Global and Comparative Education (GCE) / International Education Policy Analysis (IEPA)
Global and Comparative Education (GCE) / International Education Policy Analysis (IEPA)Program Requirements
Students must complete at least 48 units at Stanford to receive a Master's degree in GCE or IEPA. The following constraints are placed on those 48 units:
- All courses must be at or above the 100 level – courses numbered below 100 do not count toward the MA degree.
- At least 24 units must be at or above the 200 level (EDUC 180 or 190 count toward this requirement).
- At least 30 units must be from courses offered by the Graduate School of Education (EDUC units).
- At least 32 units must be taken for a letter grade (as opposed to Credit/No Credit).
- A 3.0 GPA must be maintained for all courses applied to the master's degree.
- Students must enroll in a minimum of 8 units during Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters, and cannot exceed 18 units in any quarter.
GCE/IEPA students must choose one of the following unit plans. Combinations, alterations, or exceptions to these unit plans are not allowable.
- Enroll in at least 11 units Autumn and Winter quarter, 8-10 units Spring quarter, and exactly 6 units in Summer quarter OR
- Enroll in at least 11 units Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarter and exactly 3 units in Summer quarter
Note: Students must enroll in at least 6 units during all quarters (including Summer) in which they wish to maintain eligibility to receive financial aid (such as loans).
- English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOLLANG) and Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (ATHLETIC) courses cannot be applied towards the master's degree.
- All courses taken outside the GSE must be approved by the MA Program Director.
- See the "Coterminal Degree” section for unit requirements applying to students admitted through the coterminal degree program.
Required Courses
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
Note: All course information is subject to change. Please consult Stanford Navigator and Axess for final course offerings.
Students in the program must take the EDUC 206 series to complete their Master’s (MA) Paper requirement. By enrolling in EDUC 206A, B, C, and D, students are advised through the process of developing their projects through to the completion of their papers at the end of Summer Quarter. To make satisfactory academic progress in the GCE/IEPA program, students must have their MA Paper proposals approved by the start of Spring quarter. Failure to do so means the student is not making satisfactory progress and will trigger an academic review.
Research Methods
Choose two from the following (others must be approved by the MA Program Director):
Offered in 2026-2027 Spring (Scott McKeon) (5)
Offered in 2026-2027 Winter (Guillermo Solano-Flores) (3-4)
Offered in 2026-2027 Winter (Ann Jaquith) (4)
Students who plan to collect their own data for their MA Papers are required to enroll in EDUC 206B for 3 units and take no more than three additional courses in Winter and Spring quarters. In addition, they must enroll in a Directed Research (EDUC 190) with one of their advisors in Winter or Spring quarters.
Students who plan to use qualitative methods for their MA Papers must take EDUC 200A (or the equivalent) and EDUC 200B.
For those who plan to conduct quantitative data analyses, in addition to (or in place of) EDUC 200A, students may enroll in one or more of the quantitative data analysis courses listed above, or an equivalent with approval from the MA Program Director. Students often take more than one of these courses and are strongly encouraged to take a mini course in methodology (e.g., EDUC 401B).
Students who plan to collect their own quantitative data using survey methods (interviews, questionnaires) for their MA Papers are required to take EDUC 318.
Students enrolling in EDUC 215 can apply up to 6 units toward their degree; students may enroll in 3 units (max.) per quarter.
GCE-specific requirements
Complete at least two of the following courses:
Students are encouraged to enroll in one of the following policy courses:
IEPA-specific requirements
Complete at least 1 of the following courses:
Complete at least 1 of the following courses (students are encouraged to enroll in both):
Additional GCE/IEPA-Related Courses Offered by the GSE in 2026-2027 (Recommended)
Consider enrolling in one or more of the following elective courses:
Offered in 2026-2027 Winter (John Meyer, Kiyoteru Tsutsui, Patricia Bromley) (1-5)
Offered in 2026-2027 Spring (John Meyer, Kiyoteru Tsutsui, Patricia Bromley) (1-5)
Offered in 2026-2027 Winter (Patricia Bromley) (1-3)
Offered in 2026-2027 Spring (Patricia Bromley) (1-3)
Offered in 2026-2027 Winter (Martin Carnoy) (1-2)
Offered in 2026-2027 Spring (Fernando Amaral Carnauba) (1-2)
English for Speakers of Other Languages
Non-fluent speakers of English are strongly encouraged to take one of the following writing courses:
Offered in 2026-2027 Autumn (Seth Streichler) (1-3)
Offered in 2026-2027 Winter (Instructor TBD) (1-3)
Offered in 2026-2027 Winter (Kristopher Geda) (1-3)
Project: MA Paper
(Due Friday, July 30, 2027)