The Master of Education in Interdisciplinary Studies offers a flexible curriculum for those who wish to reach beyond traditional academic boundaries to pursue cross-disciplinary study related to the field of education. This program is ideally suited for educators who want to explore specific or alternative topics in education, or for professionals hoping to develop educational skills for use in professional practice.
Sample specializations:
- Alternative Education, including Montessori and Reggio Emilia Inspired Models
- Environmental Studies
- Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Social Change
- Integrative Holistic Health
- Mindfulness Studies
- Intercultural Education
- Women and Gender Studies
- Yoga Psychology
This two-year, 36-credit program is offered in a low-residency format, in which students start each year with an 8-day residency on Lesley’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During the residency you’ll take classes, meet with faculty members, conduct research, and network with peers. Between residencies you’ll continue your studies in your home community and communicate regularly with faculty and peers via email, phone, and online tools.
View the program of study for the M.Ed. in Interdisciplinary Studies
Sample Course Descriptions
Ways of Knowing: How We Make Meaning
3 credits
Ways of Knowing is a course in philosophy providing a framework for exploring western epistemology as one characteristic way of knowing. We will question whether the western paradigm is the only way to configure reality, and if investigating the world through other lenses can also lead to scientific understanding, deep analysis, and rich inquiry. This course is intended to deepen the student's academic depth, critical reflection, and cross-cultural understanding.
Intersections of Gender, Race, and Religion
3 credits
Students use historical case studies to analyze ways in which the spiritual and racial identities of women shape their responses to racism. The course includes a study of cultural identity and contemporary examples to explore ideas and concepts.
Praxis: Integrating Theory into Practice
3 credits
Taken in the student's penultimate semester, Praxis works to deepen the student's inquiry skills while they design their Thesis/Capstone. Students develop competency in interviewing techniques, hermeneutic research, and qualitative/quantitative data gathering techniques, as they assess their prior learning, reflect on the relationship of that learning to current and planned professional practice, and construct their thesis proposal.
Mindful Leadership and Social Engagement
3 credits
This course provides students with an opportunity to explore how Buddhist ideas underlying mindfulness can be extended into the realm of leadership and engagement with the contemporary world. Students will gain a nuanced understanding of principles of mindful leadership through close readings of translations of classical Buddhist teachings and current mindfulness texts. Students will investigate the meaning of these teaching in direct experience and apply them to social, cultural, historical, organizational, and political case studies.
Faculty Spotlight
Frank Trocco
Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
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Marion Nesbit
Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
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