International Education MEd – Program of Study

Program of Study

Master's programs of study are individually designed by the student and their advisor.  Students take required courses, while the remaining credits are elective courses. The remaining credits are elective courses taken within the international education concentration, across the College of Education or across the university, according to the interests and needs of the student. The program of study timeline is very flexible, but typically takes four semesters to complete.

The in-person and online programs have different requirements.

For the in-person program, the minimum degree requirements are 36 course credits including the two required core courses, the Foundations in International Education course (EDUC 733) and a master's project or capstone course (EDUC 630). 

For the online M.Ed. program, the minimum degree requirements are 33 credits. Not only does this including the two required core courses, the Foundations in International Education course (EDUC 733) and a master's project or capstone course (EDUC 630), but there are three additional required courses. For online M.Ed. students starting in the fall of 2025 and after, the three required courses are EDUC 678 Cultural Studies, EDUC 720 Development Theories for International Education and EDUC 793D Globalization, Neoliberalism and Education Policy. 

The EDUC 630 project serves as a capstone experience for the student’s academic study. The project does not need to be a formal thesis paper. It can be a written paper of substantial length (40-50+ pages) or a practical product such as a training guidebook, an action research project, or another project/product which links the student’s program of study with past, present, or future professional work. As the culmination of the program of study, the capstone project provides an opportunity for the student to conduct an in-depth study or activity on a topic of professional interest. Please see some sample master’s capstone projects for reference.

Elective courses are taken within the international education concentration and across the College of Education or the university, according to the interests and goals of the student.

Prior to applying, people are invited to take 1-2 classes as a non-degree student. Please reach out to the program if you are interested. 

The directions for enrolling in non-degree online classes are on the How to Enroll in Online Classes Page here.

Required Courses

Core courses- Required

Required Courses (*for online students entering September 2025+)

International Education Sample Elective Courses 

Students are also able to take courses in research methods (qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods), teacher preparation and curriculum studies, higher education, student development and across many other programs.

For online students, courses in the online graduate certificate programs in the College can be taken within the 33 credit M.Ed. program, with possible certificate completion in Higher Education, Bilingual and Dual Language Education, Digital Media, and Social Justice. Please note that not all these programs offer asynchronous classes.

Spring 2026 International Education Classes

For further information and course projections, please email Annie Stephany at  internationaled [at] umass [dot] edu (internationaled[at]umass[dot]edu)