Higher Education MEd Course of Study

This course is the first course for students in the master’s degree program in Higher Education. There are several goals for the semester. As a survey course it is designed to introduce you to different areas of study within higher education. Hopefully you’ll discover topics that you’ll be inspired to delve in to in greater depth during your time as a master’s student. You’ll become familiar with the eight competencies in which you are expected to develop expertise during your time in the program. We’ll focus on your writing, particularly how to write an academic paper using scholarly resources, how to develop and support an argument, and the various aspects of APA style. We’ll discuss the importance good nutrition, adequate sleep, exercise and self-care in your life and develop strategies to maintain balance in your life, both while you are a student and during your professional career.

This course is part of a two-semester introduction to the study of higher education for students in the Master's program. Its content focuses on the political economy of and oppression within higher education institutions. It does so using a variety of historical, sociological, and anthropological approaches to the study of higher education. By the end of the course, participants will be able to: 1) Summarize major changes in the history of higher education in the United States and describe their relationship to contemporary conditions in colleges and universities; 2) Situate higher education institutions within political, economic, and societal structures— specifically as they relate to structures of opportunity and cumulative advantage / disadvantage experienced by individual students; 3) Explain systems of power, privilege, and oppression within contemporary society and describe how higher education institutions both shape and are shaped by these systems; and 4) Evaluate contemporary higher education policy and practice utilizing a variety of critical perspectives drawn from history, sociology, and anthropology.

This course provides an introduction to research from a higher education perspective. Students in this course engage in activities that support learning to understand the process of systematically researching a problem in the field of higher education and how to evaluate and interpret higher education scholarship. This seminar is designed to examine how the field of higher education applies research designs and methods to generate new knowledge. In other words, we read and discuss issues of higher education, but through the lens of research design and methods. Although we introduce and discuss many research methods, this is not a methods course. It is intended to be a design course primarily, with an introduction to methods and some methods application. The aim of this course is to help students link knowledge about higher education with the analytic, research, and communication skills necessary for informing and improving research, policy, and practice. Students interested in pursuing additional research methods coursework should consult with their advisor, including whether the course, Research in Higher Education, is appropriate to achieve their academic goals.

A minimum of 120 hours of approved practicum experience is required and provides an opportunity for you to obtain more experiential-based learning related to higher education. Most students choose to do their practicum during the summer months between the first and second year of the program, although for some, it is more convenient to do it at a different time. The practicum includes at least 120 hours, and there is considerable flexibility in terms of sites and job descriptions, based on the interests of each student. You are responsible for locating your own practicum site – you should work closely with your academic advisers during this process. After the actual practicum has been completed, there is a required “Practicum” class in the fall that provides an opportunity to reflect upon your experiences with your classmates and an instructor. The Practicum Handbook describes the process in more detail. Students who have had at least five years of full-time professional experience in higher education may request to waive the 120 hours of practicum experience (but not the course). To request a waiver, you must write a one-page statement describing your prior professional experience. This statement should be submitted to your adviser, who will present the request to the faculty for approval.

During the spring semester prior to graduation, master’s students must take this capstone course. The course is the capstone experience for students completing their masters’ degrees in Higher Education Administration. It is intended to allow you an opportunity to reflect upon your educational experience in the master’s program and to demonstrate your knowledge of the higher education program’s core competencies. In the integrative paper you will investigate a real life challenge that stems from your professional practice (this could be your assistantship, practicum, or other work experience). The course culminates in a formal presentation.

The goal for this course is for each of you to develop a deeper understanding of the eight competencies associated with the higher education program. With two or more years of coursework and many more years of experience in higher education, you possess a great deal of knowledge from many different sources—including your own experiences as a student and administrator, informal theories that you have developed, formal theories that you have read about, and information synthesized from these and other sources. Your goal is to figure out how all of these things fit together to offer creative solutions to the many complex problems we face as higher education professionals.

Students with outstanding incomplete grades are not eligible for enrollment in this class. All outstanding work for courses with incompletes must be handed in to the instructor prior to the beginning of the semester when you plan to take Integrative. As part of this course, students will demonstrate their proficiency with the Higher Education program Competencies through a capstone project and an oral defense, as designed by the course instructor.