Higher Education Leadership & Administration Graduate Certificate Program of Study
Course of Study
To complete the Higher Education Leadership & Administration Graduate Certificate, students must earn 15 credits from our required and elective offerings.
Required Courses (12 credits)
- EDUC 643 (previously 601A) – Foundations of Higher Education OR EDUC 674C – Community College Foundations, 3cr each
- EDUC 674 – Leading Higher Education, 3cr
- EDUC 621 – Managing Higher Education, 3cr
- EDUC 723 – Organizing Higher Education, 3cr
- *Plus one elective class to complete 15 credits
Sample Elective Courses (3 credits)
- EDUC 601 College Student Development Theory, 3cr
- EDUC 641 Assessment, Evaluation & Research in Higher Education, 3cr
- EDUC 692R Introduction to College Teaching, 3cr
- EDUC 697EE Staffing the Digital Workplace, 3 cr
- EDUC 682 Supporting Student Success, 3cr
- EDUC 659A Helping Skills for Higher Education Professionals, 3cr
- EDUC 748 Community Colleges Current Issues, 3cr
- Independent study, 3cr - If you have a specific topic of interest you'd like to explore, talk to an advisor about adapting a syllabus or creating a project for independent study credit.
- Practicum, 3cr - Complete 120 hours of practice with an institution of your choosing for your elective credit (highly recommended for students looking for more experience before a career change)
- Students are also welcome to take electives in other online programs (Social Justice Education and International Education M.Ed. - Online)
We are offer a community colleges track option for students looking to do a more focused study of community college leadership and administration. Students interested in this option can take EDUC 674C Community College Foundations as their required foundations course and can choose to take EDUC 748 Current Issues in Community Colleges as their elective.
For more information please see our Higher Education Program Graduate Student Handbook (previous Handbook is still available here for student reference).
Spring 2025 Courses
| Course | Description | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDUC 644 (Univ+) | Critical Perspectives on Equity and Justice in Higher Education | 3 |
| EDUC 674 (Univ+) | Leading Higher Education* | 3 |
| EDUC 682 (Univ+) | Supporting Student Success | 3 |
*Required for Certificate (all others are electives) +Optional for certificate- can be taken instead of EDUC 643 |
Summer 2025 Course Offerings - Planned
| Course | Description | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDUC 641 (Univ+) | Assessment, Research and Evaluation in Higher Education | 3 |
| EDUC 643 (Univ+) | Foundations of Higher Education* | 3 |
| EDUC 621 (Univ+) | Managing Higher Education* (Session 2) | 3 |
| EDUC 748 (Univ+) | Current Issues in Community Colleges (Session 1) | 3 |
| *Required for Certificate (all others are electives) |
Fall 2025 Course Offerings - Planned
| Course | Description | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDUC 643 (Univ+) | Foundations of Higher Education* | 3 |
| EDUC 723 (Univ+) | Organizing Higher Education* | 3 |
| EDUC 682 (Univ+) | Supporting Student Success (elective) | 3 |
| EDUC 601 (Univ+) | College Student Development Theory (elective) | 3 |
| *Required for Certificate (all others are electives) | 3 |
~Final schedules based on enrollment and instructor availability
You can refer to the academic calendar for important semester dates including registration and add/drop. On the Univ+ Explore Classes website you can search by term and program (Higher Education Graduate Certificate) to see classes and view more information including tuition costs and dates.
For more information, please contact Annie Stephany at info-leadership [at] umass [dot] edu (info-leadership[at]umass[dot]edu).