Education Graduate Programs & Degrees in Education

at a local graduate school to fully online programs, from master’s to doctorate level. Whether you’ve already earned your Bachelors in Education, have professional experience, or are new to the field altogether, education graduate programs might be a great choice for you. You could develop new skills and strategies, study education research, and build a solid foundation for a new or expanded career.

Choosing Your Education Graduate Programs

So you’ve decided to look into education graduate programs. But where do you start? From studying at the master’s or post-master’s level, to choosing a program format, to identifying concentrations you might want to pursue, a lot may factor into your decision where to apply.

One way to narrow your field of potential graduate education programs may be to consider your motivation for earning a graduate degree. Do you want to strengthen your skills for your current position? Learn strategies to meet the needs of the students in your school community? Develop new skills in an area you might want to pursue? It may benefit you to choose a program based on your goals.

Potential education subject area concentrations you might want to study may include:

• Adult Education – Learn about needs of adult learners, and prepare to help adults achieve educational goals like language acquisition, earning a GED, developing career skills, and more.
• Curriculum & Instruction – Develop your skills in curriculum and instructional design, to prepare for roles in and out of the classroom, helping educational communities become more effective.
• Early Childhood Education – Study the unique needs of children ranging from infancy to third grade, including topics like developmental psychology, social and emotional, development, motor skills, reading, etc.
• Education Leadership & Administration – Develop skills to support your current or potential future leadership positions within a school community, or district, educational policy, and other related roles and responsibilities.
• Education Technology & Online Learning – Learn about how to use technology in educational contexts, to support student engagement, curriculum design, differentiation, as well as adaptive technology, in the classroom or in online school contexts at a variety of grade and university levels.
• Environmental Education – Prepare yourself for a unique career educating your community about environmental conservation and change, both in and out of the classroom. This might include topics like ecology, earth science, and sustainability.
• Educational & School Psychology – Study to conduct psychology research and apply research findings at the institutional level as an educational psychologist, to work with students directly in a school counseling or school psychologist role.
• ESL/TESOL – Learn more about strategies to encourage English language acquisition for primary speakers of other languages, at a variety of grade and age levels and educational contexts, or even abroad.
• General Education – Develop your teaching and education skills to support a variety of roles, both in the classroom and in administrative contexts.
• Higher Education – Prepare yourself to help students succeed in post-secondary contexts such as colleges and universities, to be a more effective university professor or assist students through work in other non-teaching roles.
• International Education – Learn more about teaching in an international context such, including topics like multicultural education, educational policy, communication skills, community development, study abroad programs, and more.
• K-12 Education – Study in a program related to your current or future certification level, looking at the needs of certain grade levels, or at subject areas like teaching reading, mathematics, science, technology, foreign languages, etc.
• Special & Gifted Education – Study to better serve students with unique needs, such as those with learning disabilities, communication disorders, behavioral or emotional disorders, early intervention, gifted students, or members of underserved populations.
• Teacher Education – Develop your skills as a classroom teacher, including instructional strategies, classroom management, strategies for differentiation, unique learning styles, subject and grade or age-specific programs, and more.

In addition to these and other subject areas you might choose to study when earning your education graduate degree, programs might be offered at the graduate certificate, master’s, and doctoral level.

Earning Master’s Degrees in Education

Education master’s programs might include: Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.), Master’s of Education (M.Ed.), and Master of Science in Education programs, among others. You might also consider degree types specific to certain specialties, such as potentially earning your Master of Psychology in Educational & School Psychology programs. If you're new to education altogether, you might be more interested in programs that include some or all of the requirements for certification in your state, and are designed for students with little to no professional experience. On the other hand, you may wish to pursue an additional higher distinction on top of your master’s degree in some other programs, such as earning an Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) or Psychology Specialist (Psy.S.) degree or credential, which are sometimes seen as being a step between the master’s and doctoral program levels.

Doctorate in Education Programs & Schools

Similar to education master’s programs, education doctoral programs might include a few different degree types, such as Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Ph.D. in education programs, or even Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) programs, depending on your concentration area. The specific differences between each might vary depending on the school in question, the subject area, and other factors, such as whether you prefer to go into a role performing research, teaching at the university level, or utilize your expertise in the field in an administrative role. Read program listings for doctorate in education programs or inquire with your preferred school for more details.

Earn Your Education Graduate Certificates

Whether you’re interested in studying at the master’s or post-master’s level, a variety of graduate certificate programs may be available for you to consider. Graduate certificate programs in education are typically shorter than full degree programs, and may focus on a narrower topic within your preferred subject area. This could help you to develop the skills and knowledge you’re interested in. Whether you're just starting out in your post-baccalaureate education, or want to learn more on top of graduate degree or degrees you've already earned, graduate certificate programs might be one way to achieve graduate level education outside a degree program.

Education Graduate Degree Program Formats

Whatever your preferred subject area or program level may be, education graduate programs might be available in several different formats. That means that you might be able to choose a program whose schedule and design works with your learning style and preferences, and with your life. Programs might be offered in the following formats:

• Education Graduate Schools – Studying on a local campus may have a number of advantages, from access to facilities and resources, to potential faculty with experience and knowledge of your educational community.
• Online Education Graduate Programs – Whether you prefer learning independently or need to fit your education into a hectic schedule, online programs may offer the education you want with the flexibility you need.
• Hybrid Education Graduate Programs – Sometimes called partially-online or low-residency, hybrid education graduate programs bring together the advantages of classroom learning on a local campus and the flexible nature of an online program.

Whether you’re looking for a program that works with your work schedule and home life, or one that appeals to your educational preference, you may be able to find programs to earn the degree or certificate you want in a format that supports your needs.

Find and Apply to Your Education Graduate Degree Program Today

Are you ready to learn more about education graduate programs? Whether you want to study a certain subject area, or you have your eye on a certain degree level, programs are out there that may help you to achieve your goals. If you’re curious about studying a certain subject, or earning a specific degree, select the appropriate filters to read more about those programs. You might also filter based on program format or campus location. Once you’re ready, read more about programs and reach out to those that sound promising for more information, to answer any of your questions, or even to start your application!