The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard school to award degrees to women. HGSE enrolls around 800 students between its master of education (Ed.M.) and three-year doctor of education leadership (Ed.L.D.) programs.
It is associated with the Harvard Education Publishing Group whose imprint is the Harvard Education Press and publishes the Harvard Educational Review.
Contents
History
In 1892, Harvard president Charles W. Eliot served as the chair of the Committee of Ten, a working group of educators charged with understanding the current state of preparation for students attending secondary education in public schools, and making recommendations for the future.
In addition, he appointed Paul Henry Hanus to begin the formal study of education as a discipline at Harvard. As a result, in 1906, education became a formal division within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the university.
This school was formally established in 1920, and in the next year, HGSE became the first school to grant a doctor of education (Ed.D.) degree. The EdD provided rigorous research training that equipped graduates with the knowledge and skills to have a broad impact in the worlds of policy and practice. The faculty has grown ever since.
In 1949, the Laboratory of Human Development (now the Human Development and Education Program) was established to examine the psychological development of children in their families and communities. Two years later, the Masters of Arts in Teaching degree was offered by HGSE, followed by the Administrative Career Program.
The school is run by Dean Nonie K. Lesaux.
Project Zero
Nelson Goodman founded Project Zero in 1967 to explore a basic research project in artistic cognition and artistic education. This project developed into a bigger scope ever since included being directed by Howard Gardner. Numerous research findings are converted into practice through modules, from thinking routines to learning rubrics that can be freely accessed.
Usable Knowledge
Originally developed by faculty members Kurt Fischer and Joe Blatt, the aim of Usable Knowledge is to be a resource for educators who hope to put HGSE research learnings into practice.
Academics
HGSE offers a master of education degree (EdM) with five programs and two doctoral degree programs, a doctor of philosophy in education (PhD) and a doctor of education leadership (EdLD). (The PhD program replaced the EdD program, which enrolled its final cohort of students in fall 2013.) In addition, in 2022, the school launched an online, two-year, part-time master's degree in education leadership.
Master's in Education
HGSE offers five full-time, one-year, on-campus master's programs:
Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship
Education Policy and Analysis
Human Development and Education
Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology
Teaching and Teacher Leadership
Students in the master's degree programs can also declare optional concentrations and pursue teacher, principal, counseling, or superintendent licensure pathways.
Institute for Management and Leadership in Education
The college also has the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE), which provides in-depth instruction on issues related to education.
Buildings
HGSE took possession of Longfellow Hall from Radcliffe College in 1962. The learning activities, along with the library and office were moved to Longfellow's basement. Larsen Hall was dedicated in 1963, completed in 1965, operating as the new classroom and research center of HGSE.
The Monroe C. Gutman Library is the school's primary library and one of its four main buildings.
Notable people
Current faculty members
Danielle Allen, joint appointment as Bryan Conant University Professor
Elizabeth Bonawitz, Professor of Education
David Deming (economist), joint appointment at HGSE
Sarah Dryden-Peterson, Professor of Education
Susan Dynarski, Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor of Education
Catherine Elgin, Professor of Education
Shawn Ginwright, Jerome T. Murphy Professor of the Practice
Paul L. Harris, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education
Nancy E. Hill, Charles Bigelow Professor of Education
Stephanie M. Jones, Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Early Childhood Development
Thomas Kane (economist), Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Economics
Nonie K. Lesaux, Dean of the Faculty of Education (2025-), Roy Edward Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development
Bridget Terry Long, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor,
Saris Professor of Education and Economics, Dean of the Faculty of Education (2018-2024)
Charles A. Nelson III, Professor of Education, joint appointment with Harvard Medical School
Past faculty members
Christopher Dede, Senior Research Fellow, formerly Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies
Howard Gardner, John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education
Carol Gilligan
Patricia Graham, professor of education
Robert Kegan William and Miriam Meehan Professor in Adult Learning and Professional Development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Emily Hargroves Fisher Professor of Education, renamed to the Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot Professor of Education since her retirement
Gerald S. Lesser, psychologist who played a major role in developing the educational programming included in Sesame Street.
Kathleen McCartney, former dean; Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Early Childhood Education; current president of Smith College
William G. Perry (psychologist)
James E. Ryan, former dean; Charles William Eliot Professor of Education; current president of the University of Virginia
Israel Scheffler
Catherine Snow, John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education
Charles V. Willie, Charles William Eliot Professor of Education, Emeritus
Alumni
Andrew McCollum, co-founder of Facebook; angel investor
James McGreevey, former New Jersey state governor
Martha Minow, dean, Harvard Law School
Dianne Morales (born 1967), non-profit executive and political candidate
Anne Sweeney, president, Disney-ABC Television Group
Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy
Deborah Bial, founder and president of the Posse Foundation
Denise Juneau, superintendent of Seattle Public Schools; former Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
Elizabeth Dole, former United States Senator from North Carolina and wife of Bob Dole
Geoffrey Canada, founder, Harlem Children's Zone
Guadalupe Guerrero, superintendent of Portland Public Schools
Jason Kamras, 2005 National Teacher of the Year and superintendent of Richmond Public Schools
Joanne V. Creighton, former president of Mount Holyoke College
Jodi Picoult, American author
Joseph Lekuton, Kenyan politician
Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator; first woman to receive an Ed.D. from HGSE