Program Overview

Program Overview

The Human Development and Education (HDE) Program at Harvard Graduate School of Education prepares students to support the unique needs and growth of all learners. By linking theories and pioneering research with practice and policy about child, adolescent, and adult development, students will have opportunities to examine different developmental domains and design strategies and interventions to promote healthy development.

Program Description

The HDE Program is designed to help students gain the knowledge and skills essential to promoting healthy development for all learners. A minimum of 42 credits are required to graduate with an Ed.M. degree from HGSE. The main elements of this academic year curriculum are:

• The Foundation courses — How People Learn, Evidence, Equity and Opportunity, and Leading Change — in which students gain core skills central to the profession of education.
  • This program commences with How People Learn, an immersive online course that runs June–July and requires a time commitment of 12-15 hours per week.
  • Students will take a minimum of two additional Foundations courses in person:
    • Equity and Opportunity: Offered as Identity in Context in August or as an approved elective during the academic year
    • Evidence: Offered in August and January Terms
    • Leading Change: Offered during the Fall semester

Curriculum Information

To fulfill the program requirement, students must take a minimum of 12 credits specific to HDE, including:

• The HDE Program Core Experience (4 credits), a combination of required coursework, program-wide events, and small group experiences.
• Developmental research methods courses (4 credits), students will choose from a list of qualitative and quantitative courses.
• Human development, age/context/domain-specific courses (4 credits), students will tailor their coursework to their chosen career pathway by selecting from a rich and diverse set of courses.
• The remaining credits are taken via elective coursework, which includes the opportunity to specialize in a Concentration.

Program Faculty

Students will work closely with faculty associated with their area of study, but students can also work with and take courses with faculty throughout HGSE and Harvard. The faculty co-chairs are:

• Dana Charles McCoy
• Jon R. Star

Career Pathways

The HDE Program prepares students to make a meaningful impact in a variety of career pathways, including:

• School counselor (K–12)
• Teacher
• Curricula developer
• College or university administrator
• Afterschool program, camp, or youth organization director
• Researcher (university centers, nonprofit/for-profit think tank)
• Local, state, or federal government program administrator
• Field-staff or program manager at domestic or international non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
• Consultant, trainer, facilitator, technical assistance provider

Cohort & Community

Students will join an extraordinary cohort of students representing a rich diversity of personal and professional backgrounds. As an HDE student, students will engage in events and professional development opportunities that build community.

Certificate of Advanced Study in Counseling

Current students in the 2025–2026 HDE school counseling pathway, students who have completed the HDE school counseling licensure pathway year 1, or who are graduates of the counseling strand in the Prevention Science and Practice or Risk and Prevention programs may be eligible to apply to the Certificate of Advanced Study in Counseling program. The 2026–2027 academic year will be the final opportunity to enroll in the Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Counseling at HGSE, as the program will officially sunset after this cycle.