OpenFieldLesley Univ · Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, located adjacent to Harvard Square. Lesley is world-renowned for its pioneering Expressive Arts Therapies programs, creative writing, social justice education, and the College of Art and Design.
Lesley comprises the College of Art and Design, the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Graduate School of Education. It is the birthplace of professional art therapy, dance therapy, and music therapy, maintaining extensive clinical internships throughout Greater Boston.
Undergraduate admissions evaluate high school academic records and essays under test-optional review, with visual art portfolios required for art majors. Graduate clinical counseling programs require an accredited bachelor's degree, prerequisite psychology courses, and group admissions interviews.
Pioneering clinical mental health degree integrating psychoanalytic theory, cognitive-behavioral art interventions, trauma recovery, and supervised clinical field placements in Boston.
Nationally acclaimed low-residency creative writing degree mentored by award-winning authors in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for stage and screen, and young adult literature.
Specialized education degree based on the pioneering literacy work of Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, focusing on guided reading interventions and equitable classroom pedagogy.
Fellowship supporting visual artists and activists engaging with community housing justice, climate resilience, and public art murals across Greater Boston.
Clinical educational internship delivering intensive early literacy interventions to primary school students struggling with phonological awareness and comprehension.
Honoring the university's founder, this scholarship recognizes incoming undergraduate students demonstrating academic rigor, social responsibility, and community advocacy.
President and Legal Scholar
Office of the President
Dr. Janet L. Steinmayer has served as President of Lesley University since 2019, leading campus revitalization in Cambridge, expanding mental health counseling,...
View researcher profile ↗University Professor Emeritus and Pioneer of Expressive Arts Therapy
Division of Expressive Therapies
Dr. Shaun McNiff is an internationally recognized authority who established the world's first integrated expressive arts therapy graduate program at Lesley in 1...
View researcher profile ↗Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Reading Recovery
Graduate School of Education
Dr. Irene C. Fountas is a globally recognized literacy educator and co-creator of the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, revolutionizing classroom r...
View researcher profile ↗OpenField is an independent research platform not officially affiliated with Lesley University. Information reflects public documentation reviewed on 2026-10-16. Students must verify application deadlines, fee structures, and prerequisite details directly with official university admissions departments before applying.
Updated 2026-10-16 · Editorial policy · Submit corrections