21
Master's Programs
2
Ed.D. Program Tracks
6
Ph.D. Programs
179
Full-time Faculty
3
Dual degree programs
6
US News top 5 programs
A Degree of Difference
Our M.Ed., M.P.P., and Ed.D. are professional or practice-oriented degrees for those who want to advance in their careers in education-related fields including teaching, special education, community development, policy, administration, and beyond. Our Ph.D. programs follow the apprentice model of doctoral preparation, and are designed to prepare the next generation of researchers and scholars studying education and human development.
Child Studies with Applied Professional and Empirical Research Tracks
This highly individualized program is designed to train students as practitioners and researchers who seek to improve outcomes for children and adolescents in a variety of settings, including schools, nonprofits, and research institutions.
Community Development and Action
The CDA program combines theory, research, and practice to prepare students for professional leadership as change agents in local communities and organizations. Students have the opportunity to complete a concentration in topics such as leadership and management, international development, education, public policy, community health and wellness, and more.
Education Policy
The M.P.P. program offers a practice-focused curriculum grounded in social science research, empowering students to understand the broader social, economic, political, and historical context of contemporary education and education policy. Students may pursue one of three concentrations: K-12 Policy, Higher Education Policy or Quantitative Methods in Education Policy.
Elementary Education Degree plus Licensure
The ELL program is designed for students who already possess a state teaching license or those who wish to pursue advanced study in teaching linguistically diverse students in international settings. The program offers two specializations: Teaching English Language Learners in the U.S. and Teaching English in an International Setting.
English Language Learners
The ELL program is designed for students who already possess a state teaching license or those who wish to pursue advanced study in teaching linguistically diverse students in international settings. The program offers two specializations: Teaching English Language Learners in the U.S. and Teaching English in an International Setting.
Higher Education Administration
The HEA program is designed for students who wish to enter professional roles in colleges, universities, state education agencies, or related nonprofits. Students may pursue one of three concentrations: Student Affairs, Enrollment Management, and General Administration and Policy.
Human Development Counseling
(on-campus) with specializations in School or Clinical Mental Health Counseling
The HDC program trains students who want to become clinical mental health or school counselors, and teaches them to translate sound theoretical knowledge and research into effective counseling programs. The school counseling specialization is also offered online.
Human Development Counseling
(on-line) with School Counseling Specialization
The HDC online program prepares students to become effective K-12 school counselors. This program equips students with the necessary skills to translate theoretical knowledge and extensive research into successful counseling programs that help children thrive and succeed.
Independent School Leadership
This unique 15-month program fosters leaders who understand the complex educational, political, social, fiscal, and moral dimensions of independent schools, and who are able to propel their schools to high levels of achievement.
International Education Policy and Management
Through a multifaceted approach to education, IEPM equips students with the skills and knowledge to become change makers in the field of international education and human and economic development around the world.
Leadership and Organizational Performance
The LOP program trains highly effective leaders. Students explore and master the organizational and social context in which human performance and organizational performance intersect, with a focused curriculum that aligns leadership theory with contemporary leadership practices.
Learning, Diversity, and Urban Studies
The LDUS non-licensure master’s degree program designed for teachers and other professionals who aspire to understand the complex ways in which diversity influences learning in settings both inside and outside of schools.
Learning and Design
This immersive 10-month program focuses on how people learn, how contexts and tools influence learning, and how to design learning environments and activities to support learning.
Quantitative Methods
This program provides students with strong quantitative methods training for applied research settings. Alumni work in school systems, government, industry, dedicated research institutes, academic settings, and medical school research settings.
Reading Education
A degree program for teachers who are already licensed that focuses on literacy theory, research, and instruction for grades pre-kindergarten through twelve. Students are prepared to return to the classroom as skilled literacy teachers, literacy coaches, department chairs, and deans of instruction.
Secondary Education
This program is for students wanting to obtain initial teacher licensure in grades six through twelve. Students choose from one of four concentrations in english, math, science, or social studies.
Special Education
This program is designed both for students who have teacher licensure and those wanting to obtain it. Students choose from 4 concentrations: early childhood, high incidence disabilities, severe disabilities, and visual disabilities.
K-12 Educational leadership and policy (on-campus)
This track prepares scholar-practitioners for leadership in education and policy-related settings including elementary and secondary public, charter and independent schools, district-level offices, research organizations, government agencies, professional associations, and consulting firms.
Higher education leadership and policy (on-campus)
This track prepares scholar-practitioners to lead and operate colleges and universities, government agencies, professional associations, and consulting companies.
Leadership and Learning in Organizations (online)
This track prepares leaders to bridges the divide between theory and practice, equipping students with relevant skills to lead organizational change.
Community Research and Action
The Ph.D. degree in Community Research and Action prepares action-oriented researchers for academic or policy-related careers in applied community studies with a social justice orientation.
Educational Neuroscience
The Ph.D. degree in Educational Neuroscience prepares each student to make significant contributions in neuroscience and fosters development from trainee to independent research scientist and educator.
Leadership and Policy Studies
The Ph.D. degree in Leadership and Policy Studies is designed for those who intend to build an academic career focused on the study of education and policy, as researchers, professors, and policy analysts.
Learning, Teaching, and Diversity
The Ph.D. degree in Learning, Teaching, and Diversity prepares students to address the interdisciplinary nature of problems related to learning environments, culture, and diversity.
Psychological Sciences
The Ph.D. in Psychological Sciences degree focuses on psychological theory and the development of original empirical research. Students are admitted to work toward the Ph.D. degree in the following areas: clinical science, cognition and cognitive neuroscience, developmental science, neuroscience, and quantitative methods.
Special Education with specific emphases on research and teaching
The Ph.D. degree in Special Education is designed to prepare students for faculty and leadership positions in colleges, universities, research institutes, or human service agencies. The program is competency based, with specific emphases on research and teaching. Students choose one of four areas to specialize in: early childhood, high incidence, severe disabilities or visual impairments.
Human and Organizational Development
This undergraduate major fuses a liberal arts foundation with applied coursework in human development, organizational theory and dynamics, service learning, and decision analysis. A capstone internship will ensure you're ready for the professional world.
Child Development
Focusing on children from infancy through adolescence and the contexts in which they live--including family, peer, school, community, and cultural influences--this program offers excellent preparation for graduate work in psychology, medicine, nursing, social work, education, or public policy.
Early Childhood and Elementary Education
This program will prepare you to teach all curricular areas from pre-K through fifth grade. This major is field-work intensive, with a unique focus on children’s developmental thinking and reasoning in both school and non-school settings that involve teaching, advocacy, policy, and informal learning opportunities.
Secondary Education
If your goal is to teach students in grades 7 through 12, the secondary education major will provide strong grounding in one or more content areas, experience in teaching methods, and an introduction to current research in the field.
Special Education
Peabody's Department of Special Education is among the best in the nation. Combining theory, extensive field experience, and innovative practices, the program equips future teachers to assess and design programs for individuals with disabilities.
Child Studies
An interdisciplinary major with a broader focus than child development, child studies enables you to work with children outside formal educational settings.
Cognitive Studies
If you are intrigued with the process of learning itself, this major will shed light on how people think, solve problems, and reason. The program frequently sends students on to graduate work in the social and behavioral sciences or areas such as medicine and law that stress inquiry and clear thinking.
Human Development Studies
With the Human Development Studies master’s degree, set yourself apart as an effective leader focused on equity and systemic change, working with diverse populations in a wide range of settings.
Leading Organizations
The MLO is an online, part-time program that will elevate your skills and knowledge to manage, lead, and strengthen organizations of all kinds. Whether you want to implement change and effectively solve problems or cultivate a dynamic and inclusive workplace that responds to today’s needs, you can become the leader you envision and make a difference within and beyond your organization.
World Languages
Peabody’s two-year, 31–34-credit M.Ed. degree enables students to earn certification in World Languages and ESL. Candidates learn and apply theories of linguistics, intercultural communication, and language pedagogy that responds to the needs of multilingual learners in a wide range of capacities.
Sissy Peters
High Incidence Special Education, M.Ed. Program Manager, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic and Learning Assessment ClinicIt is no secret that the state of education, especially the field of Special Education, is subject to increasingly more challenges. At this critical time in our nation's history, it is more important than ever before that we have educators who are not only passionate about the field but also extremely well-trained. Peabody continues to hold the No. 1 ranking in the country for Special Education (as well as high rankings in many other programs), and I know with confidence that my impact in the field reflects that ranking. I only know one type of practice: best practice.
Upon graduation, I was the only first-year teacher hired at Rawson Saunders, a highly respected private school designed solely for students with dyslexia, located in Austin, Texas. Such a hiring decision had never been made at that school. The stakes were high but, because of my training, I exceeded all expectations over my three-year career at that innovative school. I returned to Nashville to reconnect with this incredible city, Vanderbilt University and the public school system as a whole.
There is a reason that Vanderbilt, especially Peabody, is known as the "Gold Standard." Because there is truly no place else like it in the country. I feel honored to be a Commodore.