Master of Science in Education Policy

At the Warner School of Education, our master’s degree in education policy will help you serve as a catalyst for change, preparing you to be successful in influencing and leading policy creation and implementation across diverse educational settings.Warner’s innovative education policy program provides students the opportunity to examine and understand contemporary policy issues impacting the educational spectrum. It delivers students the in-depth knowledge and strategic skills and tools to design, implement, and evaluate educational policies at the local, state, federal, and even international levels. Students learn to apply a variety of conceptual, theoretical, and analytic frameworks - including ones from sociology, politics, economics, finance, and law – and how they can impact education policy.This ensures our graduates are well prepared to apply their deep and diverse understanding, knowledge, and skills in educational policy to support any number of research, governmental, non-profit, community, school district, and higher education organizations.Warner’s 30-credit master’s in education policy provides an interdisciplinary program that equips students with the knowledge and tools to influence, design, implement, andor evaluate local, state, national, andor international policies. Coursework for the master’s degree in education policy.Career opportunitiesWarner’s master’s degree in education policy prepares students for entry- and mid-level positions as policy analysts, research analysts, policy researchers, program analysts, policyprogram evaluators, policy advocates, and institutional researchers in a variety of institutions – including policy, advocacy, research, governmental, non-profit, consulting, and educational organizations in the United States and abroad.The program also prepares students to pursue a doctoral degree in education policy, public policy, law, or a related field.

Specific criteria for admission include:Applicants must have received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or equivalent by the time they enter the program at Warner, with the exception of those applying to early admission programs.Applicants must have the ability to do graduate work at the University of Rochester, as demonstrated by their past academic performance and their academic writing skills.Applicants must demonstrate sufficient communication and interpersonal skills to perform well in their chosen career in education.Applicants’ career goals, professional interests, academic background, attitudes, and philosophy must be consistent with the programs offered by the Warner School and its stated mission.Additional criteria may be established for individual programs.Please scan and upload your transcripts to the online application. Official transcripts of all previous post-secondary education are required if admitted to the program.Letters of recommendation from members of the academic community and/or workplace professionals who know your qualifications for graduate study are required. Preferably, at least one recommendation should be from a former professor. At least two letters are required for master’s applicants and three for doctoral applicants. Letters of recommendation are managed on the online application.A statement of purpose describing your academic or professional background and your interest in pursuing graduate study at Warner is required. The statement of purpose is generally between two and four pages, double-spaced. You can upload a file or cut and paste into the online application.Current resume or curriculum vitae should be uploaded to the online application.A writing sample. Upload your writing sample with your application. This must be written in English and may be a term paper from your earlier academic work, or a five- or six-page commentary on an issue in education that you have written for this purpose only. The paper should support an academic argument, reference citations, and use a research style sheet