UAlbany Launches Unique in the World Online Master’s Degree to Prepare International Education Leaders
Albany, NY (October 31, 2018) - International Education is among the fastest growing markets around the world. To compete globally in this arena, universities, businesses, and non-profit organizations all need employees with the complex skills and knowledge to succeed. The University at Albany’s School of Education new online Master of Arts in International Education Management and Leadership will fill that gap with top-flight career preparation for people building this field.
This degree is uniquely positioned in the world with the explicit focus on preparing emerging and established professionals for leadership roles in the field of international education. It extends the University’s new strategic priority in internationalization, with UAlbany’s President Havidán Rodríguez stating, “With all of the accelerating change 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.”
The Master of Arts in International Education Management and Leadership is based in the Department of Educational Policy & Leadership and designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective managers and leaders in the international education field.
Professor Mitch Leventhal, SUNY’s former Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs, directs the new program and noted, “During my more than two decades working 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. With the complexities and size of today’s international education enterprise, we must build systematic professional training. It is critical for our success.”
Through a combination of scholarly and applied learning experiences, graduates of the program will be prepared to be data-driven leaders in the international education management field. Dr. Leventhal continued, “This program provides aspiring and experienced professionals with a focused, in-depth, and coherent understanding of cutting edge issues in international education and advances their skills in administration, leadership, data analytics, risk management, financing, and student support functions.”
With more than 4.6 million students studying outside of their home-country 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. According to Dr. Christine Farrugia, a UAlbany alumna and the former head of the Institute for International Education’s Open Doors survey of student mobility in the U.S., “It is anticipated that we will only see increasing numbers of international students around the world and there is significant need to prepare professionals to support and lead university efforts in this area.”
“This new degree builds on decades of engagement by our faculty in international, comparative, and global issues in education,” stated Dr. Jason Lane, Interim Dean of the School of Education and a faculty member in the program. Dr. Lane, who also co-directs the Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT), further commented, “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 of Education’s effort to build a life-long learning ecosystem in international education. In addition to the new master’s degree, the university also offers a three-course graduate certificate in International Education Management and is building out a range of professional development offerings that include stackable learning modules, webinars and an intensive summer institute that was initiated this past summer.
As part of this effort, the program has recruited a number of experienced leaders in the field of international education to serve as the inaugural class of International Education Leadership Fellows. According to Dr. Brian Whalen, the former president of The Forum on Education Abroad and one of the fellows, “The launch of this program is a watershed moment for the field of international education. More than ever, we need thoughtful, well-educated international education professionals who can lead us into the future. I’m excited to contribute to this distinctive program, which will shape the next generation of leaders.”
Applications are now being accepted for the first cohort of the program starting in Spring 2018.