So my interest is in education studies, and I was interested in Harvard because Harvard is arguably the center of education policy, and many of their alumni from the HGSE are very prominent in the field of education and come back to give lectures (Antonio Buehler, Geoffrey Canada, even Sal Khan although he went to HBS).
However, Harvard does not offer a track, concentration, or program in education studies or policy for undergraduate students. I could not find any joint programs between HGSE and Harvard College, so are there any options to take education policy or education studies-related classes at Harvard?
Equally important, does anyone know if it is possible for undergrads to find work at the Harvard Center for Education Policy?
If there is no education studies program, would it be beneficial then to utilize Harvard’s out-of-classroom education scene by doing research and actively come to guest lectures at HGSE, taking part in Harvard’s vibrant education-related extracurricular options, while concentrating in Government? I think that a concentration in Government would prepare me best for a public policy or government job in the education sector.
Very few selective US colleges offer an undergraduate degree in education. One reason for that is most US teaching jobs, even pre-school teaching jobs, require a graduate degree in education and a master’s degree can be obtained with any undergraduate degree. Many teachers have undergraduate degrees in History, English, Math, Biology, Art, Political Science, etc.
Are you trying to decide what to write down for your “intended major?”
FWIW: US colleges ask about your intended major to gauge your interests, but as most students change their major at least once during their 4 years of college, colleges cannot use that information as a recruiting tool because the data is unreliable.
So, it doesn’t matter what you write down on the Common Application. Put down Public Policy or Government if that interests you, as all students are admitted to Harvard as Liberal Arts Majors and choose a major during their sophomore year.
@gibby, most teaching jobs in NY may require a graduate degree, but most teaching jobs in this area, and much of the south, only require a bachelors. Many of the public school n systems strongly encourage, or even require that every teacher hire must eventually acquire a graduate degree, but even where it’s required, they give a long time to get it. I know that other states outside the south do not require graduate degrees. I believe Wisconsin doesn’t require even a bachelor’s in some cases.
And then, many private schools only require a bachelors. But the private schools try to enable their teachers to get graduate degrees, because,I obbviously, it helps the image of the school, and it keeps the faculty happy.
There may not be too many colleges that offer Education Studies/Ed-related subject as a major, but I have found a handful that do (WashU, Vandy, Davidson) so I will be applying to those, and most others seem to offer it as a track, concentration, or a minor (Duke, Stanford, Columbia, etc.), so I would major in Public Policy/Poli Sci in those while taking Education classes.
My ideal career is to work in the public policy sector of education, so I was looking for a college that offers a government or policy sci major and an education studies minor or offers classes in education studies, which also has vibrant education-related opportunities such as policy research, guest lectures, education policy analysis work, and extracurricular availabilities.
On the extracurricular availabilities side, Harvard, in my opinion, is one of the best, perhaps only second to Peabody in Vandy. But if I can major in a Social Science (Government) at Harvard, and take 6 classes at HGSE through the Harvard Undergraduate Teacher Education Program (mentioned by @BFreeFranklin ), while getting direct experience through fieldwork by this program, then I think Harvard would be a great fit.
I think that path may best suit me for my future career interest.