Master's in Ed without a bachelor's in Ed?

[Carmen san Diego]

In the education field, is it necessary or semi-required that applicants have a bachelor's degree in education? I don't know how common my situation is for other grad applicants. I have undergraduate majors in anthropology and art history, with some related education research work in anthropology. After college, I became an AmeriCorps VISTA at a large children's museum (well-respected in education) and became involved in their volunteer team and youth service award. Through my work there, I've become interested in the role of service and philanthropy in education, particularly service-learning and non-profits' capacity to sustain service-learning.

I don't know if my interests and work/community experience and vaguely related social science background are enough to get into an M.of Ed. program. For clarification, I have no interest in teaching, and I'm looking at programs that deal in community (non-school) education.

[PeterQuince]

In the education field, is it necessary or semi-required that applicants have a bachelor's degree in education? I don't know how common my situation is for other grad applicants. I have undergraduate majors in anthropology and art history, with some related education research work in anthropology. After college, I became an AmeriCorps VISTA at a large children's museum (well-respected in education) and became involved in their volunteer team and youth service award. Through my work there, I've become interested in the role of service and philanthropy in education, particularly service-learning and non-profits' capacity to sustain service-learning.

I don't know if my interests and work/community experience and vaguely related social science background are enough to get into an M.of Ed. program. For clarification, I have no interest in teaching, and I'm looking at programs that deal in community (non-school) education.

First, I am no expert, but I don't think that your education history (at least your major, anyway) will be a problem at all.

I work in education and many of the undergraduates who work with us and the young, fresh-out-of-college staff often go off to graduate school to earn masters degrees in education. I have worked with a number of young people who have been accepted to education masters programs (non-teaching) at Harvard GSE, Columbia's Teachers College, Boston College, University of Vermont, University of Rhode Island, Brown University, etc. without a major (or even substantial coursework) in education. What they did have, however, was a strong grounding in the social sciences and a lot of really relevant work experience.

Most MEd/EdM/MA in Ed/MSEd/etc. programs are fairly general in that they prepare graduates for a wide range of careers after completing the degree. There are institutions like Teachers College that seem to have as many distinct masters programs as Columbia has undergraduate majors (some exaggeration here), but they are not, typically, programs for specialists. You'll get some introduction to a core body of literature in your field area (with which you may or may not already be familiar). You will get a rudimentary grounding in a methodological approach to research, but generally in most programs this methodology work is designed to make you an effective consumer of research, rather than a researcher. Example: you will be able to identify the key journals, read up on a specific topic, prepare a memo for your supervisors suggesting that you start such-and-such initiative. Or you know how to identify best practices in your field and transfer that knowledge to others.

In light of that, it's always seemed (to me) that relevant work experience and a strong undergraduate background mattered more than what your major was for non-teaching education programs.

[aginath]

My exhusband had a B.A in Music Performance and wanted a Master's in Music Education. Without a background in education, he had to take a few extra courses that did not directly count towards his M.Ed., but it wasn't a problem and many programs/faculty have processes in place to account for this type of situation. As a result of the courses he had to take to "catch up" (so to speak), he was only 3 classes away from an M.Ed. in Curriculum. So, he spent an extra semester taking those courses and walked away with two Master's degrees.

[t_ruth]

It's not a problem that you don't have a degree in Education.

But, what is it that you eventually hope to do? I ask because informal education is a really up-and-coming topic right now for research and if you eventually want a PhD, you might want to just go straight to it instead of getting a Masters degree first.

[TESOLady]

Absolutely it's possible. I did it.

MAT programs are designed specifically for people who want teaching certificates and didn't get them as undergrads. But the M.S. program I went to also accepted people with no background in education.

[elbee4]

Many teachers I know don't have a BA in Ed. I am a teacher and now I have a M.Ed. but I got my BA in Anthropology. As long as you have a credential you didn't need to major in education to be a teacher, nor did you need to major in Education to apply for a Master's in Education. Many colleges and universities don't even have an ed major, just a minor.

[Yalzin]

It is entirely possible to get into a Masters of Education program without having any sort of BA in education.

I am one example, my wife, another.

For me:

BA in History at State University of New York, College at Potsdam. I was then accepted into the Master's in the Science of Teaching program at the same school for Secondary Social Studies Ed (to be accepted into the MST programs, you only need to have a degree which addresses the content area. History was one of hte many that addressed Social Studies). Finish the program, take the state teaching tests, get certified to teach.

My wife got a B.A. in Art History. Tried the MST Childhood education thing, it didn't work out, so she changed to Educational Technology (an MSEd degree) for non-state certification.

So yeah, entirely possible.

[disha]

I was toying with the exact same question around the same time, last year. I have a Bachelors & Masters in Management Studies with 2 yrs experience as a TA in college. Out of the 7 schools that I applied to, I was accepted at Boston College (which I shall be attending this fall) & Rutgers. So yes, as far as my experience goes, you can definitely apply (and get into) a Masters in Education without any coursework in the field.

What I would suggest is good a good set of resume, SOP & LORs.

Someone told me - the decision you make about your career at 17-20 isn't always going to be the one you have to be stuck with. People change & the college folks understand that.

Good luck!

[Ed_smith]

Great answers everyone!

According to me it is not necessary to be a BA in Ed to apply for Masters in Ed. I've seen many people who had Bachelors in other subjects with Masters in Ed and still teaching.So don't worry it doesn't matter!