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Teaching, Learning, and Education

Empowering students to become the transformative educators our world needs today.

About the Program

Northwestern's Teaching, Learning, and Education Program offers a diverse range of specialized concentrations tailored to help our students advance their careers in education. Whether your aspiration is to shape young minds in a classroom, take the helm in administration, spearhead educational design, pioneer innovations in educational technology, influence policy, or explore another facet of the educational landscape, TLEP is ready to support you on your journey to becoming a transformative educator.

elementary teaching writing with student

MSEd in Elementary Teaching

A 2-year program that prepares students to be elementary school teachers. Upon completion, graduates will earn an Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) for grades 1-6.

Program Details
teacher talking to student

MSEd in Secondary Teaching

A 2-year program that prepares students to be secondary teachers in English, Math, Science, Social Science, or Spanish. Upon completion, graduates will earn an Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) with endorsements for grades 5-12.

Program Details
teachers working together around a table

MSEd in Educational Studies

Educational Studies is for students interested in pursuing various areas of education. It is a highly customizable concentration that focuses on a range of topics within education, including pedagogy, teaching, instructional design, policy, and more.

Program Details
group of teachers

MSEd in Learning Sciences

Learning Sciences focuses on how people learn, the contexts in which they learn, and how to design learning environments. Interest areas include the design of learning environments, educational technology, research, and more.

Program Details
three graduates in their robes

Accelerated MSEd

Northwestern undergraduates can earn a bachelor's and master's in just 5 years! Take courses toward a master's degree as an undergraduate. Now available for all concentrations, including Classroom Teaching, Educational Studies, and Learning Sciences.

Program Details
elementary teacher laughing with two children

BSEd in Elementary Teaching

A SESP bachelor's program that prepares undergraduate students to be elementary school teachers. Upon completion, graduates will earn an Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) for grades 1-6.

Program Details
teachers talking together around a table

BSEd in Secondary Teaching

A SESP bachelor's program that prepares undergraduate students to be secondary teachers in English, Math, Science, Social Science, or Spanish. Graduates will earn an Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) with endorsements for grades 5-12.

Program Details

Our Vision

Northwestern University's Teaching, Learning, and Education Program is committed to developing a community of educators by collaborating with our educational community to advance a set of intersecting themes, which we refer to as our Guiding Commitments. The Guiding Commitments will provide the conceptual building blocks to nurture beliefs in educational dignity and equity along with the ability to create educational environments that enact those beliefs.

Our Guiding Commitments

Advance Equity and Social Justice

Recognize that teaching grounded in equity and social justice is essential in rigorous learning of subject matter in any setting.

Understand Learning and Human Development

Understand human development as a process of maturation within a network of areas: physical, psychological, emotional, cultural, social, and political.

Engage Within and Across Communities

Learn about the community in which a school resides to inform relational and instructional interactions with students and families.

Foster Subject Matter Sensemaking

Support the growth of children's skills, competencies, and disciplinary understandings as connected to rigorous and meaningful activities.

Our Students

Cate Durudogan

The MSED team always supported my vision for a classroom community centered around joy, care, and curiosity. ”

Cate Durudogan (SESP ‘22, Accelerated MSED ‘23)

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MSEd acceptance rate

Why Teaching, Learning, and Education?

Dr. Kavita Kapadia Matsko

We are a community of educators who see teaching as a complex, change-making endeavor that will help build towards a more just tomorrow. ”

Dr. Kavita Kapadia Matsko
Associate Dean for Teacher Education
Michelle Foster Everly

The more I learned about the program and interacted with the staff and faculty, the more I felt like I was at home...The MSEd program’s focus on equity aligned with my personal values as a teacher and I felt cared for as a student. ”

Michelle Foster Everly
M.S. Ed, ‘22
elementary teacher with young children at table of toys

Be the Kind of Educator the World Needs Now

In response to our current moment in history, we seek to develop educators who are prepared to form new social and cultural realities for all learners, and especially for those who have been underserved by various systems of education.

A faculty member attentively engages in conversation

Are you a Teacher Hoping to Stay on Top of the Latest Trends in Education?

The SESP Summer Learning Series for Educators is designed to enhance your teaching skills and keep you at the forefront of educational innovations.

Learn about the SESP Summer Learning Series for Educators