HGSE Admissions Blog

Course shopping was an entirely new experience for me when I first arrived at HGSE. In undergrad, we would choose our classes before the semester began, and then we had a few weeks into the semester to add or drop classes. At HGSE, we have something called course shopping. For the fall semester, this two day extravaganza happens during orientation week. In these two days, every single class that is offered at HGSE for the fall semester is “previewed”. The professors teach two thirty-minute sessions to dive into the content of the class, explain the assignment, and answer any questions students may have. Through attending these previews, students can get a much better understanding of what all their classes will be like, and get a good feel for the Professor’s personality and teaching style. During orientation, course previews lasted a day and half and when all was said and done, I previewed over twenty different classes. I went into a few course previews with very little prior knowledge about the subject, and walked out excited about the prospect of taking the course. I walked into other fully intending to enroll in that class, and changed my mind when I realized the content or learning objectives were not right for me.

As you can imagine, course previews can be a bit exhausting and overwhelming. HGSE students are naturally curious and interested in a lot of different things, so it is difficult to narrow down over twenty course previews to the four or five classes you actually take. During the course of the day and a half, I changed my mind a dozen times. Luckily, that is totally okay (and expected!) and there are a lot of different resources here to help you figure out your schedule.

• Formal advisors: Your assigned advisor is a great first person to consult when it comes to scheduling your coursework. In fact, you will have to meet with your advisor before you are allowed to register for classes. My advisor, Julie Reuben, only has 6 Ed.M. advisees, so she was able to meet with each of us for quite a while to discuss coursework and offer advice. She is also my Professor for History of Higher Education, and it has been fun to get to know her as both a professor and advisor.
• EdVising: After course previews, there was an EdVising session hosted in Gutman library. While everyone at HGSE is paired with a formal advisor, there are many other informal advisors in place to offer their perspective. Most of the EdVisors present during this session were recent alums of all the Ed.M. programs. It was great get advice from someone who so intimately knows the program.
• Course evaluations: When students at HGSE complete a class, they are required to fill out very detailed course evaluations. These evaluations are then posted online for current students to peruse. Through these evaluations, students can learn about the work-load from the course, teaching style of the professor, and so much more!
• There are other resources and support systems here if you are really struggling to choose your classes…and I was one of these people. After consulting all of the above resources, I still had some big decisions to make. I emailed our Program Director, Jim Antony (who has become one my favorite people here) and asked him to meet for a few minutes. He responded in less than five minutes and was able to meet with me later that day. In our twenty-minute meeting, my schedule was completely finalized. He talked to me honestly about what classes I should take (or not take), which is exactly what I needed in that moment.

Even though course shopping can be a little bit overwhelming, it is overwhelming in the best possible way.

Blog written by Jaime Morgen. Photo provided by Jaime Morgen.

Jaime Morgen is an Ed.M. candidate in the higher education program at HGSE, as well as one of the four graduate assistants in the HGSE admissions office. Immediately after graduating from Tufts University in 2014 with degrees in English, psychology, and entrepreneurial leadership, she joined the Tufts Office of Undergraduate Admissions first as an admissions counselor, and later as an Assistant Director of Admissions. During her four years in the office, she revamped the alumni interviewing program, coordinated events, and managed all print publications. She is most excited to finally be taking classes relating to higher education and to be surrounded by talented, intelligent, and genuine individuals who share similar interests.