Launch a management career at the intersection of education, development, and international exchange.
Our joint MPA/MA in International Education Management is specifically designed to give you real-world experience before you graduate, culminating in a semesterlong practicum working for an international education and/or development organization.
|
Start Term |
Credits |
Duration |
In-Person |
Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall or Spring | 60 | 4 semesters | Monterey, California | Live and Asynchronous |
Your MPA courses are available in person and online. You may start and complete your entire degree program remotely—please note that many of your MPA courses are live (synchronous) so you will have to keep time zones in mind. The faculty, curriculum, and per-credit cost are the same for both formats so you will have the flexibility to take MPA courses online or in person, or easily switch between the two experiences as your personal and professional needs allow.
Your IEM courses are currently only available online asynchronous (no required live class meeting) through our online IEM degree.
My name is Miranda Meyer, and I’m a dual degree international education management, and public administration student. I did my independent study in Managua, Nicaragua, and we were working on a monitoring and evaluation for the Rachel and Jackie Foundation for their teacher training program. It works to provide access quality and relevance to education for people in rural Nicaragua.
So I was able to go down in January for ten days and work with people on the ground about what the monitoring and evaluation program would look like and the whole plan. So I worked with the onsite director, I met with some teachers, I met with fellows, and fellows are locals that work in the area.
They’re not politically or religiously affiliated, so they’re able to really have the best interest of the community at heart. I was able to work on, I did surveys, I did questionnaires. We set up things like computer literacy programs for University professors in Managua to actually go out into the field and do these trainings.
And they themselves were, wow, this is a whole different Nicaragua that I have never gotten to see before. I think the thing that surprised me the most was that I was able to actually implement what I have been learning at school perfectly. The most challenging part was trusting my own intuition and going down and feeling confident about what I was saying and, in a way, feeling pressure because they knew that I was this grad student.
Where as a lot of the fellows, for example, they’ve only received a second grade education or fourth grade education. So they looked to me like, she’s wise, she has all this schooling, where in reality I was actually learning more from them because they had all this experience that I didn’t have.
I like going into the communities, working with the fellows who are the leaders there and asking what do they need? What do they want from their community? And really pulling together resources from within the community to better themselves. So I will be working with Rachel and Jackie Foundation to go back to Nicaragua in June.
To continue working with the fellows on expanding and implementing this across Nicaragua. I think this is ideal, especially for someone who is in the international education management public administration field. Because it’s a perfect combination of nonprofit work, international work, and bridging the cultural divide of the cultural gaps.
If you’re interested in a management career at the intersection of education, development, and international exchange, you can earn both a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and a Master of Arts in International Education Management (IEM) in just four semesters. You’ll gain practical skills and tools while building in-depth management competencies for educational programs in a globalized world.
Your career and academic advising are integrated, ensuring you align your coursework with your career goals. Our experienced advisors will guide you from course registration to preparing for interviews, negotiating your employment offers, and managing your career.
Our large and influential alumni network spreads across the leading education and development organizations in California, Washington, D.C., and around the world. They are eager to help you prepare for your next steps.
Our graduates are often hired before they complete their program, leveraging real-world projects from their classes, internships, and practicum to showcase their relevant professional experience. They are thriving in careers at organizations like the United Nations, American Councils for International Education, and the International Rescue Committee.
One Year After Graduation
The Joint MPA/IEM degree provides a multidisciplinary approach to education within the international development context. The integrated curriculum helps you develop foundational and advanced skills in international education and development, communications, and language study. Students gain valuable work experience by completing a professional practicum.
To open up your global career opportunities you can take content courses in a second language and/or courses in intercultural competence.
See the curriculum for more details.
You will have access to faculty members from multiple degree programs who are experts in fields such as international enrollment, education development, and consulting. In addition to their academic roles, many are actively engaged in their respective professional fields.
Meet the MPA faculty and the IEM faculty.
Build valuable professional experience while earning your degree through our research centers, labs, and initiatives:
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) are encouraged to apply for the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, earning yourself a guaranteed scholarship.
You can integrate Peace Corps service into your degree through our Options for Peace Corps Service, earning yourself a 50 percent tuition scholarship for your final semester.
We offer a variety of resources to make your program more affordable including merit, need-based, partner, and external scholarships for both U.S. and international students. Your personal enrollment advisor is also available to help you think through financing this important investment in your career development.
Earning two master’s degrees in just four semesters represents a significant return on your investment, setting you up for a unique career trajectory.
Learn more about scholarships, financial aid, and tuition and fees.
We take a holistic approach when considering your application, looking at your academic background, international exposure, professional experience, and career goals. We welcome applicants with or without work experience, and our program has numerous opportunities for you to gain professional experience before you graduate. This approach aligns with the Institute’s core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
We do not require GRE or GMAT scores for our master’s programs but competitive scores may strengthen your application and positively influence scholarship decisions.
| by Mark Anderson
Vintage Foster, CEO of AMF Media Group, draws on his experience counseling companies and organizations on delicate and high-stakes situations for the class he’s been teaching at the Institute in strategic communications.
| by Kathryn Bailey
In the first trip of its kind since the pandemic, over 60 Institute students and alumni visited Washington, D.C. for Career Week, with a set of them also providing mentorship to 11 Middlebury undergraduates.
| by Madeleine Smith BA/MPA ’22
Joint BA/MPA graduate Madeleine Smith shares how collaboration among peers and faculty help her to create change in her role at the Mission Economic Development Agency.
