The Master’s in Public Education Management is a 14-month, tuition-free program for emerging education leaders looking to hone their skills and increase their impact in the major urban school systems where they work. The Master’s program gives education professionals access to the rigorous coursework and faculty expertise of Yale SOM, along with a supportive cohort experience, and space to immediately apply learnings in their full-time professional roles. Students earn a Master’s of Management Studies from Yale SOM.
Students continue working full-time in their roles in urban, public school systems while traveling to the Yale SOM campus in New Haven for five residence weeks over the 14 months. Throughout the program, students engage in monthly virtual sessions and independent work that bridges their in-person experiences.
What are the learning objectives for this program?
Throughout the Master’s in Public Education Management, students will explore new ideas, tools, and frameworks, to help them better answer the following questions:
How can I…
- Lead effectively and in partnership with stakeholders, for sustained change?
- Manage teams and resources strategically?
- Identify problems and evaluate choices to make decisions?
- Understand the broader societal context for and address inequities in students’ and communities’ access to opportunities and outcomes?
How is the Master's in Public Education Management structured?
The Master’s in Public Education Management curriculum is comprised of three components:
- Coursework in four strands, both in-person and virtual:
- Leadership and navigation
- Strategic management
- Managerial analytics
- Public policy
In addition, through a culminating course, The Executive for the Education Leader, students will apply and integrate the tools and frameworks they’ve learned across the program to real world scenarios.
- Colloquia in three strands, both in-person and virtual:
- Reflection and Connection Colloquium: including student leadership stories, and written reflections to deepen connections across content and between content and students’ work.
- K-12 Practitioner Perspectives Colloquium: including guest speakers from K-12 school systems and student consultancies.
- Equity in Theory and Action Colloquium: including action-oriented and reflective activities focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Independent study capstone project: An opportunity for students to apply what they’ve learned to a current pressing issue in their public school system. Students apply their learnings to a real-world challenge in their organization, culminating in a final deliverable presented within their system, and a final presentation to a panel (including TBC at SOM staff, SOM faculty, and alumni capstone advisers) to reflect on the impact of that deliverable and next steps.
What is the program calendar for the 2025-26 cohort?
The program is comprised of both in-person residence weeks on campus in New Haven, and virtual sessions throughout the duration of the program. Both in-person and virtual sessions are required.
Virtual Orientation: May 29, 2025
Residence 1: July 14-18, 2025
Residence 2: October 20-24, 2025
Residence 3: February 23-27, 2026
Residence 4: June 1-5, 2026
Residence 5: August 3-7, 2026
Virtual Sessions: Monthly virtual sessions (exact dates to be shared with students at a later date)
A Focus on Equity
The Master’s in Public Education Management places special emphasis on leading for equity, as students work within school systems that primarily serve students of color and historically under-resourced communities. Through course studies, colloquia, and their capstone projects, students will leverage Yale’s resources to address the real-world challenges of systemic inequity by learning innovative ways to create immediate value for the communities they serve.