Academic Experience

Learning is not limited to classrooms and libraries. Penn GSE students have the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge throughout the School, the region, and the world. From the clinics of city mental health facilities to the conference rooms of local government to the elementary classrooms in South Africa, as a Penn GSE student, you will learn and test your ideas while making positive contributions in the community.

Translate Theory to Hands-on Practice

As a student, you’ll have the opportunity to apply the knowledge you learn in the classroom to professional contexts through internships, practicums, and graduate assistantships.

Internships

Through these opportunities, students learn to integrate their experiences with academic learning as well as establish networking connections. While some programs offer lists of opportunities that students can engage in, the Office of Career and Professional Development also offers computer-assisted resources to support your search for internships.

Programs that require internships:

  • Intercultural Communication, M.S.Ed.
  • International Educational Development Program, M.S.Ed.
  • Teaching, Learning and Leadership, M.S.Ed.
  • Reading/Writing/Literacy, M.S.Ed.

Practicums

Penn GSE provides rigorous academic training and professional mentoring to help our students become effective leaders. In the Education Policy masters program, students are partnered with educational leaders to conduct client-based, applied education research projects. Masters students in Counseling and Mental Health Services participate in a two-semester field placement that provides the opportunity to learn and practice counseling skills in a professional and supportive environment. 

Programs that require practicums:

  • Counseling and Mental Health Services, M.S.Ed.
  • Education Policy, M.S.Ed.

Graduate Assistantships

Many programs offer limited graduate assistantships to full-time students as a way to enrich their academic experiences with applied research and employment experiences, within the School and or at partnership locations. 

A scene from Penn's campus.

Dual and Joint Degrees

As part of the University of Pennsylvania commitment to a cross-disciplinary education, many of our programs, master's and doctoral, offer students the opportunity to chart their own course through dual or joint degrees in partnership with a wide range of Penn’s top-ranked graduate schools, including Wharton, Penn Law, and the School of Social Policy and Practice.

Dual and Joint Degrees

Student Publications 

Why wait until after graduation to publish? In addition to taking advantage of the opportunity to work alongside world-renowned scholars, our students publish two scholarly journals: Perspectives on Urban Education and Working Papers in Educational Linguistics.