Early Start Master’s Programs

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Are you a current Vanderbilt undergraduate student with an eye to the future? Earn a career-enhancing master's degree through an early start program at Peabody College.

A master's degree can increase your ability to make important contributions in your chosen field of study as well as enhance your value in the job market. You may apply to many of our master's programs in the fall of your junior year and begin taking graduate courses before you receive your bachelor's degree.

Program Overview

Early start master's degrees are offered in:

  • Applied Behavior Analysis

    Housed within the U.S. News & World Report No. 1 ranked Department of Special Education, the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) M.Ed. Program is designed for licensed special education teachers who want to practice ABA in educational settings or are specifically interested in training focused on school-based applications that integrate best ABA and SPED practices.

    Learn more about Applied Behavior Analysis

  • Child Studies

    An interdisciplinary major with a broader focus than child development, child studies enables you to work with children outside formal educational settings.

    Learn more about Child Studies

  • Cognitive Psychology in Context

    The program focuses on how cognitive processes unfold in everyday contexts. You'll have the opportunity to design a master's thesis that reports the results of your student-directed research project. You will develop this independent research project working in close collaboration with our internationally renowned faculty, acquiring the critical skills for master's students to successfully pursue future advanced research in a Ph.D. program or enter the job market.

    Learn more about Cognitive Psychology in Context

  • 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.

    Learn more about Community Development and Action

  • 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.

    Learn more about Education Policy

  • 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.

    Learn more about Elementary Education

  • 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.

    Learn more about Higher Education Administration

  • Innovative Design and Technology in Education

    Innovative Design and Technology in Education (IDeaTE) is a program for students interested in learning how to create and study environments leveraging learning theories, human centered design, learning analytics, and learning technologies.

    Learn more about Innovative Design and Technology in Education

  • Integrated Early Childhood Education

    The Integrated Early Childhood Education M.Ed. program is for students who want to serve infants, toddlers, and young children (birth through kindergarten) with a wide range of needs. Through licensure and endorsement pathways, graduates go on to serve as early childhood educators in home, community, and school settings across the nation.

    Learn more about Integrated Early Childhood Education

  • 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.

    Learn more about International Education Policy and Management

  • 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.

    Learn more about Leadership and Organizational Performance

  • Multilingual Education

    The Multilingual Education M.Ed. blends research in applied linguistics and learning sciences with cutting-edge, technology-enhanced, practical application that empowers students to understand how people learn in multilingual and multicultural contexts. Develop the skills to teach, design programs, conduct impactful research, and build meaningful connections worldwide.

    Learn more about Multilingual Education

  • Organizational Development for Social Innovation

    The Organizational Development for Social Innovation M.Ed. program creates visionary changemakers who harness organizational leadership and entrepreneurial thinking to drive meaningful impact. ODSI's curriculum uniquely combines three pivotal domains: organizational development, human-centered design, and social innovation. Graduates emerge equipped with the professional skills to deeply understand complex social challenges, design and implement equitable, systems-informed solutions, and provide compelling evidence of their transformative impact.

    Learn more about Organizational Development for Social Innovation

  • 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.

    Learn more about Quantitative Methods

  • 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.

    Learn more about Reading Education

  • 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.

    Learn more about Secondary Education

  • Special Education (M.Ed.)

    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.

    Learn more about Special Education (M.Ed.)