An Investment in Becoming

The TIES M.Ed. isn’t a conventional graduate program, and our tuition structure reflects that distinction. When you invest in TIES, you’re not purchasing credits or credentials—you’re investing in 18 months that will fundamentally reshape how you see, think, and facilitate learning for the rest of your career.

Our tuition for 2026-2027 is $709 per course credit. The program is 36 credits across three 6-month semesters. Each semester’s tution is $8,508. Full program cost is $25,524.

We recognize this is a significant investment. It reflects the depth of individual mentorship you’ll receive as you develop your unique Emphasis Area, the pioneering online learning community we’ve refined over nearly three decades, and the guidance required for education that integrates cosmic consciousness, ecological literacy, and Montessori principles into lived practice.

Unlike programs that deliver standardized content to large cohorts, TIES provides individualized guidance as you explore questions that matter: What is your worldview, and how does it shape what you believe about learning? What do you uniquely have to contribute? How might educational practices promote harmony with Earth’s systems? You’ll create substantial original work through your Culminating Project, develop capacities for observation and dialogue that become fundamental to how you facilitate learning, and discover your role in the larger web of life.

This investment yields returns that compound throughout your career: deepened capacity to hold complexity and navigate ambiguity, integration of theory and practice in dynamic relationship, ability to design learning environments from ecological principles, and discovery of what you have to offer the Earth community. TIES graduates don’t just earn degrees—they become catalysts who carry new ways of being into their schools and communities.

Tuition Reduction for Montessori Educators Earning a Credential and Graduates of TEPs 

Adult learners enrolled in teacher training at our partner education centers receive a tuition reduction. This partnership recognizes that you’re investing in both certification and graduate education simultaneously. Graduates of teacher education programs are also eligible for a grant. Contact us to learn if your training center qualifies. Find more information here.

Making TIES Accessible

The majority of TIES students utilize some form of financial assistance. We’re committed to ensuring that cost doesn’t prevent dedicated educators from accessing this experience of education as their own becoming.

Federal Student Aid

Students apply for federal aid (FSA) after acceptance into the program. Applications are lodged up to six months in advance of the start of studies in January. To qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen in good academic standing. We evaluate each applicant’s financial situation carefully to create aid packages that accommodate individual needs. Students must reapply annually and maintain satisfactory academic progress to remain eligible.

Teachers currently in training at Montessori or holistic education centers may apply federal financial aid toward both their teacher training costs and their TIES tuition simultaneously.

GI Bill Benefits

Veterans and eligible family members can apply GI Bill benefits toward TIES tuition. Our Admissions team can help you understand your specific benefits and how to apply them to the program.

Marsha Snow Morgan Legacy Fund

Named for TIES co-founder Marsha Snow Morgan, this fund provides grants for educators working in underserved regions internationally. If you’re teaching in communities with limited resources but a deep need for holistic educational approaches grounded in ecological consciousness and right relationship with Earth, we encourage you to apply. The Legacy Fund exists to ensure that geographic and economic barriers don’t prevent dedicated educators from accessing TIES.

Individual Payment Plans

We understand that even with financial aid, managing tuition payments can be challenging. We work with students to create payment plans that accommodate their specific financial situations. Rather than requiring full semester payment upfront, we can structure payments across the semester to ease the burden.

Investment Perspective

Let’s put the investment in context:

  • Per month over 18 months: $1,320
  • What this reflects: Small cohorts (15-20 students), extensive faculty mentorship, individualized Emphasis Area development, integration of holistic and Montessori principles with cosmic narrative and deep ecology, pioneering online learning community, and support for creating substantial original work
  • Compared to other programs: TIES is comparable to traditional on-campus master’s programs—but offers something no other program does: education structured around your becoming rather than soley a credential acquisition

Many of our graduates report that TIES reshaped not just their teaching but their entire way of moving through the world. The capacity to observe with clear attention, to co-create meaning through dialogue, to see students within the vast web of life, to design environments from ecological principles—these aren’t skills you use occasionally. They become who you are as an educator and as a human being.

The return on this investment isn’t just measured in career advancement (though many graduates do assume leadership positions). It’s measured in deeper satisfaction with your work, capacity to make contributions you couldn’t have imagined before the program, and ability to facilitate others’ becoming because you’ve experienced your own.

Next Steps

We encourage you to have a conversation with an Admissions Guide before making financial decisions. We can:

  • Discuss your specific financial situation and explore which aid programs best fit your needs
  • Help you understand what becomes possible through this journey—how cosmic consciousness, ecological literacy, observational practice, and dialogical capacity reshape your teaching and your life
  • Create a customized plan that makes TIES accessible for you

Financial barriers shouldn’t prevent you from experiencing the education you’re called to. Let’s talk about how we can make this work.

Contact an Admissions Guide at 800-457-5672 or [email protected].