Degree overview: Education

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Education is a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary field that aims to address issues in teaching and learning. Graduate degrees in education prepare students for careers in teaching, but also for careers in school administration, counseling/psychology, special education, speech pathology, athletics, academia, human resources, and public policy—and much more.

In addition to the variety of roles a graduate of a school of education can play, a wide range of employers value a masters degree in education:

• Public, private, parochial, magnet, and charter schools, and school districts
• Government agencies that focus on education
• Nonprofits that specialize in supporting education, teachers, and students
• Museums and religious organizations that offer public education programs
• Any employer that values the diverse skills a teacher brings, and/or that focus on an issue a former teacher specialized in
• Advocacy organizations and teachers unions
• Companies that write and publish textbooks, curricula, and pedagogical books

Additionally, students can couple education degrees with many other degrees to increase their career options. For example, if you're considering a masters degree in history, literature, a foreign language, a science—earning a masters degree in education can open up doors to teaching in your area of expertise.

This overview focuses almost entirely on education programs in the United States. If you are an international student and wish to study education, schools worldwide offer similar degrees to those discussed in this article.

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