2024-2025 Catalog 
    
    Oct 11, 2024  
2024-2025 Catalog

Higher Education and Student Affairs, MA


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The Master of Arts in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) within the Organization and Leadership (O&L) program combines a rigorous academic curriculum with practicum experiences in various areas of student life (e.g., intercultural center, student engagement, residence life) to prepare professionals working in or aspiring toward administrative leadership positions in Higher Education. Important objectives of HESA are to train professionals who will 1) understand issues of access and equity in higher education and the unique experiences and problems facing underrepresented groups and 2) think critically about the complexities involved in transforming organizations and programs in order to achieve equitable outcomes for all students. Requirements include 24 credits of course work, 3 credits of Practicum and a 3 credit Masters Capstone.

Program Learning Outcomes


Important objectives of the Higher Education & Student Affairs program are to train professionals who will:

  • Situate contemporary issues of access, equity, and oppression in higher education within a broader framework of social inequality
  • Contextualize and critically analyze experiences and challenges facing marginalized students across higher education contexts
  • Develop a professional orientation that integrates theoretical frameworks, student affairs practice, and lived experience
  • Advocate for social justice to transform spaces within higher education to enact more equitable outcomes for all students

THE NASPA/ACPA PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS PRACTITIONERS INCLUDE:

  • Advising and Helping
  • Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
  • Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
  • Ethical Professional Practice
  • History, Philosophy, and Values
  • Human and Organizational Resources
  • Law, Policy, and Governance
  • Leadership
  • Personal Foundations
  • Student Learning and Development

To find out more information about these competency areas.

Major Requirements (30 units)


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