International Comparative Education (ICE) / International Education Policy Analysis

Program Requirements

Students must take 48 units at Stanford to receive a Master's degree in ICE 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.
• 24 units—or half of the total minimum units—must be at or above the 200 level (EDUC 180 or 190 count toward this requirement).
• At least 27 units must be from courses offered by the Graduate School of Education (EDUC units).
• 16 units (one-third of the total minimum units) must be for a letter grade.
• A 3.0 GPA must be maintained for all courses applied to the master's degree.
• All students must enroll in a minimum of 8 units during Autumn, Winter, and Spring and cannot exceed 18 units in any quarter. ICE/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, at least 8 units Spring quarter and exactly 6 units in Summer quarter OR
  • Enroll in at least 11 units Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarter and at least 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). 
• See "Coterminal Degree” section for unit requirements applying to students admitted through the coterminal degree program.
• English for Foreign Students (Linguistics 600 level) and Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (ATHLETIC) courses cannot be applied towards the master's degree.
• * Effective 1 September 2014, IEAPA (International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis) will become IEPA (International Education Policy Analysis). Students beginning the program in AY 2014-15 may choose to pursue this subplan under either name.

Required Courses

Note: All course information is subject to change.
Please consult ExploreCourses and Axess for final course offerings.

EDUC 202	Introduction to Comparative and International Education (link is external)
EDUC 206A	Applied Research Methods in ICE I: Introduction (link is external)
EDUC 206B	Applied Research Methods in ICE II: Master's Paper Proposal (link is external)
EDUC 206C	Applied Research Methods in ICE III: Data Collection and Analysis (link is external)
EDUC 206D	Applied Research Methods in ICE IV: Master's Paper Workshop (link is external)

Additional Requirements for IEPA:

EDUC 202I

International Education Policy Workshop (link is external)

306 Series: ICE enroll in two; IEPA enroll in all three

EDUC 306A	Economics of Education in the Global Economy (link is external)
EDUC 306B	The Politics of International Cooperation in Education (link is external)
EDUC 306D	World, Societal, and Educational Change: Comparative Perspectives (link is external)

Research Methods: Choose one from the following

EDUC 200A	Introduction to Data Analysis and Interpretation (link is external)
EDUC 200B †	Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (link is external)
EDUC 291X*	Introduction to Survey Research (link is external)

Students are encouraged to take both EDUC 200A & EDUC 200B. Those who plan to conduct quantitative data analyses are highly encouraged to take a statistical analysis software mini course (e.g., SPSS or Stata).
All students who plan to collect their own data for their MA papers must enroll in EDUC 206B for 3 units and take no more than three additional courses that quarter. In Spring quarter, they must enroll in a Directed Reading or Directed Research with their advisor, which will count as one of their main courses.

† In Autumn quarter, ICE/IEPA students have third enrollment priority for EDUC 200B. In Winter quarter, ICE/IEPA students have first enrollment priority in EDUC 200B.
* Required of students who plan to collect their own quantitative data using survey methods (interviews, questionnaires) for their MA Papers.

English for Foreign Students (Recommended)

Non-fluent speakers of English are strongly encouraged to take one of the following writing courses:

EFSLANG 698A	Writing Academic English (link is external)
EFSLANG 698B	Advanced Graduate Writing (link is external)

Additional ICE-Related Courses Offered in the GSE (Recommended)

EDUC 197/FEMGEN 297	Education, Gender, and Development (link is external)
EDUC 306Y	Economic Support Seminar for Education and Economic Development (link is external)
EDUC 404X	Topics in Brazilian Education: Public Policy and Innovation for the 21st Century (link is external)

Project: MA Paper

Students in the program are required to take the EDUC 206 course series in order to complete their MA paper requirement. By enrolling in EDUC 206A,B,C and D, students are advised through the entire process of developing their projects up to completion of their papers at the end of Summer Quarter.