Looking for a way into education

[youngroot]

Hi all,

I am a graduate of Ewha Women's Univesity in Seoul, and I did my undergraduate degree in International Studies. I have only set my goal in education in my last year of university, and I have no record of taking a class regarding education.

My primary goal is to study inter-cultural education, which could relate to my undergrad background, as well as my work experience of teaching at private institutions.

On the otherhand, some of my friends are telling me I should study communications for masters degree first(since it will be more relateable to my debating career as well as undergrad degree), get good GPA there, then so Ph.D in education in a school with a good name to make up for the late entry into the field of education.

This seems to make sense, but I'm worried whether it mighy even be feasible to get accepted into a Ph.D program in education without any background on education to that point. Anyone with a similar experience? And do you reckon my friend's advice is worth considering?

[Ed_Doc]

Hi all,

I am a graduate of Ewha Women's Univesity in Seoul, and I did my undergraduate degree in International Studies. I have only set my goal in education in my last year of university, and I have no record of taking a class regarding education.

My primary goal is to study inter-cultural education, which could relate to my undergrad background, as well as my work experience of teaching at private institutions.

On the otherhand, some of my friends are telling me I should study communications for masters degree first(since it will be more relateable to my debating career as well as undergrad degree), get good GPA there, then so Ph.D in education in a school with a good name to make up for the late entry into the field of education.

This seems to make sense, but I'm worried whether it mighy even be feasible to get accepted into a Ph.D program in education without any background on education to that point. Anyone with a similar experience? And do you reckon my friend's advice is worth considering?

If you've actually taught at private institutions, then not having taken pedagogy or education history courses at the undergraduate level shouldn't be such a big deal. A PhD is primarily a research degree, so it's more important to think about how you'll use your past experience as a teacher to inform your research agenda and questions.

Taking a MA in communication seems to be rather strange advice to me. A research-based MA (or EdM, or whatever that particular school offers) in your future field of research (it sounds like International Education) makes much more sense.

행운을 빌어요!

[youngroot]

thanks tut!

One of the reasons my friend keeps recommending comm is because of my debate background and the abundant opportunities of getting funding.. He thinks it will be much harder for me to get funding as an international student and if I can't afford to study in the States without scholarship I might as well aim for programs where my extracurricular experience is more appreciated.

[2400]

I think you could relate your background to International Education (IE programs often have international/intercultural communication as part of the coursework). I did an MA in International Education, and my classmates came from a range of backgrounds. A few had teaching experience and teaching degrees, but the majority came from backgrounds in International Relations, Political Science, History, Art, Anthroplogy, Area Studies, etc. etc.

I can see your friends point about getting funding. You could apply to a few different programs and just see where you get accepted and choose the offer with the best funding. Some schools websites will have brief profiles of current students. You can look at those to get an idea of the backgrounds of students who have been accepted. This could be a good way to identify schools that might be a good fit!

[youngroot]

I think you could relate your background to International Education (IE programs often have international/intercultural communication as part of the coursework). I did an MA in International Education, and my classmates came from a range of backgrounds. A few had teaching experience and teaching degrees, but the majority came from backgrounds in International Relations, Political Science, History, Art, Anthroplogy, Area Studies, etc. etc.

I can see your friends point about getting funding. You could apply to a few different programs and just see where you get accepted and choose the offer with the best funding. Some schools websites will have brief profiles of current students. You can look at those to get an idea of the backgrounds of students who have been accepted. This could be a good way to identify schools that might be a good fit!

Thanks for your advice 2400!

Do you mind sharing where you did your MA? How did you like the program? What are you [planning on] doing after finishing your masters program?

[2400]

Thanks for your advice 2400!

Do you mind sharing where you did your MA? How did you like the program? What are you [planning on] doing after finishing your masters program?

I sent you a private message...

Edited October 1, 2010 by 2400