GSE: Legacy of Foresight, Innovation and Growth

Anita Greenwood

Twenty-five years ago, when Education Dean Virginia Biggy first formalized the notion of an all-graduate School of Education — on the theory that students would be better served by spending their undergraduate years developing their content knowledge in particular areas of concentration — it was viewed by many as a controversial, even risky, course of action.

It is seen today, by those both within and outside the UMass system, as an early example of the foresight and innovation that have since become the trademarks of the School.

Heading now into its second quarter-century, the Graduate School of Education (GSE) is on the front line of educational institutions, with a range of offerings deep and diverse enough to meet the needs of almost anyone pursuing a career in education, at almost any level.

At the master’s level, candidates may receive their degrees and teaching licenses at either the elementary or secondary level. “This degree provides teaching candidates with a variety of field experiences linked to their coursework,” says GSE Interim Dean Anita Greenwood. “We have a great reputation for supervision of our teachers in the field while they’re working on their master’s. During the 12 weeks a student is in classroom teaching, we’ll conduct between six and eight visits, which is well above the norm.”

For those who already hold a teacher’s license, master’s level and a certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) are offered in curriculum and instruction, reading and language, and education administration.

In addition to the master’s and CAGS degrees, the School’s doctoral program is flourishing. Designed around the needs of students seeking to work in higher education, as well as K-12 school administration, the program is research-based, requiring that candidates write and defend their dissertations before being awarded degrees. Three areas of concentration are available: leadership in schooling, mathematics and science education and language and literacy.  

One of the school’s major recent initiatives has been the expansion of its online offerings. Although the initial teacher-licensing master’s degree program isn’t available online due to the importance of actual hands-on classroom time for student teachers, other master’s degrees and the CAGS degree can now be earned through online instruction. And this has been more successful, Greenwood says, than anyone anticipated: “When we started teaching online it, we were concerned that some of the collegiality might be lost. But instead, it’s created a whole different kind of participation. We often feel we get to know our students really well in an online environment.”

It has been partly in response to the changing needs of students, says Greenwood, that the University has crafted its range of programs.

“The ‘typical’ student we might see coming into our programs has changed over the past 25 years. It used to be, students were coming to us straight from having earned their undergraduate degrees. We still have those, of course, but we’re also seeing many now who have worked in other roles and professions who come to us as a change in careers.”

All the effort and innovation are bearing fruit.  Since 1988, over 260 doctoral dissertations have been successfully defended. A hundred percent of the initial-level M.Ed candidates passed the state tests for licensure. Recently, all those graduates who sought teaching positions were successfully placed. At last count, at least 14 GSE graduates were working as superintendents of regional school districts. 

And as evidence of the School’s successful outreach through the region, both the Tsongas Industrial History Center and the Center for Field Studies now serve as conduits for the GSE’s work with regional schools.

“The school has transformed itself from a small educational minor with about 140 students to a leading graduate school at which a substantial number of K-12 leaders in the region have attained their education,” says Don Pierson, who served as dean of the GSE for 18 years, until his appointment as interim provost last year. “Schools seek out our master’s degree graduates because they know they’re ready to teach. They know they’re prepared to be leaders in the classroom and in the school.”