Anyone know anything about Ed Policy?!

[Psycherd12]

Hey everyone--

Quick question- for those familiar with Ed Policy, can you tell me more about it? I'm specifically wondering what a) people tend to do with their degrees and b ) if the job outlook & pay is good. Up until recently I was sure I'd go into Student Affairs, but I've been thinking more about Ed Policy. I've been interested in law and politics for quite some time, but always felt a little more passionately about education. I guess I never really knew there was a way to combine them! Which brings me to Ed Policy. I am specifically interested in college affordability for low-income students, and how different policies affect them directly. I know that's really broad, but that's what I'm thinking as of now! I'm not really shooting for a job in academia as I know the market is rough. I see myself as doing more research work, while maybe also admin at a college....?

Also, in case people are wondering more about myself: am graduating this May with a master's degree in counseling and personnel psychology with a focus on higher education. In the 1.5 years I've done a summer research fellowship; I've been a GRA at a large Medical School doing some higher ed research; and I'm also finishing up my 700-hour practicum at a small university's career development center. 

[ZeChocMoose]

On 3/7/2016 at 3:02 PM, Psycherd12 said:

Hey everyone--

Quick question- for those familiar with Ed Policy, can you tell me more about it? I'm specifically wondering what a) people tend to do with their degrees and b ) if the job outlook & pay is good. Up until recently I was sure I'd go into Student Affairs, but I've been thinking more about Ed Policy. I've been interested in law and politics for quite some time, but always felt a little more passionately about education. I guess I never really knew there was a way to combine them! Which brings me to Ed Policy. I am specifically interested in college affordability for low-income students, and how different policies affect them directly. I know that's really broad, but that's what I'm thinking as of now! I'm not really shooting for a job in academia as I know the market is rough. I see myself as doing more research work, while maybe also admin at a college....?

Also, in case people are wondering more about myself: am graduating this May with a master's degree in counseling and personnel psychology with a focus on higher education. In the 1.5 years I've done a summer research fellowship; I've been a GRA at a large Medical School doing some higher ed research; and I'm also finishing up my 700-hour practicum at a small university's career development center. 

All the Ed Policy programs that I am familiar with are K-12 focused.  I am not sure if there are any Ed Policy programs that also include higher ed - usually those are in higher ed programs (which are different from student affairs programs in case you are not aware).  If you wanted to pursue Ed Policy, I think you would have to broaden your research interests to consider low-income students and their educational attainment starting at least in secondary school systems.

College affordability is a fairly hot topic at the moment and can be pursued in a couple different disciplines assuming you'll want to focus on building your research skills.  Have you looked at economics, sociology, public policy, or political science programs? There is now a bunch of cross over with different disciplines pursuing educational topics and some of those fields have better employment prospects with a MA in the discipline.  And if you are going to get another master's, it might make more sense to get one outside of education then get two different education master's as the ROI isn't going to be particularly great for the second master's in education.

[hesadork]

To expand on the prior post: some graduate schools of public administration/affairs/policy (as opposed to graduate schools of education) also offer specializations in ed policy. And some ed policy programs are offered jointly between the policy school and the ed school.

Just as one example, George Washington offers both a doctorate (PhD) in education policy through its School of Public Policy & Public Administration as well as doctorate (EdD) in education policy through its School of Education & Human Development. As I understand it, the two schools have very different cultures and the two programs operate quite separately. 

[MAC2809]

Hello,

 

I am doing a ME.d in Higher Ed Admin and Policy. At the masters level, there isn't much difference. At the doctorate level you are trained at a much greater depth in research than in say a Ed.D. This allows you to work for think tanks and nonprofits as a researcher (Institute of Higher Edu Policy.) In addition, you can try your hand at some policy work with your state legislator or with a member of congress. However you would have to be an unpaid intern and get your foot in the door.

 

Good luck on your endeavor. 

[Psycherd12]

7 hours ago, MAC2809 said:

Hello,

 

I am doing a ME.d in Higher Ed Admin and Policy. At the masters level, there isn't much difference. At the doctorate level you are trained at a much greater depth in research than in say a Ed.D. This allows you to work for think tanks and nonprofits as a researcher (Institute of Higher Edu Policy.) In addition, you can try your hand at some policy work with your state legislator or with a member of congress. However you would have to be an unpaid intern and get your foot in the door.

 

Good luck on your endeavor. 

I think this is what I'm realizing I really want to do. I've been looking for the "perfect" or best way to combine my passions for politics, law and psychology/education & this sounds like a great way to do it. Do you know anything about the job outlook for PhDs in this field? I assume I'd have to move to a city such as DC in order to find better job prospects. 

[KaySsaem]

On 3/14/2016 at 6:30 AM, ZeChocMoose said:

All the Ed Policy programs that I am familiar with are K-12 focused.  I am not sure if there are any Ed Policy programs that also include higher ed - usually those are in higher ed programs (which are different from student affairs programs in case you are not aware).  If you wanted to pursue Ed Policy, I think you would have to broaden your research interests to consider low-income students and their educational attainment starting at least in secondary school systems.

College affordability is a fairly hot topic at the moment and can be pursued in a couple different disciplines assuming you'll want to focus on building your research skills.  Have you looked at economics, sociology, public policy, or political science programs? There is now a bunch of cross over with different disciplines pursuing educational topics and some of those fields have better employment prospects with a MA in the discipline.  And if you are going to get another master's, it might make more sense to get one outside of education then get two different education master's as the ROI isn't going to be particularly great for the second master's in education.

While many Ed Policy programs do have a K-12 focus, there are at least some that don't. The MPP from Vanderbilt Peabody, for example, has three concentrations one can choose from: K-12, Higher Ed and Quantitative Methods.

[nm16]

^ echo that. But just a small note: I am familiar with the Peabody program(s), and they are much better supplied on the k-12 end than on the higher ed end of the spectrum.

If you want to go into politics, an MPP/JD might be something worth looking into. That way, you have the language for both education and law/politics.