The App State Higher Education Program offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Higher Education, with a concentration in Community College and University Leadership. Graduates with this concentration qualify for a wide variety of administrative and leadership positions in areas such as academic administration, financial aid, multicultural student development, institutional research, residence life, media relations, advancement, international education, and career development. The program integrates theory and practice to enable graduates to address the diverse and complex demands of leadership in today's rapidly changing educational environments.
Location/Delivery
The Community College & University Leadership concentration is offered both on the main App State campus and off-campus through the App State Online program.
- Students on campus may attend part-time or full-time, attending classes in the evenings. Each class meets one night per week. At this time, we are only admitting students to our main campus M.A. in fall semesters. However, it may be possible to take classes as a non-degree student, pending availability and discretion from the program faculty.
- Students in the distance education program join a part-time, online cohort and take two classes each term (including summers) for two years. Classes meet on weeknight evenings. At this time, cohorts for our online M.A. are only started in fall semesters.
Concentration Requirements
The M.A. degree in Higher Education requires coursework totaling 36 credit hours. The following courses are required for the concentration in Community College & University Leadership. Here is a downloadable Concentration Course Checklist for students admitted prior to the Fall of 2020 (DOCX, 103 KB).
Core
- HE 5380: Diversity in Higher Education
- HE 6861: The History and Law of American Higher Education
- RES 5000: Research Methods
Concentration
- HE 5160: Supervising and Advising in Higher Education
- HE 5420: Community Colleges
- HE 5430: Org. and Governance in Higher Education
- HE 5530: Globalization in Higher Education
- HE 5700: Leadership in Higher Education
- HE 5840: Higher Education Finance
- HE 5860: The 21st Century College Student
- Elective 1
- Elective 2
Other requirements for the degree include:
- An Admission to Candidacy form will be completed by the program faculty.
- Written Comprehensive Exam: Students must successfully complete a written comprehensive examination during the last semester of coursework.
Applying to the Program
Individuals interested in applying to our program can find admissions requirements here. Our current deadlines are listed below:
- Fall: February 1 (priority deadline), July 1 (final deadline)
- Spring:(main campus, nondegree only) November 1 (final deadline)
To start an application, click here.
For More Information
- Graduate Bulletin
- For information about program scholarships, click here.
- For information about the M.A. program, contact Dr. Chauntee Thrill, Program Director, at thrillcr@appstate.edu.
- For information about App State Online, click here.