HGSEstudent

I am someone in the Higher Ed program at Harvard, and of our cohort of 40, only 2 do not have internships. Both of these students made the choice not to have an internship. The biggest deciding factor for me was that I wanted to graduate with the least amount of debt. I also got into Vandy with a 2/3 scholarship, but after factoring in the opportunity cost of being out of work for an additional year, it was far cheaper for me to attend HGSE. Best of luck this application season!

When I applied I answered honestly. It really won't make a difference to your application, and it helps them out. Why not?

Hi hokiestar. I am currently in the higher ed program at HGSE, and I can tell you a little about how it works for Harvard employees. In our cohort, all of our part time people are also employees at Harvard, and they can use TAP to pay for courses. There are about five of them in a cohort of 40. I don't know if it helps or hurts to be an employee, but it certainly is possible! There are two things that I highly recommend if you are interested in the program. First, take some courses through TAP before you apply in order to get to know professors and the program. Second, talk to Judy, the Director of the program. A few Harvard employees interested in the program sat in on some of our courses and talked to current students, and they arranged this through Judy. Best of luck!

Absolutely. In our orientation, they told us that very few students move straight from a master's to an EdD or PhD program. I don't know about your specific situation, but I would say that this isn't a great field to get into if you are pursuing an academic position at a research heavy institution. When you graduate with a PhD or EdD in higher ed, you will also be competing against people with sociology, psychology, history, and statistics PhDs. If there isn't a career you would be interested in with just a master's, I would think hard before accepting a position in a program.

I agree with Michigan girl on going on working before going for the PhD. Not only because you are more likely to be accepted, but as she said, it goes a long way towards shaping your research interests. However, I disagree with her statement that Harvard is a "regional" name. One of the greatest benefits of attending their program is how well connected you are to alumni. There are alumni in top positions in every major institution in the United States, and all over the world. Additionally, the Harvard degree actually becomes MORE valuable the farther away from Boston you are.

This question is used by the admissions office to see the schools Harvard competes with. It is for internal use only, and it will not effect your chances of being admitted at all. You put way more thought into your app than they spend on it. Trust me.