Blended Master of Arts in Educational Studies
The MicroMasters in Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement is being discontinued for the academic year 2023-2024. Applicants who complete the MicroMasters by August 1, 2023, can apply for the Blended Master of Arts in Educational Studies. Contact Dr. Donald Peurach (dpeurach@umich.edu) for more details.
Our blended program exploits the power of the Internet as a complement to traditional face-to-face learning to create an interdisciplinary, boundary-spanning program that brings together leaders and researchers in education, business, and health care communities from across the country, as well as a global community of online learners.
Combining the convenience of self-paced, online learning and the richness of conventional, campus-based courses, the blended program prepares you to
- Apply understanding, knowledge, and capabilities to leadership roles in educational innovation and improvement;
- Participate in ambitious, collaborative problem-solving contexts;
- Create organizational cultures that support continuous improvement efforts in and across schools and districts;
- MicroMasters certificate in Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement;
- Master of Arts in Educational Studies, with a concentration in one of the following threads:
Want to learn more about the program?
See our upcoming information sessions
Additional certificate and endorsement opportunities
Learning Experience Design Certificate
Requirements
The Blended MA program begins with the MicroMasters: an initial, online, five-course learning experience. Once complete, the MicroMaster’s counts towards 12 credit hours of our on-campus program.
MicroMasters credits
Students complete the following MicroMasters courses:
- LeadEd501x – Leading Ambitious Teaching and Learning
- LeadEd502x – Designing and Leading Learning Systems
- LeadEd503x – Improvement Science in Education
- LeadEd504x – Case Studies in Continuous Educational Improvement
- LeadEd505x – Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement Capstone
Campus-based core credits
Students complete the following courses:
- EDUC 570 – Professional Development Seminar in Education (1 credit)
- EDUC 649 – Foundational Perspectives on Educational Reform (3 credits)
- EDUC 695 – Research and Educational Practice (3 credits)
Thread-specific credits
Students complete 12 credits toward one of the following program threads:
Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

Prospective Students
Upcoming Information Sessions
Connect with ES
Contact
Phone: (734) 763-9497
Master's: soeadmissions@umich.edu
Doctoral: edstudiesphd.info@umich.edu
Location
610 E. University Avenue
Room 4218
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259
Office Hours
Monday–Friday
8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Application Deadlines
Application Process
To submit a successful application for admission, you need to provide the following:
- Academic Statement of Purpose
- Part-Time Admission: Applicants seeking admission to a master’s program may attend on a part-time basis. Please indicate this by answering the “part-time” question on page 9 of the application.
- The Academic Statement of Purpose serves to demonstrate a fit between your background/interests and the Educational Studies master’s program’s philosophy, structure, and offerings. The statement should take the form of a concise and coherent essay, approximately 2-3 pages in length, double-spaced.
- Please be sure to address the following elements in your statement with regard to the specific thread of the Master’s in Educational Studies degree to which you are applying:
- A clear statement about the opportunities, issues, and/or problems of education that motivate you to pursue your chosen thread of the Master’s in Educational Studies.
- A concise summary of relevant academic or professional experience. Please explain the connection between your academic or professional experience and the opportunities, issues and/or problems of education introduced in #1.
- An overview of your short-term and long-term career goals. Please introduce how you will go about addressing the opportunities, issues, and problems of education introduced in #1.
- A clear statement explaining how you expect that program thread will allow you to better understand the opportunities, issues, and problems of education that motivate your graduate studies and on which you will focus your career. Please make specific reference to details such as course offerings, experiential learning opportunities, campus resources, and the expertise of specific faculty members.
- Personal Statement
- 500 word limit
- How have your background and life experiences, including cultural, geographical, financial, educational or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan? For example, if you grew up in a community where educational, cultural, or other opportunities were either especially plentiful or especially lacking, you might discuss the impact this had on your development and interests. This should be a discussion of the journey that has led to your decision to seek a graduate degree. Please do not repeat your Academic Statement of Purpose.
- Three (3) letters of recommendation
- We strongly encourage two of your letters come from individuals who are familiar with your academic performance. The third may be from a professional reference.
- Register your recommenders' names and contact information on the online application so that they will be sent instructions for submitting their letters via the application system. Let your recommenders know that they need to upload a letter and that it is required by the program.
- As soon as you click "save" on the page of the application where your recommenders' contact information is entered, they will receive an email with instructions for completing the process. Proceed to this point in the application process as soon as possible to trigger that email.
- Resume or CV
- TOEFL, MELAB, ECPE, or IELTS scores (for non-native speakers of English only; valid 2 years from test date)
- Information regarding the TOEFL and exemption guidelines can be found on the Rackham Graduate School website.
- GRE Test Scores
- GRE test scores are not required for admission, but scores (valid 5 years from test date) can be included with your application.
- Provide ETS with the U-M Institutional Code of 1839 and your scores will be sent directly to the university.
Create an account with Rackham Graduate School.
This program, like all of the Marsal Family School of Education's graduate programs, is administered through the University of Michigan's Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. Rackham offers a host of resources and administrative support to help see you through from submitting your application to completion of your degree.
- After completing page 5 of the application, you will receive an e-mail with your U-M ID. A U-M ID number will be issued to you via email within 5 business days of completing pages 1-5 and advancing to page 6 of the ApplyWeb application. Having your U-M ID number to include on all your application materials ensures accurate and timely processing, so we encourage you to complete pages 1-5 early in the process.
- If you need to submit your application before you receive your U-M ID number, you may still complete the application. Include your date of birth and the program’s name on your application materials.
- Current and former U-M Ann Arbor students, alumni and employees: You do not need to obtain a new U-M ID number. Use your previously obtained U-M ID number.
- If your personal information has changed (for example, legal name, gender), make sure the personal information you submit with your application matches your previous Ann Arbor campus record. If your previous Ann Arbor campus record does not display your current personal information, contact the Registrar’s Office or the Shared Services Center to change your personal information before you apply.
Include at the top of each document:
- The type of document (Academic Statement of Purpose, Personal Statement, or Curriculum Vitae or Resume)
- Your name
- The name of the graduate program
- Your 8 digit U-M ID (if known)
Make sure margins are at least one-inch so nothing is cropped when you upload the documents to the application.
- TOEFL, MELAB, ECPE, or IELTS scores (for non-native speakers of English only; valid 2 years from test date)
- Information regarding the TOEFL and exemption guidelines can be found on the Rackham Graduate School website.
- GRE Test Scores
- GRE test scores are not required for admission, but scores (valid 5 years from test date) can be included with your application.
- Provide ETS with the U-M Institutional Code of 1839 and your scores will be sent directly to the university.
- Upload an electronic version of your official transcript(s) for each Bachelor’s, Master’s, Professional, or Doctoral degree earned or in progress through your ApplyWeb application account (part of the Rackham application system). Do not upload academic records printed from your school’s website or student portal.
- You are not required to send official transcripts at the time of application. If you are recommended for admission, the Rackham Graduate School will require official transcripts. Admitted applicants will receive an email notification when the official transcripts are required.
- Students who have studied in a country outside of the U.S. should review the required credentials from non-U.S. institutions. For all degrees obtained at non-U.S. institutions—Request that degree-granting institutions submit official transcripts/records to the Rackham Graduate School at the time of application.
- Information for submitting official transcripts can be found on the Rackham Graduate School website.
- We strongly encourage two of your letters come from individuals who are familiar with your academic performance. The third may be from a professional reference.
- Register your recommenders' names and contact information on the online application so that they will be sent instructions for submitting their letters via the application system. Let your recommenders know that they need to upload a letter and that it is required by the program.
- As soon as you click "save" on the page of the application where your recommenders' contact information is entered, they will receive an email with instructions for completing the process. Proceed to this point in the application process as soon as possible to trigger that email.
Check on your application status. If you’ve been accepted, you will receive an email with information on how to send your official transcripts.
- If you have been accepted, congratulations! You may accept or decline the offer of admission in your U-M Friend Account.
- For international students that accept offer of admission, Rackham prepares immigration documents for visas.
Quick Facts
Application fee waiver
The $75 application fee is waived for all U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
GRE general exam scores
Undergraduate GPA guideline
Applications are evaluated using a holistic process, which means that reviewers carefully consider all materials provided and no single factor is used in either accepting or denying an applicant for admission.
Financial aid
Part-time status
Online, evening, or weekend courses
Online courses available; students receive 12 credits toward their degree for their online MicroMasters work
Entry term
Connect with ES
Contact
Phone: (734) 763-9497
Master's: soeadmissions@umich.edu
Doctoral: edstudiesphd.info@umich.edu
Location
610 E. University Avenue
Room 4218
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259
Office Hours
Monday–Friday
8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Careers
The first cohort of Blended MA students began the program in the fall of 2018. Those graduates have pursued leadership roles in K-12 schools. Students pursuing this line of study have many potential career outcomes. For more information on career outcomes, please refer to our pages on Design and Technologies for Learning, Educational Leadership and Policy, and Program Evaluation and Improvement Research.
76%
83%
$51K
75%
Internships
All Educational Studies programs require an internship to be completed during the winter semester. For more information on internships, please refer to our pages on Design and Technologies for Learning, Educational Leadership and Policy, and Program Evaluation and Improvement Research.