"I immediately felt at home here. The faculty were fun and accessible and more than anything, I could see myself in their classes learning with the students I had met." -PhD student

The Higher Education & Student Affairs doctoral program prepares students to be leaders in a variety of higher education settings. The curriculum — designed to prepare both faculty and scholar-practitioners — positions graduates to serve:

1. in leadership positions in student affairs and academic administration;
2. as graduate faculty at research universities;
3. as leaders in conducting research about college students and higher education; and
4. as policy analysts in postsecondary institutions and public or private agencies.

With its productive and nationally known faculty, the HESA program is one of the major doctoral-granting programs in the U.S. This program reflects a movement in the study and the practice of American postsecondary education — to integrate the academic experience with the co-curricular learning experiences of students and to study the outcomes of both.

Students pick from three concentrations when they enter the program:

• Student Affairs Administration
• Policy in Higher Education
• Teaching, Learning & Curriculum in Higher Education
• Organization & Administration of Higher Education
• Foundations of Higher Education

Detailed course information

Applications to the Higher Education & Student Affairs program are due January 15 for August admission. Applicants must meet the requirements of both the Graduate College and EPLS to be admitted.

Detailed admissions information