Preparing International Education Leaders

The School of Education launches a first-of-its-kind online master’s degree.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 1, 2018) — International education has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets around the world. To compete globally in this arena, universities, businesses, and non-profit organizations need employees equipped with a new set of complex skills and knowledge.

The School of Education’s new online Master of Arts in International Education Management and Leadership will fill that gap with the world’s first degree of its kind.

“This program provides aspiring and experienced professionals with a focused, in-depth, and coherent understanding of cutting edge issues in international education,” said Mitch Leventhal, professor in Educational Policy & Leadership (EPL) and director of the program. “It advances their skills in administration, leadership, data analytics, risk management, financing and student support functions.”

The new master’s, based in EPL, also extends the University’s new strategic priority in internationalization. President Havidán Rodríguez has stated: “With all of the accelerating changes in higher education, and in the world … one thing I think we can say with certainty is that internationalization will become increasingly critical to everything we hope to achieve. This new degree positions UAlbany as a global leader in educating international education professionals.”

Leventhal, a former SUNY vice chancellor for global affairs, said he saw the need for a formal degree preparing effective managers and leaders in international education over the course of his more than two decades as an international educator.

“I often reflected on how most professionals in the field fell into the profession by accident, learned on the job, and had significant gaps in knowledge that we attempted to fill haphazardly, as needed,” he said. “With the complexities and size of today’s international education enterprise, we must build systematic professional training. It is critical for our success.”

The master's degree will offer a combination of scholarly and applied learning experiences, aimed at giving its graduates the preparation to be data-driven leaders in international education.

With more than 4.6 million students studying outside of their home countries each year, international higher education has emerged as one of the largest service industries in leading economies such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.

“This new degree builds on decades of engagement by our faculty in international, comparative, and global issues in education,” stated Jason Lane, interim dean of the School of Education and a faculty member in the program. Lane, who co-directs the Cross-Border Education Research Team, added, “I’m excited that the degree provides a solid foundation for all international educational professionals and also prepares them for understanding and responding to the many emergent trends in the field.”

The new program is part of the School’s effort to build a life-long learning ecosystem in international education. In addition to the new master's, UAlbany offers a three-course graduate certificate in International Education Management and is building out a range of professional development offerings that includes stackable learning modules and webinars, as well as an intensive summer institute initiated this past summer.

Applications are now being accepted for the first cohort of the program starting in Spring 2018.

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