New Urban Teaching Residency online master’s program brings Penn GSE standard of excellence to flexible program for working students’ busy lives

The Penn GSE Urban Teaching Residency (UTR) Program has announced the creation of its first fully online Master’s in Education degree, aimed at providing flexibility for working practitioners and leaders aiming to create change in the field of education. 

The two-year program, intended for full-time working professionals with an interest in promoting equity and social justice in education, will run alongside the UTR Program’s in-person and hybrid offerings. It features 10 online courses to prepare graduates for approaching the complexities of urban education comprehensively — from tackling issues in the classroom to working with the community and affecting policy to create meaningful change.

According to Penn GSE’s Nicole Mittenfelner Carl, Director of the UTR Program, the online program will provide an opportunity for interested students to receive a rigorous and practice-based master’s degree from anywhere in the country or around the world.

“We’re providing students with the chance to enroll in an Ivy League education while still working full-time, regardless of where they live,” says Carl. “Teachers, social workers, community advocates, researchers, policy makers, educational leaders — we’re offering an enriching experience to a diverse group of students committed to issues of equity, social justice, and anti-racism.”

According to Carl, students will also be advised in relation to their career goals and the specific aspects of education in which they are most interested. By the conclusion of the program, enrollees will complete a master’s thesis that ties in relevant literature and practice-based guidelines while remaining accessible to a broader audience.

The UTR’s online program will be the first fully online master’s offered by Penn GSE. More are in the early planning stages.

“As an alumnus of the in-person program myself, I can attest that the UTR Program has been a trailblazer in urban education since its inception,” says Carl. “I am excited to be able to offer access to our excellent curriculum to students across the country interested in providing students at urban schools with the equitable and socially conscious education they deserve.”

Read more about the UTR Program’s online Master’s in Education degree.