NASHVILLE (AP) — Vanderbilt University is launching a new master's degree in education for private school leadership.

Vanderbilt says the new program addresses a shortage in advanced and specialized study for educators interested in managing private schools.

According to the university, the country's more than 33,000 private schools make up about a quarter of all schools and the children who attend them make up 10 percent of all U.S. students.

The program involves two summers of intensive coursework at Vanderbilt's Peabody College for education and human development in Nashville, combined with school-based research and practice during the rest of the year.

The program's first cohort of about 20 students will enroll this summer.