Concentration Faculty (SSPEP/ICE)

Specialization Descriptions (SSPEP/ICE)

International Comparative Education (ICE)
Degrees Offered: MA, PhD

ICE Master's Program website

The Master's program in ICE combines core courses with specialized course work related to a student's professional interests and responsibilities. An integral part of this program is the master's monograph, which all ICE master's students write and present for fourth-quarter review. The monograph project familiarizes students with trends, methods, and research findings in their areas of specialization.

The Master's degree requires a minimum of four quarters of course work (48 quarter units), in addition to whatever language training in English a student may need in order to assume a full load of academic work. Typically, master's students begin their program in autumn quarter and finish at the end of the following summer quarter. Non-native English speakers should plan to take an extra course during the first two quarters of the program to help them improve their academic writing. Course requirements in the Master's program recognize the need for as much flexibility as possible in the design of individual programs.

The admissions committee pays particular attention to an applicant's previous professional and, especially in the case of U.S. applicants, intercultural experience and statement of purpose. Interviews are not required, but will be arranged whenever an applicant has the opportunity to visit ICE or to meet with faculty members elsewhere. Applicants are highly encouraged to visit campus in order to learn more about the program, faculty, and current students.

Prospective applicants are urged to take the basic required tests as early as possible; consideration of an application may be delayed if the scores have not arrived

For the MA program requirements, please see the Master's Degree Handbook.

Christine Min Wotipka is director of the ICE Master's program.

ICE Doctoral Program

The doctoral specialization in ICE is designed to relate a firm grounding in the theories and methods of a basic social or behavioral science to the analysis of education's role in the processes of economic growth, political development, and social change.

The training of ICE doctoral students is geared toward achieving substantial research competence in areas where a social science discipline and the policy problems of development education intersect. Doctoral students are therefore expected to have, or to acquire while at Stanford, substantial graduate training in a social science discipline relevant to their fields of interest at a level equivalent to the master's degree or a PhD minor in the appropriate university department.

Graduates of the PhD program in ICE typically choose research-oriented careers either within their countries' universities or with government agencies. Their expertise is sought from time to time by international and philanthropic organizations.

While there is no universal foreign language requirement for the ICE doctoral program, students must be proficient in the languages appropriate to their professional and geographical areas of interest. They are also encouraged to seek practical research training in their areas of interest.

For the PhD program requirements, please see the Doctoral Degree Handbook.



International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis (IEAPA)
Degrees Offered: MA

IEAPA Master's Program website

Faculty in the Administration and Policy Analysis (APA) and International Comparative Education (ICE) concentrations jointly offer a master's specialization in International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis through SSPEP.

Students in the program examine educational policy issues in an international context. Working closely with professors from a variety of disciplines, they study such problems as educational planning in comparative perspective, the dynamic relationship between school and community, equity and education, and the political economy of underdevelopment.

Students are required to complete a master's monograph project on a subject of their choice as part of their program. The monograph is reviewed in draft form and completed in the last quarter of residence. The monograph is a culmination of a student's degree program and serves both as a synthesis of the year's work and an opportunity to develop an analysis of a specific subject related to the student's career work in administration or policy analysis.

Most IEAPA students have had international experience as teachers, administrators, or researchers. Graduates of the program enter positions in universities, international schools, educational agencies, and government.

In consultation with an advisor, who may be from APA or ICE, students design their programs to fit their needs and interests. Courses beyond the core may be taken in other University departments or selected from education courses.

For the MA program requirements, please see the Master's Degree Handbook.

Christine Min Wotipka is director of the IEAPA Master's program.

Recent Graduates: Job Placement (SSPEP/ICE)

Many doctoral graduates of this program teach in a variety of disciplines in universities in the United States and abroad. A good proportion are officers or researchers in international development organizations, such as the World Bank, or in development consulting organizations and foundations.

MA graduates frequently hold research and program management positions in education research or development organizations. Some graduates find private sector jobs, using cross-cultural perspectives in training employees and researching products. As many as 30 percent go on to doctoral programs after completing the MA degree.

Master's Graduates

Research Associate
West Ed ( San Francisco, CA)

Health Education Coordinator
Huckleberry Youth Programs ( San Rafael, CA)

Program Officer
Inter-American Development Bank ( Washington, D.C.)

Project Manager
NetAid ( New York, NY)

Associate Expert
Unesco ( France)

Project Manager
WorldVision ( Myanmar)

Doctoral Student
University of California, Los Angeles ( Los Angeles, CA)

Doctoral Student
Columbia University ( New York, NY)

Junior Researcher
SRI International ( Menlo Park, CA)

Doctoral Students

Assistant Professor, Education
Florida State University

Assistant Professor, Economics
Wellesley College

Assistant Professor, Education
University of British Columbia

Assistant Professor, Business
Tel Aviv International School of Management

Associate Economist
RAND Corporation