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Studying education: international postgraduate opportunities
The number of students travelling away from their home country for a postgraduate masters or research degree, such as a PhD, continues to increase on a yearly basis. Latest figures released by UNESCO this month indicate that the figure for all students has now reached 2.5 million students, with close to a third of this number studying postgraduate programmes. Though the fields of business and engineering dominates the subject areas students are currently pursuing, an increasing number are looking to more specialised fields for their advanced degrees. One of the beneficiaries of this trend is the study of education and related subjects.
Don Martin, Associate Dean for Enrolment & Student Services at Teachers College, Columbia University, one of the US’s most famous names in the field of education sees the interest in studying education, particularly from overseas students, steadily rising. “We are certainly seeing the results from our performance in international rankings, a stronger marketing campaign and the use of an video for prospective international students. Our applications are up.” With UNESCO reporting 11% of all students in the US and Australia graduating in education, the size of the market is certainly expanding. At Teachers College, the range of students reading postgraduate programmes is impressive, but according to Martin, they have one characteristic in common, “We have approximately 65 academic programmes at TC, leading to either a masters or doctoral degree. Our student body is quite diverse representing 85 countries – 65% are women, about 70% commute and a large percentage are part-time. But the overwhelming majority of our students are interested in education, and in bettering the educational system both in the US and abroad.”
Commonly perceived as the rather practically orientated study of teacher training, the area of postgraduate education is far more complex than just that one discipline. With increasing pressures on all educational institutions to manage resources and reform and implement new teaching methods and support all learners, postgraduate academic programmes cater to develop expertise across the entire range of contemporary education issues. The diversity present in teaching and education programmes available worldwide at the postgraduate level is therefore impressive. Prestigious institutions in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the UK and the USA all offer students the opportunity to read programmes in the fields of counselling, educational psychology, early childhood education, knowledge management, language education, school leadership and science education to name but a few areas of specialisation.
Alejandra Candia from Buenos Aires graduated from the masters programme at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York. Teachers College offers an enormous range of subject areas from the specific, such as teaching anthropology or school administration to the more general, such as educational leadership. Candia found the experience truly beneficial, “I chose to study abroad because the academic area I was interested in was not available in Argentina and because I felt it was important to get an international perspective. I had a great time on my degree studying at such a high level with excellent academic members of staff and I also thoroughly enjoyed living in New York City.” Candia’s experience matches that of many who choose to leave their home country for a graduate qualification. In an increasingly global labour market, the need to demonstrate international experience and advanced academic skills motivates many students to pursue a degree overseas.
The UK also offers many international students the opportunity to develop their professional and academic careers through postgraduate programmes. The Institute of Education, founded in 1902 and one of the constituent colleges of the University of London, has been at the forefront of research and teaching in the field of education for over one hundred years. As the largest graduate school in all of the UK dedicated to education studies and located in the heart of London the Institute, as it is known, is well regarded for both the postgraduate programmes it offers teachers, administrators and policy makers alike and the research it contributes to the field. With close to 30% of it’s 1,763 students coming from outside of the UK, the Institute is particularly global and offers an international and comparative approach to its subject offerings. George Kiloh, Academic Registrar at the Institute indicates that students find a number of things particularly attractive about studying there, “we provide opportunities to meet and discuss research with fellow students from many different backgrounds, including teachers, lecturers, educational psychologists, sociologists, medical and health professionals, social work professionals and educational professionals working in different branches and levels of government.”
