About
The International and Comparative Education Program brings together faculty committed to the improvement of education policies and practices around the world. We approach education (broadly defined) from critical interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives, and we draw on multiple ways of knowing with sensitivity to social contexts. In our collective work, faculty, students, and alumni engage with multiple stakeholders across national and international contexts, including government institutions such as education ministries, bi- and multilateral donors, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, private organizations, community organizations, families, and social movements. Our scholarship is responsive to current developments in the field, including international cooperation and educational development, education in conflict and post-conflict regions, sustainable development, and multilingual education for inclusiveness.
The Program prepares scholars, practitioners, and policymakers for leadership positions in the field of international and comparative education. Our teaching framework emphasizes theory, content knowledge specific to clusters and related sub-fields, research methods (quantitative analysis, qualitative inquiry, and mixed methods), and applied skills (e.g., program design, policy analysis, policy design, strategic planning, curriculum development, program monitoring and evaluation). Our Master’s students typically aim to work in support of educational practices and programs upon graduation, while our doctoral students are poised to enter academia and/or assume leadership positions in various international organizations or governments.
Program History and Legacy
In 1899, Teachers College became the first graduate institution in the United States to develop a Program in Comparative Education. In 1956, its faculty members co-founded the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) and created one of the field's most prominent peer-reviewed journals, Comparative Education Review. By the 1960s, Teachers College became instrumental in the study of the international development of education and founded the Program in International Educational Development. For many decades, the International and Comparative Education Program (ICEP) was organized as two distinct but closely related programs: Comparative and International Education (CIE), and International Educational Development (IED). Today, these programs are unified at the Masters’ level, continuing a rich legacy while responding to contemporary challenges in education worldwide. We continue to offer two doctoral degree programs (CIE and IED).
Students in the International and Comparative Education Program are encouraged to develop expertise in both a topical/disciplinary area and a geographical area of specialization. Students may choose to focus on one of the traditional disciplines offered at Teachers College - such as Anthropology, Economics, History, Philosophy, Political Science, or Sociology - or pursue a sub-field within International and Comparative Education, such as Global Governance, Policy, and Planning; Human Rights, Emergencies, and Peacebuilding; or Multilingual and Decolonial Dimensions of Education. Students may also focus on another sub-field available at Teachers College, such as Curriculum and Teaching, Educational Leadership, or Higher and Postsecondary Education. Course offerings in these areas vary by academic year.
In addition, students are encouraged to select a geographical area of specialization. Faculty in the Department of International and Transcultural Studies represent expertise in a wide range of regions, including Africa, the Caribbean, Central Asia, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, South Asia, and the United States (with a focus on transcultural and immigration issues). Area studies courses are available within our program as well as through other departments at Teachers College and across Columbia University, providing students in International and Comparative Education with access to a broad and diverse set of regional offerings.