.
• You will continue Foundations with Leading Change, Evidence, and Equity and Opportunity on campus in August. 
• Your Equity and Opportunity Foundations experience culminates in an elected course, which will take place during terms when electives are available.

To fulfill the program requirement, students must take a minimum of 12 credits specific to TTL.

• The TTL Program Core Experience (4 credits), is a full year course where all students come together to observe, analyze, and practice high-quality teaching.
• Teaching methods courses (10 credits) in the chosen content area, which begin in June. 
• A Summer Field-Based Experience (4 credits), held on site in Cambridge in July, allows you to begin to hone your teaching practice. 
• Two courses focused on inclusivity and diversity in the classroom (6 credits). 
• Field experiences , where students in the Teacher Licensure strand will intern or teach directly in Boston-area schools.
• Individuals interested in enhancing their own teaching practice can engage in coursework focused on new pedagogies, how to best serve diverse student populations, and special topics related to classrooms and teaching.  
• Experienced teachers may wish to enroll in HGSE’s Teacher Leadership Methods course, designed to provide cohort-based experience with skills and techniques used to drive adult learning and improve teaching.
• Candidates can take elective coursework based on interests or career goals, which includes the opportunity to specialize in an HGSE Concentration .

Advancing Research on Effective Teacher Preparation 

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.

Teaching Licensure Strand

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:

• The residency model – our innovative classroom immersion model, with significant funding available, in which students assume teaching responsibilities in the September following acceptance to the program. 
• The internship model – which ramps up teaching responsibility more gradually.

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.

Summer Experience for Teaching Licensure Candidates

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.

Teaching and Leading Strand

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:

• Individuals interested in teaching, but who do not require formal licensure to teach. This includes applicants who might seek employment in independent schools or in informal educational sectors such as arts education, after-school programs, tutoring, and youth organizations. 
• Experienced teachers who wish to deepen their practice by learning new pedagogies and developing new capacities to help students thrive.
• Experienced teachers who seek leadership roles — from organizing school-based initiatives to more formal roles like coaching and professional development.

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.

Program Faculty

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.

Faculty Co-Chairs

Heather C. Hill

Heather Hill studies policies and programs to improve teaching quality. Research interests include teacher professional development and instructional coaching.

Victor Pereira, Jr.

Victor Pereira's focus is on teacher preparation, developing new teachers, and improving science teaching and learning in middle and high school classrooms. 

Rosette Cirillo

Sarah Edith Fiarman

Noah Heller

Eric Soto-Shed

Career Pathways

The TTL Program prepares you for a variety of career pathways, including:

Teaching Licensure Strand:

• Licensed middle or high school teacher in English, science, math, and history

Teaching and Leading Strand: 

• Classroom teachers
• Curriculum designers 
• Department heads and grade-level team leaders 
• District-based instructional leadership team members 
• Instructional and curriculum leadership team members 
• Out-of-school educators; teachers in youth organizations or after-school programs
• Professional developers and content specialists 
• School improvement facilitators 
• School-based instructional coaches and mentor teachers
• Teachers of English as a second language
• International educators seeking to understand and advance a career in U.S. education

Cohort & Community

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. 

Introduce Yourself

Tell us about yourself so that we can tailor our communication to best fit your interests and provide you with relevant information about our programs, events, and other opportunities to connect with us.

Program Highlights

Explore examples of the Teaching and Teacher Leadership experience and the impact its community is making on the field:

Donors Invest in Teachers, Reaching Key Milestone

The $10 million Challenge Match for Teachers, now complete, will expand scholarships for students in Teaching and Teacher Leadership

HGSE Honors Master's Students with Intellectual Contribution Award

The Next Chapter for Teacher Education

• Posted October 25, 2021
• By Bari Walsh
• Career and Lifelong Learning
• Teachers and Teaching

The Harvard Graduate School of Education has launched the Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) master’s program — the last leg of its seven-year effort to reimagine how the school will prepare education professionals to attack the complex challenges facing learners of all ages, now and into the future. The launch of the TTL Program embodies the core commitment that drove HGSE’s curricular innovation: The school’s longstanding dedication to expansive, equitable, transformational opportunity for learners everywhere. 

When the TTL Program welcomes its first cohort of students in 2022–23, it will join the four other programs that launched this year as part of HGSE’s redesigned master’s degree, which also includes coursework dedicated to broad foundational knowledge and specific domain- and role-based expertise. 

A Focus on Teachers

TTL will represent a significant advancement in Harvard’s focus on teachers, exploring the most effective ways to prepare both teachers and teacher leaders and to create schools that can respond to the challenges the world faces today. Dual teacher certification pathways will build on the work of the Harvard Teacher Fellows (HTF) Program, founded in 2015 as an innovative model to prepare Harvard College students to become teachers, as well as the successful legacy of HGSE’s Teacher Education master’s program (TEP). And TTL’s leadership strand will prepare experienced teachers for new roles in schools. With those two elements together, HGSE is poised to expand and elevate teacher education at the university and in the field.

“This really is the capstone of our reimagining of the master’s degree for professionals seeking to have meaningful impact in improving education for communities around the world,” says Dean Bridget Long . “The creation of the TTL program is part of a tremendous effort to advance our training and engagement of aspiring educators while building on the lessons and success of our earlier programs. HGSE has long been committed to preparing innovative, equity-minded educators — and to charting pathways across the university for the study and practice of education, which is one of the central issues of our time.”

By consolidating multiple and previously separate teacher education pathways under one umbrella, TTL will provide holistic preparation for new and experienced educators, drawing on research-backed practices that are effective and inclusive. “TTL will expand and drive forward HGSE’s historic mission to change lives through education — to prepare our master’s students to design and lead transformative learning experiences. We’ve designed TTL to welcome the diverse range of students — with various levels of experience — who seek to contribute to society as educators. I’m especially excited about the benefits of mixing our pre-service teacher candidates with teacher leaders who come to HGSE with more experience and insight,” says Heather Hill , the Hazen-Nicoli Professor of Teacher Learning and Leadership and faculty co-chair of the new program. 

The curriculum will give novice or early career teachers the chance to pursue Massachusetts initial licensure in secondary education, and students will have the option of applying to enter a teacher residency early in their program or applying to a pathway that takes a more gradual approach to learning to teach and includes more time on the HGSE campus. Meanwhile, experienced teachers in TTL will focus on instructional leadership, coaching, and teacher development. By integrating programs that have functioned separately in the past, TTL will create cross-HGSE opportunities for students and will break down some structural barriers that have limited exposure and collaborations across students and programs.

Nurturing Harvard College students as they explore education as a field and a practice has been a hallmark of HGSE’s work in recent years. “From [former Senior Lecturer] Kay Merseth’s pioneering Equity in Education course to the launch of HTF to the creation of the Secondary Field in Education Studies , HGSE has acted to spark undergraduates’ interest in teaching and learning, while making education a viable and supported career,” says Lecturer  Noah Heller , director of the Harvard Teacher Fellows Program and a faculty member in the TTL Program.

HTF admitted its sixth and final cohort of students this fall, but its signature legacies will continue in the new program. “One of the proudest legacies of HTF is the outstanding Harvard alumni who are teaching throughout the country, as well as the postgraduate fellowship opportunity they helped define — one that offered a cohort model of remarkable aspiring teachers, content-specific coursework, and robust field experiences at partner schools. All of that will be rolled into the new TTL, and expanded to other talented candidates as well,” Heller said. Fellowships targeted specifically to TTL’s teacher licensure students will continue to provide substantive financial support and ensure that the program is accessible to Harvard College students.

Expanding Pathways

“This really is an opportunity to grow and expand on what HTF has accomplished,” says Lecturer Victor Pereira , a member of both the HTF and Teacher Education faculties who will co-lead the TTL Program with Hill next year. “But it’s also a chance to advance and expand the work of TEP. Part of what both HTF and TEP did so well is that they recruited and supported amazing students that were committed to teaching. TTL allows us to draw on the features of both programs that helped make that support so distinctive.

“TTL carries forward the fieldwork structures that allow for a customized experience for new teachers, but the exciting part is that preservice teachers will now have a choice in how they will learn in the field,” Pereira continues. “The residency model — based on HTF’s fieldwork approach — will immerse preservice teachers in schools and classrooms, while the gradual-release internship builds off of TEP’s model.” TTL will also benefit from the remarkable partner network that TEP has built over the years. TEP’s legacies also includes a vibrant summer experience through the Cambridge-Harvard Summer Academy, which will continue under TTL.   

The fact that TTL seeks to serve two interconnected populations — individuals learning to teach, and individuals with teaching experience who are preparing to be teacher leaders — is part of what makes the program distinctly valuable, says Hill. “Serving both groups in a single program is a huge advantage, since many of the skills our teacher-leaders develop during the program — providing instructional feedback, leading improvement efforts — will directly benefit our teacher education students,” she says.

The timing for such a step ahead in HGSE’s preparation of teachers could not be more significant. The pandemic — for all the suffering and inequities that it revealed — has prompted a wide reckoning about the importance of education, and of educators, Hill says. “It’s clear to everyone that the role of the teacher is critical. We’re motivated to ensure that teacher preparation at HGSE meets this moment.”

“Teachers are able to imagine and build a world far greater than the one that may exist outside their classrooms,” adds Heller. “They’re able to create sanctuaries from the injustices of society — transformative spaces where everyone is safe from violence, and democratic places where patterns of injustice are disrupted. I’m proud that HGSE is investing new resources in this critical work.” 

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Department of Teacher Education

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• Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education
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Teacher Education

Ph. d. programs in teacher education, department perspective on ph.d. programs.

Doctoral education is distinct from “going to school.” While courses and mastery of predetermined content are an essential element, so too is participation in larger professional communities – through research projects, participation in professional organizations, work in schools and other relevant settings and the like. Perhaps most importantly, it is essential that students take ownership for their own learning during the course of a doctoral program, which includes deciding what courses to take and what other experiences to create for one’s own development. Here we briefly sketch out the components of the PhD programs within the Department of Teacher Education.

Our Commitment

We are committed to creating a diverse community: We believe that diversity of background, experience, expertise, and perspective enriches our scholarship, our practice, and our lives. We seek to attract and retain the best faculty and graduate students possible. We also strive to promote high-quality, equitable education and to generate a sense of professional responsibility for the improvement of education in its multiple dimensions. We also seek both to understand and to reform education: We have an obligation to engage in meaningful research about education. But we also recognize our obligation to move beyond analysis and promote education reform, seeking to improve the conditions of teaching and learning for students and educators alike. This means looking beyond the technical concerns of teaching and learning to the broader social responsibility we bear for promoting social equity in and through education.

Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education, Ph. D.

Visit the  Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education  program website

The doctoral program in Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education (formerly Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy) is designed for persons who are interested in and show promise of becoming scholars and leaders in the domains of curriculum, instruction, and teacher education, and educational policy at the K–12 or college level, or in local, state, regional, national, or international institutions or agencies. The program is characterized by its interdisciplinary and interinstitutional perspectives on problems and issues of educational practice.

Language and Literacy Instruction, Doctoral Option

Visit the  Language and Literacy Specialization  option website

This Language and Literacy Specialization is designed for persons interested in studying best practices, literacy development, how it influences our socio-cultural identities and much more. Graduates of the Language and Literacy doctoral option will be better prepared to become literacy researchers, teacher educators, educational leaders, policy makers, and classroom teachers. The specialization offers doctoral students the opportunity to work with accomplished researchers who provide mentorship in a range of methodological approaches to critical issues in the literacy field.

Doctoral Specialization in the Economics of Education

Visit the  Doctoral Specialization in the Economics of Education  website

The interdisciplinary specialization in Economics of Education at Michigan State University helps students focus on learning the best quantitative methods to answer policy questions in education. Doctoral candidates from four College of Education programs – Educational Policy, K-12 Educational Administration, Measurement and Quantitative Methods, and Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education – are eligible for the fellowship program, which includes a graduate assistantship and an annual $30,000 stipend.

Urban Education Graduate Certificate

Visit the  Urban Education Graduate Certificate  program website

Graduate students in the College of Education have an opportunity to study issues of urban education in greater depth through the Urban Education Graduate Certificate program. This interdepartmental sequence of courses is primarily for doctoral students who have a particular interest in teaching and conducting research within the contexts of urban communities.

Education Policy | Education Policy & Social Analysis

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Education Policy

Department of education policy & social analysis.

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Program Description

The Education Policy Program at Teachers College aims to prepare policy experts whose substantive grounding in a range of educational issues is matched by their broad understanding of the policy process and their skills using the tools of policy analysis and research. We focus largely on education policy in the United States.

What is the field of education policy?

Governmental policies at federal, state, and local levels have growing influence over how education is organized in the United States and what happens with teachers and students inside schools. Policies are wide-ranging in focus. For elementary and secondary education, they cover matters such as how school systems are funded; whether charter schools can be established in a community and whether families and students can choose their schools; teacher workforce development and standards for licensing, evaluation, compensation, and tenure; instructional frameworks guiding what and how students will be taught; testing and accountability requirements for monitoring student and school performance; whether schools will offer wraparound services for students; desegregation and integration by academic achievement, race and social class in schools and classrooms; how students are disciplined; how students with special needs are served; and more. Many other policies govern the provision of early childhood education as well as post-secondary and higher education. 

Policies are supposedly intended to help make the educational system excellent, equitable, and efficient. But stakeholders do not always agree on what constitutes excellence, equity, and efficiency. Therefore, it is often unclear whether, and how, policies advance or impede progress toward these objectives in different contexts. For example, some view particular education policies as meritocratic and fair, while others see them as preserving privilege and the status quo for powerful constituents while denying opportunity to others.

Moreover, education policy in the United States is developed and enacted through fragmented systems that are both centralized and decentralized. Policies often are framed and adopted by one set of actors, implemented by others, and then have their impact on still others. None of this happens in a simple or straightforward manner. Thus, education policy is a complex and often contested domain.

The academic field of education policy is devoted to the scholarly study of the history and current status of federal, state, and local education policy, the processes by which policies are developed and enacted, and their intended and unintended outcomes and impact on individuals, communities, and society as a whole. The field encompasses policies related to education from early childhood through higher education and links this focus to other domains of public policy such as housing, employment, social welfare, and criminal justice. The field is interdisciplinary, drawing on the traditions, perspectives, concepts, and methods of sociology, political science, history, economics, and legal studies to develop theoretical analyses and empirical evidence that advance our understanding of how education policy works, and how it can be improved.

Why study education policy?

People decide to study education policy for many different reasons. Teachers and school leaders often want to understand more fully the origins and intentions of the policies that govern much of their professional work, and they want to be able to intervene to help make policies more sensible and impactful. Some educators find themselves ready to leave school settings and want to influence the education system by working in policy development and implementation at the district, state, or federal level. Others seek to have an impact by evaluating and reporting the effects of policy, through work as policy analysts with foundations, think tanks, school districts, or other government agencies. Still others want to become policy advocates, helping interest groups or community-based organizations effectively press for policies they believe will advance equity and excellence. And some want to develop their capacities and build careers as policy teachers and researchers in academic settings.

Education policy at Teachers College

The degree programs in Education Policy were formally instituted in 2011 when the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis was established. In earlier years, students studied policy as part of programs such as education leadership or comparative and international education, and many students in other degree programs continue to share an interest in education policy. Policy researchers and analysts are dispersed throughout the TC faculty. Teachers College has a remarkable history of impact on many aspects of education policy, both in the United States and around the world. TC professors have been pioneers in researching and promoting policies regarding state funding of education, education for the disadvantaged and marginalized, gifted and talented education, policies around choice and the privatization of education, and more. Professors who are currently affiliated with the Education Policy Program are leading researchers and advocates in areas such as comprehensive educational opportunity, school effects on student cognitive development, international early childhood development, education finance and resource allocation, teacher workforce policies, the impact of pedagogical and curricular reforms, civil rights legislation and educational equity, higher education effectiveness, school choice, school desegregation, and organizational effectiveness in education.  

The Program develops students’ ability to engage in the political, economic, social, and legal analysis of education policy issues, drawing on important conceptual frameworks to develop insights that can inform further policy activity. Students learn to gather and analyze empirical evidence about policies and their impact, using field research methods for interviews and observations and statistical techniques that can be applied to administrative data, nationally representative federal datasets, and other sources of quantitative data. Coursework includes courses on the policy process, courses in the social science disciplines that inform policy studies, and research methods courses. Master’s degree students select a substantive specialization tied to their professional and academic goals; options include specializations in Data Analysis and Research Methods, Early Childhood Education Policy, K-12 Education Policy, Higher Education Policy, and Law and Education Policy. Doctoral students complete the master’s-level core courses, a two-part advancement to candidacy process, and a research dissertation.

Our graduates join a lively community of practice in the field of education policy. They are prepared to serve in such positions as policy analyst, policy advocate, education researcher, and faculty member. The knowledge and skills they acquire through our program enhance their effectiveness as teachers and leaders at the school level, and as program directors and evaluators at the school district level. (The degree program does not lead to certification for public school teaching or administrative positions, however.)

For more information, contact the Program Manager for the Education Policy program, Gosia Kolb, at [email protected]. For information about applications and degree requirements, and for profiles of program faculty, students, and alumni, visit https://www.tc.columbia.edu/education-policy-and-social-analysis/education-policy/ .

Master of Arts

Education policy master of arts.

Points/Credits: 33

Entry Terms: Fall Only

Degree Requirements

The 33-credit Master of Arts (M.A.) degree offered by the Education Policy Program is focused on the preparation of policy analysts, policy advocates, and education researchers. The degree program develops students’ knowledge and skills by drawing on interdisciplinary policy studies, the social science disciplines of economics, history, law, politics, and sociology, and substantive content on policies and practice in early childhood education, K-12 education, higher education, law and education, and data analysis and research methods. The M.A. degree program is commonly accepted as preparation for entry-level positions in the education policy field.

Culminating Requirement:

Students will write a reflective essay on what they have learned through their Education Policy M.A. degree program. The reflective essay represents an opportunity for students to consolidate what they have done in separate classes and present a comprehensive and critical assessment of the core ideas and skills they have encountered; the intellectual, professional, and personal changes they have experienced; and their ideas and plans for the future. The reflective essay will be assessed as Pass or Fail by the student’s advisor, and students may be asked to revise the essay until it is acceptable. Criteria for the assessment will be: evidence of substantive engagement with program content and efforts to synthesize important ideas; evidence of describing and reflecting on specific experiences and insights from the degree program in the essay (rather than simply describing general impressions or ideas); evidence of a thoughtful comparison of current thinking with perspectives held at the beginning of the degree program; and evidence of careful attention to writing quality.

Master of Education

Education policy master of education.

Points/Credits: 60

The 60-point Ed.M. degree is intended for educators and non-educators seeking careers in education policy in either the private or public sector. This advanced master’s degree program is appropriate for students who have already earned an M.A. with at least some coursework related to education policy. The program of study builds on the basic M.A. course sequence and draws on interdisciplinary policy studies, the social science disciplines of economics, history, law, politics, and sociology, courses with substantive content regarding policies and practice in early childhood education, K-12, higher education, law and education, and courses in research design and data analysis methods. Students consult with their advisors to select additional courses in a policy area relevant to their interests. Up to 30 points of eligible coursework from another graduate institution or program may be applied to the Ed.M. degree.

Students will write a reflective essay on what they have learned through their Education Policy Ed.M. degree program. The reflective essay represents an opportunity for students to consolidate what they have done in separate classes and present a comprehensive and critical assessment of the core ideas and skills they have encountered; the intellectual, professional, and personal changes they have experienced; and their ideas and plans for the future. The reflective essay will be assessed as Pass or Fail by the student’s advisor, and students may be asked to revise the essay until it is acceptable. Criteria for the assessment will be: evidence of substantive engagement with program content and efforts to synthesize important ideas; evidence of describing and reflecting on specific experiences and insights from the degree program in the essay (rather than simply describing general impressions or ideas); evidence of a thoughtful comparison of current thinking with perspectives held at the beginning of the degree program; and evidence of careful attention to academic writing quality.

Doctor of Philosophy

Education policy doctor of philosophy.

Points/Credits: 75

In the rapidly changing and increasingly complex world of education, a crucial need exists for better knowledge about how policies can support early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, and higher education while advancing the goals of efficiency, excellence, and equity. The school-year Ph.D. degree in Education Policy responds to these knowledge demands by focusing on the scholarly study of education policy. This degree program provides the opportunity to develop expertise in many interconnected subject areas as preparation for careers in academic research and teaching or in applied policy development and research. 

The degree program may be completed in a minimum of 75 points, Up to 30 points of eligible coursework  may be transferred from another accredited graduate institution. In addition to study in education policy, the degree program requires extensive preparation in quantitative and qualitative research methods and in one or more of the social science disciplines, including economics, history, law, political science, and sociology. Students must complete a doctoral certification process and a research dissertation.

• Thomas Wayne Brock Director, Community College Research Center
• Ansley T. Erickson Associate Professor of History and Education Policy
• Luis A Huerta Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy
• Sharon L Kagan Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy and Co-Director of the National Center for Children and Families
• Douglas David Ready Professor of Education and Public Policy
• Michael A. Rebell Professor of Law and Educational Practice
• Carolyn J. Riehl Associate Professor of Sociology & Education Policy

Adjunct Faculty

• Dennis David Parker Adjunct Professor
• Jennifer Sallman
• Eric Y Shieh Adjunct Assistant Professor
• Elana W. Sigall Adjunct Associate Professor of Education

Instructors

• Sarah R. Cohodes
• EDPA 4002 - Data Analysis for Policy and Decision Making I This is an introductory course in quantitative research methods that focus on non-experimental designs and the analysis of large-scale longitudinal datasets, especially those related to education policy. Students become familiar with the logic of inferential statistics and the application of basic analytic techniques. No prior knowledge of statistics or quantitative methods is required.
• EDPA 4013 - Education Policy and the Management of Instruction This course uses a backward-mapping approach to examine how federal, state, and local education policies affect the learning environments of schools and classrooms, teacher quality and pedagogy, and ultimately student learning in schools. We review important milestones in instructional policy in the United States and consider their impact on educational equity. The course is intended to help students develop and articulate ambitious theories of action for school improvement and the management of instruction that can be useful in their work as education policy makers or analysts, academic researchers, and practitioners in schools and districts.
• EDPA 4017 - Higher Education and the Law This multidisciplinary survey course explores significant recent developments in public and private higher-education law, policy, and practice. Designed for practicing and aspiring higher-education administrators, policy analysts, advocates, and researchers, it covers many issues that are now the subject of spirited, polarized national debates in the U.S., including access to higher education; student and faculty free speech and academic freedom; DACA, immigration and English learners; using race, ethnicity and gender to promote diversity; HBCUs and single-sex education; and harassment, cyber-bullying, and discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. Other topics include aspects of safety and order: institutional authority to regulate on- and off-campus student and staff misconduct; tort liability (for suicide, hazing, drug and alcohol abuse); search and seizure; and due process. Current administrators at Columbia and other universities are welcome.
• EDPA 4025 - Higher Education Policy This course provides an introduction to major policy enactments in higher education both in the United States and abroad. The policies reviewed include provision of different types of colleges including community colleges and private higher education, tuition and student financial aid, affirmative action, higher education finance, and quality assurance and performance accountability. The course examines the forms, political origins, implementation, and impacts of these policies. The aim is to help students develop a broad and deep understanding of the main directions of – but also limitations to – higher educational policymaking in the United States and abroad.
• EDPA 4033 - Comprehensive Educational Opportunity The course will provide students an overview of the concept of comprehensive educational opportunity, which seeks to provide meaningful educational opportunities for children from poverty backgrounds and will analyze the feasibility of its implementation. Topics will include the impact of poverty on children's opportunities to succeed in school, the role of early childhood learning, out-of-school time, health factors, and family and community support on school success; the history of past attempts to overcome socioeconomic disadvantages; the current attempts of large-scale "collective impact" initiatives to deal with these issues, and the economic, political, administrative, educational, and legal issues that must be considered to advance this concept on a large scale.
• EDPA 4046 - School Finance: Policy and Practice Examination of the judicial and legislative involvement in school finance reform, taxation, and the equity and efficiency of local, state, and federal finance policies and systems.
• EDPA 4047 - Politics and Public Policy What are the various stages of the policy process, from the recognition of certain problems as public issues to the adoption of policies to address those problems and the implementation and evaluation of those policies? This course touches on all these stages but focuses on policy origins: problem recognition and agenda setting, consideration of possible policy solutions, and policy adoption. The course examines policy origins through the lenses of various theoretical perspectives drawn from political science, sociology, economics, and law, including policy entrepreneurship theory, the advocacy coalition framework, punctuated equilibrium theory, diffusion theory, institutional theory, and the theory of the state. These perspectives are grounded by looking at the origins of particular policies concerning early childhood, K-12, and higher education.
• EDPA 4048 - Education Policy Analysis and Implementation Explores the issues of policy (or reform) implementation in schools and districts by focusing on the political reactions and organizational buffers to policy change and the ways that policies become adapted and changed to fit locally defined problems. Distinctions between implementation issues in bottom-up and top-down policy change are explored.
• EDPA 4050 - Logic & Design of Research This course is an introduction to understanding, designing, and writing about empirical research in education. We will explore the philosophical foundations of the positivist, interpretive, and critical knowledge paradigms for research and the relationship between theory and evidence in research. Students will learn about different genres of research and will explore strategies for sampling, data collection, and analysis in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research. The final project will be a literature review of research on a topic of interest to the student. The course will help students make choices for the kind of research they want to pursue; it will also help students be able to synthesize and write about published bodies of research.
• EDPA 4086 - Education & the Law: Speech, Religion, Regulation This multidisciplinary survey course explores significant recent developments in K-12 public and private education law, policy, and practice. It covers many issues that are now the focus of polarized national debates. The class will include students from Teachers College, Columbia Law School, and other Columbia University graduate schools. public- and private-school practitioners, current and aspiring, are welcome, as are policy analysts, researchers, and policy makers. Topics include limits on public regulation and funding of private schools; charter schools and voucher programs; religious conflicts in public schools over public funding, prayer, and curriculum; and free-speech rights of students and teachers. The course will also focus on school safety: bullying and cyberbullying; child abuse; the schools’ authority to make and enforce rules governing on- and off-campus student and staff misconduct, including drug/alcohol abuse, hazing, and sexual misconduct; tort liability; and educational malpractice; search & seizure/drug testing; racially disproportionate school discipline; the school-to-prison pipeline; and due process rights of students and staff. The course will be multidisciplinary, drawing on sources in law, social science, policy, and education practice. We will consider how to avoid unnecessary litigation and, equally important, how to use the law to advance important educational values and objectives.
• EDPA 4503 - Schools, Courts, and Civic Participation Although historically, America’s public school system was established primarily to prepare young people to become citizens capable of maintaining a democratic society, in recent decades, most schools have done a poor job of preparing students for effective civic participation. This course will consider the reasons for the decline in the schools’ traditional civic preparation role, and how schools can prepare students to be effective civic participants in the 21st century. Based on the instructor’s belief that civic preparation will not actually become a priority of American schools unless the courts declare that students have a constitutional right to an adequate education for capable citizenship, the course will also will examine the legal and policy justifications for the courts' role in reforming public education institutions, briefly consider the history of judicial intervention in other areas of educational policy like desegregation, bilingual education and fiscal equity reform and then closely analyze Cook v. Raimondo, a pending federal case that seeks to establish such a federal right, and in which the instructor is lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
• EDPA 4899 - Federal Policy Institute The purpose of the Federal Policy Institute is to examine three themes: the enduring values of American education, contemporary issues in national school reform efforts, and the role of the federal government. During a week-long program in Washington, students will have the opportunity to identify a policy issue of personal interest and to explore that issue with the nation's senior policymakers. Introductory and concluding sessions meet at the College.
• EDPA 4900 - EDPA 4900: Research and Independent Study in Education Policy For master's students wishing to pursue independent study and/or research on topics not covered in regular courses. Requires faculty member's approval of a study plan, reading list, and final paper or other products or projects. Permission required from individual faculty.
• EDPA 5002 - Data Analysis for Policy and Decision Making II This is an intermediate‑level course in non‑experimental quantitative research methods, especially those related to education policy. The class examines such topics as residual analysis, modeling non‑linear relationships and interactions using regression, logistic regression, missing data analyses, multilevel models, and principal components analysis. Prerequisite: Students should have completed at least one graduate‑level course in applied statistics or data analysis (e.g., EDPA 4002) and have experience with Stata software.
• EDPA 5016 - Education & the Law: Equity Issues This course will explore the role of the courts in dealing with issues of equity and education beginning with Brown v. Board of Education. Topics will include school desegregation, gender equity, fiscal equity and educational adequacy, rights of English Learners and of students with disabilities, testing, and school discipline. The course will consider the role of the courts in educational policy-making and the impact of judicial intervention on school culture and educational practices. We will also analyze the meaning of “equal educational opportunity,” and "equity" in the contemporary context and confront such questions as: how deeply rooted are racism and inequity in school systems, to what extent can racism and inequities be eliminated or ameliorated in school systems if they persist in society at large, and to what extent can anti-racist curricula make a difference within systems that are structurally inequitable??
• EDPA 5023 - Policymaking for Effective High School to College Transition The course examines policymaking efforts by the federal and state governments to facilitate the movement of students from high school to college and their effective preparation to meet college requirements. The policies reviewed include student financial aid, student outreach programs such as GEAR UP, state Common Core curriculum standards, and guided student pathways through college. The course examines the content of these policies, their political origins and implementation, and their impacts. The aim is to help students develop a broad and deep understanding of the main directions of – but also limitations to – national and state policymaking with respect to high school to college transition.
• EDPA 5645 - Craft of Policy Analysis The purpose of this course is to help students learn more about the techniques of policy analysis --identifying a public problem, researching solutions to the problem, weighing costs and benefits of various alternatives, and developing a policy recommendation aimed at addressing the problem. The emphasis is on how policy analysts think and do, rather than the study of the policy process in general. The course is organized to help students understand and become more informed about the nature of education policy in the United States.
• EDPA 6002 - Quantitative Methods for Evaluating Education Policies and Programs This advanced master's course addresses a key issue in evaluating education programs and policies: determining whether a policy causes an impact on student trajectories that would not have occurred in absence of the policy. The course will cover experimental and quasi-experimental techniques used to attribute causal relationships between educational programs and student outcomes. Students will become sophisticated consumers of quantitative educational research and will practice statistical techniques in problems sets. There will be an exam and a final project. Prerequisites: Successful completion of 4002 and 5002 or equivalent and familiarity with the Stata statistical software package. No prior exposure to causal inference methods is expected.
• EDPA 6027 - International Perspectives on Early Childhood Policy This course looks at early childhood education policy through an international lens, addressing often neglected—but highly salient—policy questions, including: What have been the real effects of the Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All goals on education systems in general and on early childhood education in particular? How have poverty, gender, and the needs of marginalized populations/cultures shaped early childhood policy in diverse countries? What are the unique policy properties that must be considered when developing policies for young children and their families? To what extent do the policy contexts of nations differ, and how do these differences impact early childhood policies directly? To what extent can lessons learned in one context be faithfully transported across national boundaries? Based on readings and discussions of these issues, students will demonstrate their understanding of the role of policy in shaping early childhood education in a given country though the final paper, a situation analysis. Building on sequenced assignments, this paper will provide the platform for students to use policy tools and make recommendations for concrete early childhood policy improvements.
• EDPA 6030 - Institutional Theory: Sociological Perspectives on Institutional Change in Education An introduction to organizational theory as it applies to a variety of institutions with particular attention to the potential of educational activities as a force in formal organizations.
• EDPA 6542 - Education Policy Foundations Seminar (Required for all Education Policy program students and restricted to Education Policy students) This course is the introductory seminar for all students enrolled in degree programs in Education Policy. It provides an overview of the education policy system and history of landmark education policies in the United States, an introduction to the tools and approaches of policy research and analysis, an introduction to the intellectual disciplines that contribute foundational perspectives for policy research (especially sociology, economics, history, politics, and legal studies), and exploration of selected current topics in education policy, especially those pertaining to opportunity and equity.
• EDPA 6900 - Research and Independent Study in Education Policy For doctoral students wishing to pursue independent study or original research as they prepare for their doctoral certification examination and/or dissertation proposal. Permission required from individual faculty.
• EDPA 8900 - Dissertation Advisement in Education Policy Individual advisement on the doctoral dissertation, via ongoing consultation between the student and dissertation sponsor. Ph.D. students who have passed the certification exam and are not enrolled in other courses must register for dissertation advisement each term until they finish their dissertation. The fee equals three points at the current tuition rate for each term. Permission required from individual faculty.

PhD in Educational Theory and Practice (Teacher Education)

If you are interested in research about teacher education, choose this emphasis for your degree in educational theory and practice. Teacher education may take place as formal and alternative preparation programs, as in-service professional development and continuing education experiences, and within mentoring and supervision relationships that bridge university and P-12 settings. You will study teacher education amid institutional, discursive, socio-cultural, and political contexts.

Our faculty are committed to being and preparing teachers to be advocates for children, for communities, for learning, and for their profession. Our graduates go on to careers as aspiring and practicing teacher educators, instructional coaches, administrators, supervisors, and university faculty.

• Regularly ranked as a top 5 program by U.S. News & World Report
• Home to nationally recognized and award-winning faculty
• Work with faculty on cutting-edge education research
• Prepare to become a leader in education research and practice

As a student in the emphasis in teacher education, you will study how it manifests in multiple and varied contexts. This includes institutional, discursive, socio-cultural, and political contexts that continuously shape and reshape the meanings and purposes of teacher education. Graduates of this program go on to careers as aspiring and practicing teacher educators, instructional coaches, administrators, supervisors, and university faculty.

Your courses in this emphasis will be determined in consultation with your committee, although at least nine credit hours will come from within the Department of Educational Theory and Practice. At least one of the members of your doctoral committee should come from the teacher education emphasis area, where our faculty are committed preparing teachers to be advocates for children, for communities, for learning, and for their profession.

• Download the Ph.D. Handbook

Additional information and disclosures regarding state licensure for professional practice in this field can be found at the UGA Licensure Disclosure Portal .

Part 1: Apply to the University of Georgia

The Graduate School handles admission for all graduate programs at the University of Georgia, including those in the College of Education. The Graduate School website contains important details about the application process, orientation, and many other useful links to guide you through the process of attending UGA at the graduate level.

Start A Graduate School Application

Part 2: Apply to the PhD in Educational Theory and Practice (Teacher Education)

The program of study includes 43 hours of coursework, preliminary and comprehensive examinations, a dissertation prospectus, and a dissertation. Required coursework includes theory and research on teaching or research on teacher education, and seminars. You will also take at least four research methods courses, determined in consultation with your advisory committee. You are encouraged to take as many research methods courses as needed to accomplish your research.

Of your coursework, 22 credit hours prepare you to think deeply about and conduct research within the field of teacher education. Courses in this emphasis are determined in consultation with your committee, though at least nine of these credits should come from within the department. At least one of your committee members should be from this emphasis area.

After filling out your application to the graduate school, please submit the following directly to the graduate programs office:

• A personal statement telling the doctoral admissions committee why doctoral education is being pursued; the questions and/or commitments about teaching, learning and schooling pushing the applicant to further her or his education; what readings, theories, and/or research inform these questions; why the Doctoral Program of Educational Theory and Practice is an appropriate place to pursue such questions; the emphasis area (or areas) in which the applicant sees his or her interests fitting; and the personal and professional goals for obtaining a PhD degree in Educational Theory and Practice;
• A writing sample that demonstrates the applicant’s ability for scholarly writing and engagement with intellectual ideas;
• A resume or curriculum vitae.
• Please note that at least one of the three references you provide to the graduate school should be a university faculty member who can attest to your academic potential, preferably from the master’s level.

Deadline To Apply

January 1 (Summer/Fall Admission), October 1 (Spring Admission)

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Please use our online form if you have any questions for the department. Please be as specific as possible so that we may quickly assist you.

• Doctoral Assistantship Application (Due by January 15th)

The College’s programs are taught by dedicated faculty who are experts in a range of areas and are passionate about helping students succeed both in their programs and professionally.

Meet the Faculty

Most graduate students at UGA are not assigned to a faculty advisor until after admittance. A close working relationship with your advisor is paramount to progressing through your program of study.

Almost all in-state students begin their studies at UGA paying limited tuition or fees. Please note that these amounts are subject to change and are meant to give prospective students an idea of the costs associated with a degree at the University of Georgia College of Education.

Students may qualify for a variety of assistantships, scholarships, and other financial awards to help offset the cost of tuition, housing, and other expenses.

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Your experience begins with a doctoral orientation seminar that introduces foundational ideas, readings, and scholars in the field. We invite you to explore, read, think, collaborate, research, and share your ideas about educational theory and practice with researchers, teachers, and leaders in your area of emphasis.

The program is home to a mixture of full-time and part-time students. Most full-time students are supported through teaching and research assistantships. Most part-time students work on the PhD while continuing to work as teachers and administrators.

See for yourself how much UGA College of Education has to offer! Schedule a tour of campus to learn more about the UGA student experience.

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Educational Policy

The Educational Policy program at Ohio State introduces you to the interdisciplinary study of educational policy and politics. We examine schooling from early grades to post-graduate education as well as address international and U.S. education issues. Our curricula draw on political science, anthropology, sociology, history, philosophy and other disciplines to help you understand and shape policies that impact the future of education. 

The doctoral program in Educational Policy gives you opportunities to work with faculty in ongoing research while you develop your own program of inquiry. We introduce you to a broad range of theoretical perspectives, and encourage you to develop expertise in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods of research.

You learn to study how groups and networks develop policies and move them around, who profits and who suffers because of them, and how teachers, community members, and children participate in policy processes. Students have studied education policy in the US and overseas (e.g., Korea, Pakistan), tracked how policies move over local, national, and international levels, and traced their evolution over time.

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Our graduate students make essential contributions to the vibrant intellectual community of our program. Click below to learn more about our graduate student and their interests.

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Helps foster professional connections, socialization among graduate students with similar academic interests, professional development opportunities, and more. 

This group works to close the achievement gap in K-12 schools and ensure an excellent education for all by mobilizing the next generation of education leaders. 

The association encourages rigorous education finance and policy-related inquiry and scholarship to improve understanding and practice and distributes theoretical and practically useful knowledge. 

Sponsored by the Council of Graduate Students, the university forum highlights exemplary and innovative research conducted by Ohio State graduate students. 

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For more information about the program please contact:

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Ann Allen [email protected]

Rhodesia McMillian [email protected]

Antoinette Errante [email protected]

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Home > News > Braden Wilson, College of Education Graduate Named 2025 South Carolina Teacher of the Year

Braden Wilson, College of Education Graduate Named 2025 South Carolina Teacher of the Year

• May 1, 2024

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Braden Wilson, center, was named the 2025 South Carolina Teacher of the Year. She is pictured with South Carolina Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver , right, and BMW Fleet Communications Specialist Greg Bunner.

Braden Wilson, a graduate of the Anderson University College of Education, was named the 2025 South Carolina Teacher of the Year.  

Wilson is a social studies teacher at Palmetto Middle School in Anderson School District One.    

“Braden’s infectious passion for making history come alive for her eighth graders at Palmetto Middle School is truly inspiring,” said State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver. “We are thrilled to celebrate her dedication to developing the next generation of civic-literate South Carolinians and look forward to the impact Braden will make as South Carolina’s Teacher of the Year serving as an ambassador for our state’s 64,000 educators.”  

Wilson, who is currently in her 10th year working in education, believes teaching children history provides them with an opportunity to explore what they love while making sense of the world around them. She discovers student interests and cultivates experiences that make history engaging and relatable for every learner, hoping to inspire students to make their own unique mark on history.  

Prior to starting her teaching career, Wilson was a Teaching Fellow at Anderson University, where she was the Social Studies Teacher Candidate of the Year. Teaching Fellows is an enriched academic experience that prepares graduates to become outstanding teachers. She has a master’s degree in in administration and supervision from Anderson University and also a master’s degree teacher leadership she received from Walden University.  

“The College of Education extends a huge congratulations to Braden on this incredible achievement,” said Anderson University College of Education Dean Dr. Mark Butler. “We are excited for her to be able to take her message throughout the state of South Carolina and for her to return to our campus and share with current AU students all she has learned and accomplished in her career. Having someone like Braden, who is an AU alum and a former teaching fellow, be selected as the South Carolina Teacher of Year is aspirational for our current students and such an encouragement for all of us in the College of Education.”  

Wilson feels her experiences at Anderson University stood out during her bachelor’s and master’s work. She said her professors were there for her and felt well prepared for the classroom.   

As part of the state Teacher of the Year awards program, Wilson will receive $25,000, a brand-new BMW for one year, and professional development opportunities.  

The South Carolina Teacher of the Year program celebrates excellence and strengthens the teaching force by honoring and recognizing exceptional teachers on a district, state and national level. These awards not only assist in retention efforts but serve as a powerful recruitment tool.  

The South Carolina Teacher of the Year serves for one school year as a roving ambassador providing mentoring, attending speaking engagements, working with teacher cadets and teaching fellows, leading the State Teacher Forum, and serving as the state spokesperson for more than 64,000 educators.  

You can watch the full event  here.  

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May 1, 2024, 8:40 AM

Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development will launch a new online certificate this fall designed to meet a growing demand for Board Certified Behavior Analysts. The new program aims to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality behavioral services and make use of behavioral technology, ultimately enhancing the lives of individuals with disabilities.

Peabody’s Department of Special Education , which is widely regarded as the top department in the nation, will house the new program. The online curriculum will be grounded in the latest educational research and technology and will challenge students to integrate applied behavior analysis into education practice.

“The goal of Vanderbilt’s online certificate program is to make our high-quality ABA course sequence accessible to any practitioner, regardless of their geographic location, who aspires to more effectively support the needs of individuals with disabilities,” says Johanna Staubitz , assistant professor of the practice and director of the Applied Behavior Analysis program.

Peabody also offers an on-campus master’s degree (M.Ed.) in special education with an ABA focus , and that program will continue. Students in the online program must already have earned a master’s degree.

The certificate curriculum consists of seven three-credit courses covering the experimental, theoretical and applied domains of behavior analysis.  The course sequence is approved by the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI-VCS).

Recipients of the new certificate will have completed the required coursework needed to sit for the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) examination, after finishing additional field work requirements.

Employment prospects for licensed behavior analysts have been strong. According to a report from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, the demand for individuals with certification as either a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® or a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral® increased every year from 2010 to 2023, including a 14 percent increase from 2022 to 2023.

The program’s reduced tuition rate aims to make this valuable education accessible to a diverse range of professionals, including those from healthcare and social sciences backgrounds. Applications for the new program are open.

Deadline for application to the inaugural cohort for the new ABA certificate is July 5, 2024. Learn more about this exciting educational opportunity by visiting the webpage here .

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