NASHVILLE, Tenn. and LANDOVER, Md. -- Vanderbilt University, in collaboration with 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU), announced a partnership to launch two new online degrees to meet the needs of professionals. Through Vanderbilt's Peabody College of education and human development, the university will offer a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in school counseling and a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) in leadership and learning in organizations.

"Preparing school counselors and organizational leaders to address an increasingly diverse society is among the most important things that we do at Peabody. As the fields of education and human development continue to evolve and to be affected by rapid advances in technology, we want to take advantage of these opportunities to meet students how, when, and where they are learning," said Camilla P. Benbow, dean of Vanderbilt University's Peabody College. "These new online degrees will help to engage an even larger community of education professionals, which is central to our mission."

The M.Ed. in school counseling will prepare students who want to work as professional school counselors in K-12 settings and meet the needs of the youth they serve. Through a rigorous and humanistic training model, students will develop a strong grounding in theories of human development and counseling practice and will learn to translate that knowledge to become effective school counselors. Graduates of the program will be able to acquire licensure for school counseling in public or private K-12 settings.

Peabody's online Ed.D. in leadership and learning in organizations is designed for experienced mid-career professionals and organizational leaders who currently possess a master's degree. The program will focus significantly on data and analytics and problems of practice to enable students to lead organizational change and drive systemic improvement in academia, government agencies, and the private sector.

Peabody Online will feature live, face-to-face online classes in an intimate seminar-style setting as well as engaging, interactive course content created by the college's faculty and delivered through the 2U Platform. Students will participate in traditional, in-person learning experiences through practicums, internship and on-campus immersion experiences. The online programs are expected to launch in September 2017.

SOURCE 2U, Inc.