Teachers College, Columbia University

The Arts
The arts programs at Teachers College view the presence of art and music in the study of education as a vital necessity in nurturing human growth and development throughout a person’s lifespan. Courses in these programs examine the different environments in which various art and music forms reach their audiences: in private and public schools, colleges, museums, and community arts centers.
Graduates go on to rewarding professions as directors of education, consultants, curriculum designers, and program managers in schools, universities, government bureaus, cultural institutions, nonprofit agencies, and museums.

Featured Programs: Art & Art
Education, Arts Administration,
Music & Music Education


Educational Technology & Digital Media
Our educational technology and digital media programs are for students seeking to innovate in schools and other diverse learning communities.
The programs provide a comprehensive understanding of the cultural and historical implications of new technologies on education and life, and a high priority is placed on group work, field work, and internships, as well as intensive online courses.
Prepared with the skills to purposefully select and shape the uses of new media in educational practice, graduates go on to successful careers as technology specialists in schools, software and Web application designers, online curriculum developers, ed tech designers, and educators and take on leadership positions in academic computing centers and informational services for education departments in higher education.

Featured Programs: Communications, Design & Development of Digital Games, Instructional Technology & Media, Learning Analytics


Health Sciences & Health Promotion
Grounded in the understanding that individual learning potential can be enhanced by overcoming physical challenges, mental health, and emotional constraints, the health sciences and human development programs are designed to prepare professionals with the specialized knowledge and experience they need to fully identify and address barriers to complete well-being.
Programs focus on the educational and clinical applications of the scientific understanding obtained from distinct and overlapping fields that include movement, neuroscience, nutrition, and language. Students receive rigorous training focused on the educational and clinical applications of specialized knowledge in our renowned neuroscience and speech pathology labs, research centers, and clinics.
Graduates of these programs go on to a variety of roles in educational settings as speech-language pathologists, exercise physiologists, researchers, evaluation specialists, nutritionists, neuropsychologists, and occupational therapists.

Featured Programs: Communication Sciences & Disorders, Nursing Education and Diabetes, Nutrition


Humanities
The programs in humanities at Teachers College are intended to provide students with a general knowledge base and intellectual skill development rather than an occupational or professional skill or certification. These programs address important educational questions, examining historical ideas, individuals, and philosophical perspectives to determine their influence on their own times and bringing historical knowledge and philosophical perspective to bear on current educational issues.
The programs in the humanities seek to prepare scholars and practitioners who will bring to the world of education an understanding of how important historical and philosophical perspectives are to widening humanistic thinking about education.

Featured Programs: History & Education, Philosophy & Education


International & Transcultural Education
The international and transcultural education programs at the College examine complex issues of social and political processes, cultural theory, transcultural identity, sociolinguistics, and biculturalism.
This broad-based, integrated design prepares graduates for positions in academic research, educational policy, evaluation, and multilingual and multicultural teaching or as consultants for businesses, government agencies, NGOs, and private or public educational institutions.

Featured Programs: Anthropology, Bilingual & Bicultural Education, International Educational Development


Leadership & Administration
The leadership and administration programs at Teachers College educate, train, and serve current and future leaders, including administrators, policy makers, researchers, psychologists, and educators from around the world. Our programs’ cohort-based curricula weave together research and analysis skills with academic, theoretical, and evidence-based knowledge and training in the reflective, proactive, and transformational learning that is a hallmark of the College.
Graduates take on roles as leaders, managers, and administrators in a variety of organizations, serving as effective change agents and decision makers in settings such as human resource management, education, health administration, or conflict resolution and as educators, administrators, researchers, policy analysts, consultants, and public officials. 

Featured Programs: Education Leadership, Higher & Postsecondary Education, Private & Public School Leadership


Policy
The policy and politics programs at Teachers College are grounded in a range of interdisciplinary perspectives.
Students are trained in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches and are encouraged to learn through practice within fellowships, internships, colloquia, and policy student network activities. These programs are directed by faculty who include economists, lawyers, political scientists, psychologists, and sociologists, as well as specialists in a wide range of areas such as early childhood education. Some programs also lead to New York State teacher certification.
Graduates hold teaching positions in universities and colleges, and administrative or research positions in a variety of settings, including foundations, government departments, and international agencies.

Featured Programs: Economics & Education, Education Policy, Politics & Education, Sociology & Education


Psychology
With over 16 specific programs, Teachers College integrates science, cognitive studies, psychology, measurement, social-organizational behavior, and evaluation into its curriculum. Central to this model is the belief that the scientific knowledge obtained can be used to enhance the educational, adaptive, and communicative capabilities of individuals with impaired abilities across the lifespan.
Students are instructed to use strategies of prevention, integration, and remediation to help others develop effective coping skills and responses to the environment. Participants of the programs develop an understanding to work with individuals of diverse ethnic, racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Students and faculty collaboratively research individual, group, and intergroup experiences as they occur in schools, families, and organizations.
Graduates go on to positions in teaching, research, policy, administration, consultation, psychotherapy, learning specialists, and consultants, as well as positions in community agencies, educational research bureaus, and testing organizations.

Featured Programs: Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Developmental Psychology, School Psychology, Social-Organizational Psychology


Special Education
Each of the special education degree programs prepares teachers and specialists to succeed with a range of learning needs in diverse and inclusive environments such as homes, schools, and other community settings. Our curriculum focuses on areas of differentiated curriculum, service delivery systems, teaching for equity and social justice, assessment and intervention, and an inquiry approach to teaching and learning.
Graduates go on to assume leadership and scholarly positions at all levels of professional activity, including classroom educators, community and national service agencies, hospital and rehabilitation programs, colleges and universities, and research centers, as well as local, state, and federal education agencies.

Featured Programs: Applied Behavior Analysis, Gifted Education, Intellectual Disabilities/Autism


Teacher Education & Certification
Educators from across the United States and around the world come to Teachers College for professional development and certification. Teachers College offers over 25 programs that lead to New York State Initial Certification and several programs that culminate in professional certification.
Underlying all programs is an emphasis on inquiry, teachers as seekers of knowledge, and lifelong learning curriculum. The programs are grounded in an understanding of social justice and the multiple perspectives on culture, content, and context that are negotiated to meet the needs of diverse learners and ensure that all students and their communities are fully supported to reach their highest potential.

Featured Programs: Early & Elementary Education, Mathematics & Science Education, Social Studies, Teaching of English, TESOL