Educational Leadership & Higher Education (ELHE)

Fulfilling our social justice mission, our Educational Leadership and Higher Education programs develop agents of cultural change—reflective practitioners committed to making schools more equitable.

Programs

Programs

14 Programs match your criteria

Curriculum & Instruction, Ph.D.

Designed to develop professionals who have the knowledge, intellectual disposition, professional skills, ethical sensibilities, and leadership potential to make a difference in the lives of all schoolchildren.

In-person

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Actively addresses social inequities and contributes to creating a more just society.
  • Multiple opportunities to engage in hands-on curriculum and praxis-focused research.
  • Choice of specialization: 
    • Educational Leadership, Policy & Educational Change
    • Language, Literacy, & Culture
    • Methods and Modes of Inquiry in Curriculum & Instruction 
    • Science, Mathematics, and Technology
    • Teaching, Curriculum, and the Politics of Schooling 

Careers

  • Researcher
  • School Principal
  • Teacher Leadership
  • Professor
  • Director of Curriculum
  • Superintendent

Child Policy and Leadership Certificate

Develop a deep understanding of the science of child development and the policies and systems that intersect with children, families, and communities.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Complete a three-course certificate in Child Policy and Leadership, including courses in the science of child development; program and policy development; and leadership, advocacy, and partnerships.
  • Participate in monthly seminars, targeting key issues related to child and family research, practice, policy, advocacy, and leadership over the course of three semesters. 
  • Complete a three-month, paid summer internship in a local, national, or international setting to solidify skills in policy development and analysis, leadership, advocacy, or research translation in the child policy field.
  • Translate learning from the internship and certificate courses by completing a capstone project, such as a policy brief, academic paper, or policy analysis.

 

Educational Leadership & Policy, M.Ed.

Assume a leadership role in educational systems serving students, families, and communities.

Online Hybrid

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Draw on social-justice values and leadership strategies to boldly improve equitable opportunities for traditionally marginalized students.
  • Tailor your education and concentrate in Educational Policy Development or Social Justice Leadership.
  • Licensure track leading to school principal licensure.

 

 

 

Careers

  • School Principal
  • Researcher
  • Dean of Students
  • Superintendent
  • School Vice Principal

Educational Leadership, Ed.D.

Designed for superintendents, this program is anchored in values of social justice, community, and school reform and results in superintendent licensure.

In-person

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Cohort model centered on collaborative learning, support, and creating a network of district-level leaders throughout Massachusetts.
  • Member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate.
  • Prepares future school leaders for public, Catholic, charter, and independent schools.

 

 

 

 

Careers

  • Superintendent
  • School Leader
  • School Administrator
  • Vice Superintendent
  • Deputy Superintendent

Educational Policy Development Certificate

Develop the skills to use policy creatively and effectively to advance organizational goals and educational change. 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Learn how policies shape the cultural norms and day-to-day practices at both a micro level and a macro level. 
  • Program utilizes a lens of social justice and equity as a basis throughout the curriculum.

 

 

Educational Leadership & Policy specialization, Curriculum & Instruction, Ph.D.

Designed to develop professionals who have the knowledge, intellectual disposition, professional skills, ethical sensibilities, and leadership potential to make a difference in the lives of all school children. 

In-person

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Actively addresses social inequities and contributes to creating a more just society.
  • Multiple opportunities to engage in hands-on curriculum and praxis-focused research.
  • This specialization focuses on how educational leaders engage in policy and practice to support education reform and instructional improvement at the school, district, state, and federal levels.

Careers

  • Researcher
  • School Principal
  • Teacher Leadership
  • Professor
  • Director of Curriculum
  • Superintendent

Higher Education, Executive Ed.D.

Develop the skills, mindsets, and technical knowledge to match the changing pace of higher education in this program designed for experienced professionals. 

Online

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Online program with yearly week-long summer residencies, allowing candidates to maintain their career while working towards a doctorate.
  • Catholic Higher Education concentration available. 
  • Program culminates in a practice-based capstone project.

Careers

  • Dean of Students
  • Vice President for Enrollment
  • Chief Diversity Officer
  • Director of Global Initiatives
  • Vice President of Advancement

Higher Education, M.A.

Develop expertise in student affairs, administration, international higher education or Catholic universities in one of the first higher education graduate programs in the country.

In-person Fifth Year Pathway

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

  • Choose one of four concentrations: 
    • Administration
    • Student Affairs
    • International Perspectives
    • Spirituality, Faith, and Formation.
  • Develop expertise in critical issues facing higher education.
  • Graduate assistantships are integral to the program as they provide valuable professional experience while reducing the financial burden on students.

Careers

  • College Student Affairs
  • College Admissions
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Higher Education Leadership
  • Institutional Advancement
  • International Programs

Higher Education, M.A. & Business Administration, M.B.A.

Emerge from this dual degree program ready to share your skills with universities and policy-making organizations in financial management, resource planning, and technology management.

 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Field experiences allows students to apply their skills in educational management. 
  • Coursework happens concurrently so students can maximize the connection between the two programs. 

Careers

  • Director of Finance and Administration
  • University Controller
  • Vice Provost of Budget and Planning
  • Dean of Administration and Resource Management
  • Chief Information and Technology Officer

Higher Education, Ph.D.

Prepare for a career in teaching or research in the field of higher education with a focus on equity and social justice.

In-person

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Coursework engages with important issues facing higher education from a multi-disciplinary perspective (history, sociology, philosophy, psychology, economic and political science).
  • Boston College's Center for International Higher Education provides a significant global focus to the Higher Education program. 

Careers

  • College President
  • Education Attorney
  • Vice President of Enrollment Management
  • Professor
  • Dean of Colleges

International Higher Education Certificate

Deepen your understanding of global higher education models and critical issues impacting higher education around the world.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Offered through BC's renowned Center for International Higher Education.

International Higher Education with Universidad de Guadalajara, M.A.

The Dual Degree M.A. in International Higher Education offers bilingual students (Spanish/English) the opportunity to combine courses offered as part of the Boston College M.A. in Higher Education with courses offered as part of the M.A. in International Higher Education at the Universidad de Guadalajara (UdG) in Mexico.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Students in the dual degree program must complete one semester of coursework in-person at the Boston College campus, in addition to one year of coursework in-person at the University of Guadalajara. 
  • Students must be bilingual (English/Spanish) in order to apply.

Careers

  • International Services Specialist
  • Study Abroad Advisor
  • Admission Counselor
  • International Educational Policy Analyst

Law, J.D. & Education, M.A. or M.Ed.

Use legal and educational expertise to become an advocate for social justice and promote quality education for all.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

 

  • Access to field experiences that incorporates educational advocacy.
  • Option to pursue one of three education master's programs: Higher Education, Educational Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction.

Careers

  • Education Law and Civil Litigation
  • State and Federal Court Clerks
  • Researchers
  • Policy Analyst
  • Board of Directors (ie. local school districts, community colleges etc.)

Social Justice Leadership Certificate

Boldly advance equity in schools and enact a systemic response to confront the barriers students face. 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Students develop and enact their own theory of change to apply in practice.
  • A Reflection on Leadership course prepares students for values-based school leadership where a respect for diversity is cultivated throughout their organization.

 

 

Ed.D. vs Ph.D.

Educational Leadership

Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

Professional School Administrator Program (PSAP)

For practicing school and district-level leaders interested in socially just leadership and system-level change.

  • 32-month, flexible program with twice monthly in-person courses and week-long summer residence
  • Close-knit, 25 member cohort
  • Individual and group dissertation-in-practice

Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction

Educational Leadership and Policy Specialization

For those interested in pursuing academic or research careers focused on K-12 educational leadership, organizations, and policy.

  • 4-5 years to complete (full- or part-time)
  • 100% in-person
  • Small cohort (2 members per year)
  • Independent, research-based dissertation

Higher Education

Ed.D. in Higher Education

For mid-career practitioners interested in cultivating agile and socially just leadership.

  • A part-time program taking 3 years to complete
  • 100% online with 1-week summer residencies
  • Around 15 members in each cohort
  • Executive Doctorate Dossier
     

Ph.D. in Higher Education

For research-focused training on social justice issues in higher education.

  • A full-time program taking 4-5 years to complete (part-time option available)
  • In-person
  • Small cohort (~3 members per year)
  • Independent research-based Dissertation

Faculty

Internationally recognized faculty integrate interdisciplinary theory with the most current evidence-based practices.

Faculty

Photo of Ana M. Martínez Alemán
617-552-1760
Campion 101
Photo of Heather Rowan-Kenyon

Heather Rowan-Kenyon

Department Chair, Educational Leadership & Higher Education

617-552-4797
Campion 227
Photo of Rebecca Lowenhaupt
617-552-0216
Campion 205A
Photo of Martin Scanlan

Martin Scanlan

Program Director, Educational Leadership and Policy, M.Ed.

608-358-3650
Campion 205B
Photo of Gerardo L. Blanco

Gerardo L. Blanco

Academic Director, Center for International Higher Education

617-552-4236
Campion 207B
Photo of Angela Boatman

Angela Boatman

Associate Professor

617-552-8128
Campion 222
Photo of Vincent Cho

Vincent Cho

Program Director, Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) / Professional School Administrator Program (PSAP)

617-552-3574
Campion 220
Photo of Lauri Johnson

Lauri Johnson

Associate Professor

617-552-1039
Campion 309C
Photo of Andrés Castro Samayoa

Andrés Castro Samayoa

Program Director, Higher Education, Ph.D.

617-552-1699
Campion 223
Photo of Earl Edwards

Earl J. Edwards

Assistant Professor

617-552-4185
Campion 205C
Photo of Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller

Assistant Professor

617-552-3732
Campion 216
Photo of Raquel Muñiz

Raquel Muñiz

Associate Professor

617-552-2401
Campion 226
Photo of Chris Glass

Chris R. Glass

Program Director, Higher Education, Ed.D.

617-552-4285
Campion Hall
Photo of Rebecca Schendel

Rebecca Schendel

Managing Director of the Center for International Higher Education

617-552-1269
Campion 207C
Photo of Michael James
617-552-0763
Campion 229
Photo of Laura A. De Veau

Laura De Veau

Visiting Assistant Professor

Campion 225

Faculty Accepting Doctoral Students

Photo of Gerardo L. Blanco

Gerardo L. Blanco

Academic Director, Center for International Higher Education

617-552-4236
Campion 207B
Photo of Angela Boatman

Angela Boatman

Associate Professor

617-552-8128
Campion 222
Photo of Andrés Castro Samayoa

Andrés Castro Samayoa

Program Director, Higher Education, Ph.D.

617-552-1699
Campion 223
Photo of Vincent Cho

Vincent Cho

Program Director, Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) / Professional School Administrator Program (PSAP)

617-552-3574
Campion 220
Photo of Earl Edwards

Earl J. Edwards

Assistant Professor

617-552-4185
Campion 205C
Photo of Lauri Johnson

Lauri Johnson

Associate Professor

617-552-1039
Campion 309C
Photo of Rebecca Lowenhaupt
617-552-0216
Campion 205A
Photo of Ana M. Martínez Alemán
617-552-1760
Campion 101
Photo of Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller

Assistant Professor

617-552-3732
Campion 216
Photo of Raquel Muñiz

Raquel Muñiz

Associate Professor

617-552-2401
Campion 226
Photo of Heather Rowan-Kenyon

Heather Rowan-Kenyon

Department Chair, Educational Leadership & Higher Education

617-552-4797
Campion 227
Photo of Martin Scanlan

Martin Scanlan

Program Director, Educational Leadership and Policy, M.Ed.

608-358-3650
Campion 205B

Retired Faculty

Photo of Diana Pullin

Diana Pullin

Professor Emerita

Photo of Hans de Wit

Hans de Wit

Emeritus Professor of the Practice; Distinguished Fellow, Center for International Higher Education

Photo of Philip G. Altbach

Philip Altbach

Professor Emeritus, Center for International Higher Education


ELHE on the Road

Our faculty and community take research to the next level by actively engaging in committees, contributing to groundbreaking research and innovation, and delivering impactful presentations at conferences around the world. Here are some examples of our faculty and graduate students in action this year.

Research

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Total results: 13

Local and Global Public Goods: A Ten Nation Study

While it is widely agreed that higher education contributes to the public dimensions of society, the public benefits of higher education are untheorized, poorly defined and not readily measured. As a result, higher education tends to be undervalued and under-financed. This project takes a comparative approach to considering this tension, using contrasting case studies from ten countries around the world. The project is coordinated by colleagues at the University of Oxford (UK). The Center for International Higher Education is responsible for conducting the US case study and for contributing to the overall comparative analysis.

Project Details

School Counselors and College Counseling During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The onset of COVID-19 brought myriad challenges to educational systems and the students they serve. Our study set out to explore specifically how the pandemic influenced students’ college-going processes. Using the conceptual model of student college choice by Perna (2006) and the school counseling equity framework by Savitz-Romer and Nicola (2021), we examined students’ college-going processes through the perspectives of school counselors, who are professionals uniquely positioned to speak to students’ college-planning behaviors and the institutional changes that directly affect students. Findings suggest that students’ college-going and planning was directly compromised by challenges from the pandemic and indirectly by changes in their college access support landscape.

Project Details

School Counseling in the Time of COVID

Motivated by growing concerns about inadequate support for students' mental health and postsecondary transitions due to challenges brought on during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study captures school counselors' experiences during the crisis, including what they are learning about students' needs and the opportunities and constraints facing their practice.

Project Details

Authorization for Alternative Educational Credentials: Evidence from Five States

While career and technical schools have offered short-term credential programs for more than a century, a proliferation of new digital badges, bootcamps, and other so-called micro-credentials have emerged in the past decade. A 2021 Credential Engine report identified approximately 550,000 short-term credentials offered by non-academic organizations. These new programs target adults seeking a streamlined path to in-demand jobs. How states envision their regulatory role in this authorization space remains largely understudied. Using a qualitative, multiple-case design, we provide an overview of how California, Georgia, Illinois, New York, and Washington regulate these entities. Our study combines analysis of key legislative and policy documents and semistructured interviews with 22 leaders from 14 distinct agencies/organizations, including representatives from authorization agencies, other public higher education system offices, and private organizations (e.g., boot camp providers, a digital badge platform provider).

Project Details

Catholic Universities: Identity and internationalization

Identity and Internationalization in Catholic Universities explored the relationship between Catholic identity, mission, and internationalization in Catholic universities of different types and located in different contexts. This project included sixteen case studies from Latin America, the United States, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. The resulting book also included chapters on regional perspectives on Catholic higher education, as well as more specifically Jesuit higher education, the global network of La Salle universities, and internationalization in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific region, and Europe.

Project Details

Improving Measures of Financial Literacy, Wellness, and Attitudes among College Students

Current measures of financial/loan literacy, financial attitudes, and financial well-being are inadequate. Using rigorous psychometric methodology, we will develop a series of survey measures for various aspects of the NEFE Personal Finance Ecosystem. These measures will capture the nuance and complexity of these constructs for prospective/current undergraduate and graduate students. These measures could be used in national cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys, evaluation studies of financial well-being interventions, and smaller scale research studies.

Project Details

Governance and Systems Level Change in Catholic Schools

Catholic schools in the U.S. are going through a period of crisis and transformation. Many people are reconsidering the ways that Catholic elementary schools are organized or governed. There have been serious questions raised in the field about the effectiveness of the parish-based model that has traditionally been employed to govern local Catholic elementary schools. This study is designed to investigate how systems level educational change works within the Catholic sector, using governance as a primary lens for our organizational analyses.

Project Details

The Global Phenomenon of Family-Owned or Managed Universities

This project identified family-owned or managed higher education institutions on all continents ranging from well-regarded comprehensive universities and top-level specialized institutions to marginal schools and analyzed their unique characteristics, as well as their role in the global higher education landscape.

Project Details

The Future of Internationalization Partnership

This multi-year, mixed-methods research project funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada will identify innovative practices in response to the ongoing crisis and expand a network of international scholars and practitioners dedicated to exploring future possibilities for sustainable, ethical and equitable internationalization.

Project Details

Climate for Success

This project follows 135 Black and Latinx adults who participated as youth in a NASA-sponsored program, the Institute for Climate and Planets. Housed at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, ICP involved students and high school teachers in the Goddard scientists' research teams.

Project Details

Careers

Fulfilling our social justice mission, our programs develop agents of cultural change—reflective practitioners committed to making schools more equitable.

Harvard Unversity, Dean of Students

University of Houston, Director of Assessment and Planning

Salve Regina University, President

uAspire, Senior Director of Program Design

Kyung Hee University, Policy Analyst

University of Miami, Director of Enrollment Marketing and Operations

University of Connecticut, Assistant Professor

Merrimack College, Associate Professor

Elms College, President

News

    ELHE faculty

    Apply a Global Lens to Higher Ed

    The 14-course Executive Ed.D. in Higher Education features faculty and guest lecturers from around the world, online coursework integrated with summer residences in Boston and Dublin. 

    Learn More

    Department

    ELHE

    Contact

      gsoe@bc.edu
      617-552-4214

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