Comparative and International Education
Comparative and International Education Program
From the earliest proposals for public schooling in the U.S., researchers and practitioners have relied on comparative and international perspectives to illuminate the field of education. Today more than ever, in an era of information technology and an interconnected global economy of skills and ideas, scholars need to understand how the processes of schooling and learning vary across societies and what implications these variations have for education in the world today.
At Penn State, an interdepartmental faculty committee offers a dual-title degree (master's and doctoral) program in Comparative and International Education (CI ED). The committee maintains program definition, identifies courses appropriate to the option, and recommends policy and procedures for the program's operation to the dean of the College of Education and to the dean of The Graduate School. Members of the CI ED committee also serve on the doctoral committees of students who elect the dual-title doctoral degree.
The CI ED program trains scholars who advance our basic knowledge about schooling and education around the globe. The CI ED program is designed to create opportunities for a range of people—administrators and policy makers in social welfare, health education, and development; school leaders; and scholars of education.
The dual-title degree program is offered through participating graduate programs in the College of Education and, where appropriate, other graduate programs at Penn State. The option enables students from different graduate programs to learn the perspectives, techniques, and methodologies of comparative and international education, while maintaining a close association with their program areas of application.
Some of the graduate major programs that participate with the CI ED dual-title degree program are:
- Higher Education
- Educational Leadership
- Educational Theory and Policy
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Educational & School Psychology, Special Education
- Adult Education, Instructional Systems, Workforce Education
- Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Agricultural and Extension Education
- College Student Affairs
- Entomology
Comparative and international education is a field devoted to the systematic analysis of the operation and effects of the world's education systems. For admission to pursue a dual-title degree in CI ED, a student must be accepted by The Graduate School and one of the participating graduate major programs. Once a student begins his studies at Penn State, he/she may apply to an admissions committee for acceptance into the CI ED program. Students complete degree requirements for their major simultaneously with those required for the CI ED dual-title degree. Upon graduation, students are awarded degrees in their major field and CI ED.
