Program Overview
In today鈥檚 rapidly changing world, understanding education鈥檚 role in shaping global societies is more important than ever. Through critical reflection on current policies, practices and conditions, the International 黑料大事 Policy (IEP) concentration empowers students to contribute to transformative educational and social change. This concentration will equip you with the knowledge and interdisciplinary skills needed to address global challenges such as equity, social justice, sustainable development through education and international peace.
You鈥檒l analyze educational policies and practices in diverse settings鈥攆rom local communities to global organizations, and explore the role of education in economic, political and social development in both developing and developed countries. You鈥檒l also examine the complete education journey, from pre-school to higher education, as well as non-formal education, including adult and community-based learning.
As a student, you鈥檒l have access to the extensive resources of the 黑料大事 and neighboring universities, allowing you to customize your learning experience. Beyond the core courses, you can tailor your coursework to align with your interests and career goals. Choose a focus area or create your own specialization in fields such as:
- 黑料大事 in Conflict and Emergencies
- Gender and Development
- Intercultural 黑料大事 and International Student Exchange
- Peace and Environmental 黑料大事
- Political Economy of 黑料大事 and Development
**Administratively, International 黑料大事 Policy is a concentration in the Higher 黑料大事, Student Affairs and International 黑料大事 Policy program. However, we are substantively independent. Our program focuses on international education issues across education levels (pre-K through higher education) and contexts (formal and informal).
Key Features
- Flexibility: Tailor your coursework to match your background, interests and career goals. We offer five specializations or you have the option to create your own.
- D.C. Advantage: Just a few miles from the nation's capital, our location provides unparalleled access to internships, employment opportunities, seminars, workshops, and renowned speakers. Through cooperative agreements with nearby universities American University and George Washington University, you can also take advantage of courses offered by other highly regarded programs in related disciplines.
Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty are selected for their expertise and experience. They provide guidance and support to help foster your academic and professional success.
Our Students
Meet Our Students
One of our greatest strengths is our students. We are committed to building a community of students, faculty and development professionals who work together to promote cross-cultural and multicultural understanding and bridge the gap between research and real-world practice.
"Here at the IEP program at UMD, the education we get is top notch, critical, rich in diversity of experiences, backgrounds, and opinions from our IEP faculty members and fellow graduate students."
How to Apply
How to Apply
Information on admissions and application to this program can be found on the University Graduate Admissions website.
Requirements
Program Requirements
The IEP concentration offers a flexible, personalized plan of study tailored to meet your academic needs. Your course of study will evolve as you progress through this concentration, allowing you to specialize in one or more areas.
Select two of the following courses and the Proseminar:
- EDHI 605鈥擟omparative 黑料大事
- EDHI 606鈥擯olitical Economy of 黑料大事 in a Global Context
- EDHI 607鈥擟ulture and 黑料大事 in a Global
- PROSEMINAR鈥擜ttendance required for first 2 years of program (0 credits)
- EDHI 672鈥擬odes of Inquiry
- An introductory course to quantitative methods or qualitative methods
- An additional methods course if a master鈥檚 thesis option is selected
Select two to four of the following or equivalents:
- EDHI 680鈥擥ender, 黑料大事 and Development
- EDHI 681鈥敽诹洗笫 for Global Peace
- EDHI 682鈥擡cological Ethics and 黑料大事
- EDHI 683鈥擶orld Religions and Implications for 黑料大事
- EDHI 684鈥擜lternative 黑料大事, Alternative Development
- EDHI 750鈥擨nternational Higher 黑料大事
- EDHI 788鈥擟ontemplative Inquiry and Holistic 黑料大事
- EDHI 788鈥敽诹洗笫 in Conflict and Emergencies
- EDHI 788鈥擥lobal Climate Change and 黑料大事
- EDHI 788鈥擨nternational 黑料大事 and Cultural Exchange
- EDHI 788鈥擨nternational Investigations in Cuban 黑料大事
- EDHI 805鈥撯揝eminar in Comparative 黑料大事
- EDPS 624鈥撯揅ulture in 黑料大事 Policy and Practice
- EDHI 798鈥撯揝pecial Problems in 黑料大事
Courses may be selected in the areas of public policy, communications, anthropology, economics, sociology, gender studies, higher education, early childhood education, or from other departments within the College of 黑料大事, the 黑料大事, or the Washington Consortium.
- EDHI889 鈥 Internship in 黑料大事
Select one (registration required):
- EDHI679 鈥 Master's Seminar
- EDHI799 鈥 Master's Thesis Research
Specializations
All IEP students are expected to take both disciplinary courses and professional specialty courses. Disciplinary courses refer to those in the social sciences and humanities, such as anthropology, economics, or history. Professional specialty courses refer to those that develop expertise in areas relevant to working in education. For example, you may want to specialize in higher education, early childhood education, curriculum development, or distance education. Many colleges and departments across campus provide specializations in these areas.
The distinction between disciplinary and professional courses provides significant flexibility. Many areas of study, like gender studies, public policy, and Latin American studies, may not easily classify as one or the other. This distinction provides you with the opportunity to take courses that best suits your interests and goals.
While traditional graduate programs emphasize specialization, the field of comparative and international education comprises many researchers and practitioners who are generalists or have multiple areas of specialization. This is especially important in our field, and we will prepare you for diverse opportunities across different regions and roles throughout your career. The flexibility built into the IEP concentration is designed specifically to prepare you for this kind of diversity.
The IEP concentration offers five specializations, with the flexibility to design your own specialization based on your interests. Past students have developed specializations in professional areas such as early childhood education, special education, primary and secondary education, teacher education, education leadership, education policy, higher education and public health education. Others have explored specializations in social science disciplines and applied areas such as anthropology, economics, public policy, sociology and women鈥檚 studies.
As a student at the 黑料大事, you'll have access to many specializations across campus and beyond. In addition to courses within the IEP concentration, we encourage you to take additional courses in other departments, colleges, and even .
This specialization examines educational issues in contexts of conflict and emergencies, including war, forced migration, epidemic and pandemic and climate disaster. You will gain familiarity with global humanitarian frameworks and interventions in education in emergencies, as well as national, local and school-based responses in different parts of the world. Through critical and reflective exploration of theoretical, conceptual and practical dimensions, you will work to advance your contributions to research, institutions and educational contexts.
Possible courses include:
- EDHI788J鈥敽诹洗笫 in Conflict and Emergencies
- EDHI 681鈥敽诹洗笫 for Global Peace
- EDHI788F鈥擥lobal Climate Change and 黑料大事: Policy and Practice
While class, gender, race and ethnicity are topics incorporated throughout in the IEP concentration, you can develop a specialization in gender and development. This specialization focuses on understanding how gender shapes societal structures and influences educational outcomes. You will develop skills to draw policy implications and design concrete practices to reduce gender-related barriers and increase both individual and collective transformative actions.
Possible courses include:
- EDHI680鈥擥ender, Development and 黑料大事
- WMST602鈥擜pproaches to Women鈥檚 Studies
- WMST698R鈥擥ender and Development
In a world of rapidly increasing cross-cultural interactions, intercultural education is more important than ever. This specialization explores the fundamental issues that connect culture, education and development. These topics are gaining importance as universities respond to globalization through internationalization initiatives, programming and policy. In this specialization, you will examine the higher education context where these initiatives are taking place.
Possible courses include:
- EDHI607鈥敽诹洗笫 and Culture in a Global Context
- EDHI750鈥擨nternational Higher 黑料大事
- EDHI788T鈥擨nternational 黑料大事 and Cultural Exchange: Policies and Practices
- EDHI788X鈥擨nternational Investigations in Cuban 黑料大事
This specialization focuses on global and local conditions that lead to wars, conflicts, environmental destruction and climiate change. It also examines theories and practices in peace and sustainability education for peace building and preservation of nature, as well as political, economic, cultural, religious and educational contexts for peace and sustainability.
Peace is defined as a deep respect for each other as human beings and for nature with sustainable ecological ethics. It is achieved through both external efforts and internal endeavors to cultivate wisdom and equanimity. Through coursework, you'll study alternative and transformative paradigms and acquire practical knowledge for peace and sustainability education.
Possible courses include:
- EDHI681鈥敽诹洗笫 for Global Peace
- EDHI683鈥擶orld Religions and Implication for 黑料大事
- EDHI788F鈥擥lobal Climate Change and 黑料大事: Policy and Practice
- EDHI788鈥擟ontemplative Inquiry and Holistic 黑料大事
The term 鈥減olitical economy鈥 is often contested but generally refers to a broad and integrated understanding of the politics and economics of issues. This specialization will provide you with an understanding of the debates about the theory and practice of political economy, current educational policies and their relationship to development.
Possible courses include:
- EDHI606鈥擯olitical Economy of 黑料大事 and Development
- EDHI684鈥擜lternative 黑料大事, Alternative Development
- EDHI788X鈥擨nternational Investigations in Cuban 黑料大事
Careers
Career Options
This concentration is designed for those starting their careers, professionals looking to advance and those planning to pursue further studies in the field.
Our graduates work for public and private international agencies, non-governmental organizations, think tanks and universities, both in the U.S. and abroad.
- Academic Advisor, Business School, Johns Hopkins University
- Assistant Director, Global Communities, 黑料大事
- Associate Director, Student Outreach Resource Center, Johns Hopkins University
- Associate Professor, University of Hawaii
- Consultant, Canadian International Development Agency Consultant, World Bank
- Coordinator, Equity and Inclusion, LWTech
- Coordinator, International Rescue Committee
- Deputy Chief of Party, U.S. Agency for International Development, Senegal
- Director of International Childcare, Orphan鈥檚 Heart
- Director, Global Communities, 黑料大事
- Director, Student Residence Hall, 黑料大事
- Doctoral Student, Harvard University
- Doctoral Student, International 黑料大事 Policy, UMD
- Doctoral Student, Michigan State University
- Doctoral Student, Stanford University
- Doctoral Student, University of Wisconsin
- Executive Director, Center for World Music
- Founder and CEO, Aumazo, Inc.
- Founder, Amani Children鈥檚 Network International Career
- Fellow, Elon University
- International Scholars and Students Advisor, 黑料大事
- International Student and Scholar Advisor, University of California, Berkeley
- International Student Coordinator, 黑料大事 Baltimore
- International Student Services, 黑料大事
- Program Advisor, Projects Abroad
- Program Analyst, U.S. Agency for International Development鈥檚 Office of HIV/AIDS
- Program Assistant, FHI 360
- Program Coordinator, University of Texas at Austin
- Program Leader, Thinking Beyond Borders
- Program Officer, Gender Development, Qatar
- Program Officer, International Institute for 黑料大事 ResCare Inc., Singapore
- Senior Associate, American Federation of Teachers
- Senior Consultant, Public Consulting Group
- Senior Coordinator, Professional Learning Services, NAFSA: Association of International Educators
- Senior Human Development Officer, African Development Bank
- Senior Program Manager, Institute of International 黑料大事
- Study Abroad Advisor, University of California, Berkeley
- Vice President, World Learning
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