Once you’ve decided to pursue a masters in education degree, you’ll need to choose a specialty to focus your studies on.

Each college will have their own set of masters programs and specialties available to students. Common specialties within most education programs include Educational Leadership and Policy, Curriculum and Instruction, Special Education and Educational Psychology.

Most graduate programs combine upper-level classes in the 400- to 500-level range with research, field work, papers and exams. Graduate students often have to complete a project at the end of the program in order to graduate, too. Your intructor may require you to prepare a thesis, take an exam or partner up with a classmate for a large project.

Not only are most graduate programs stimulating and interesting, but they can help to advance your career, too. Many employers in the education field require teachers to have a masters degree in order to secure a job.