The Graduate School of Education and Human Development will offer a new personalized, three-part master’s program beginning this fall.
The 30-credit program, which GSEHD announced in a release last week, allows students to earn a graduate certificate, a micro-credential and a master’s degree in five semesters through classes related to topics like technology and leadership in education. The program is designed for students balancing both classes and a profession, as it requires just two courses per semester in online, on-campus or hybrid formats, according to the release, which GSEHD Professor of Educational Technology Leadership Ryan Watkins said is a reasonable timeline for students to complete their degree.
During their first year in the program, students will complete a 12-credit or four-course graduate certificate, choosing from fully online options, like educational technology leadership, or on-campus instructional design and literacy education classes.
Students will take six credits or two courses, usually in their final semester, for a micro-credential in educational technology leadership, instructional design, quantitative methods, understanding school reform or literacy tutoring, per the GSEHD website. Participants can earn additional micro-credentials, which result in digital badges that participants can add to their LinkedIn profiles.
In their second year, students will also take four required core classes for a total of 12 credits to earn their master’s degree, per the website.
“By bundling courses together, we have been able to create graduate certificates and micro-credentials that focus on the knowledge and skills required for current and emerging careers, and offer students badges and degrees that can be added to their resumes while they make progress toward their M.A.,” Watkins said in an email.
The release said students will set their schedules for all five semesters in advance and know which semester each class is offered before beginning the program. Watkins said the program is designed for “pedagogical preparation,” student planning and program efficiency.
“The personalized M.A. is a faculty-led, student-centered initiative, with faculty leading the conversations and designing the course sequences, to ensure that we can support our students as they progress through the program,” Watkins said.
GSEHD already offers an individualized master’s in education and human development, which allows students to fully customize their degree to include courses within different GSEHD concentrations, GW colleges and consortium universities. Several of GW’s peer schools, like Georgetown and Boston universities, also offer part-time and customizable graduate programs.
Watkins said earning a graduate certificate and micro-credential will allow students to gain knowledge and skills and add badges to their resume while still making progress toward their degree. He said the personalized master’s program aligns with “dynamic” workplaces where employees are looking for flexible staff that can fill a variety of roles.
“For better or worse, the future of work is not well defined, and GSEHD is taking this opportunity to offer more options to students who are looking to follow their passions and at the same time have the flexible knowledge and skills to contribute to emerging organizational workflows and structures,” Watkins said.
