easteregg

There's a facebook group called Future Student Affairs Grad Students that has lots of resources, including answers to your question. There's a search bar in that facebook group

My graduate institution (and most of the schools I applied to for my master's) had a certificate program for PhD students in college teaching & learning. Courses/seminars I saw for that certificate were a foundations in college teaching, inclusive teaching, evidence based teaching, active learning in STEM, using digital tools, course development, and college student learners. This program also had several short seminars and one time workshops that counted for credit. Not sure if this is similar to what you're looking for, but in the programs I applied to this type of thing was geared toward PhD students

@RyanHGSE17 just want to chime in that higher ed also has the fewest number of "required" classes at Penn GSE (in case someone reading here is wondering haha). Technically no specific classes are required, just need to take 4 classes in higher ed which is similar to ECS (3 specific classes required + one research class). Friends in RWL say they are required to take like 6 or 7 classes and have a required fieldwork too.

@brainman1130 You just need to submit by the priority deadline. Last year, the higher ed division (I assume that's where you're applying based on your info) released decisions really quickly - a little over a week.

I currently live in Boston. I was told by a Harvard higher ed student that their part time cohort members have generally always been Harvard employees or other Harvard affiliates. The most well known are probably Boston College (which is generally well regarded), BU, and Northeastern. Suffolk is in Boston as well and offers a higher ed admin program, but I'm not familiar with their program. There are also quite a few programs outside of Boston but within an hour or so driving (depending on traffic) - Salem State, Merrimack, Bridgewater State (student affairs program) - and UMass Amherst in Western Mass is a few hours away, though also pretty well known.

Some programs have guaranteed assistantships as part of their curriculum, so if you're worried about competitiveness, that may be an option for you. Depending on the institution and area you're going to, getting an assistantship or internship isn't necessarily competitive. Some urban areas such as Boston have assistantship opportunities at universities outside of the institution where the program is held because not every university has an education/higher ed program to hire students from. I am about to enter a master's program for higher ed and have met someone who is 5 years out of undergrad that decided to go for a career change into the field, so you're not late in the game at all - with higher ed, I don't think anything really qualifies as "late in the game" because different experiences and areas of interest can translate well into different functional areas in universities. I also knew someone in undergrad who didn't get higher ed experience until their 5th year of college - they stayed just to get the experience really, but were accepted to at least one program. Study abroad in itself is actually related since you become familiar with the logistics of studying abroad from your own experience. Also look for opportunities to get involved if there's a study abroad/global study/global experience office on your campus once you return. Senior year is a great time to have really meaningful experiences in leadership/jobs. I was like you and didn't have the traditional experiences a lot of students have going into higher ed programs (did not do res life, orientation, tours, etc) but I did a lot of admin work through work study jobs and was able to get some relevant leadership positions my senior year after not having any the previous 3 years. Depending on the programs you apply to, the assistantship process may not be til after you get accepted. The programs I was accepted to had their admitted student day/assistantship interviews in late March to April, so that's enough time to have valuable things to talk about from your senior year.

@HisGrace I've been taking non-degree classes (didn't get accepted to a degree program) at HGSE and I've met students at the College while taking classes through work on campus. Have never felt any of the undergrads I interact with have thought badly of me just because I take classes at HGSE, everyone I interact with has been nice/chill and I've become friends and good acquaintances with quite a few. I also live in one of the Harvard Housing buildings with all sorts of graduate students and everyone in my housing area doesn't seem to treat HGSE students any different than other students. My personal take is that, at worst, HGSE isn't really a place that students at other schools think about because they're focused on their own programs. Hope that's helpful!

I'm not an HKS applicant but I've worked across the university and don't understand the claims from your post, @kevin_hks... Many HKS faculty have joint appointments at the College, HBS, HGSE, HLS... Even Harvard's former President, Larry Summers has an appointment at HKS. I don't see how this is considered "second class". College (and other grad students at Harvard) often are taking classes under the same faculty or sometimes cross registering into HKS classes. This is also not really true, HKS is not an exception. Undergraduates and PhDs are both under the Faculty of Arts & Sciences (College and GSAS). The Divinity School is the only other Harvard school I can think of that is generous with funding; that's 3 schools out of Harvard's 12 that offer good funding. So HKS is actually with the majority that do not always offer a ton of funding for the master's equivalent (HKS, HBS, HGSE, HLS, GSD, HMS, HSPH, etc, etc).

@smcg92 Do you mean the official difference? This is from the Teachers College website from the IED/CIE department: "The Ed.M., an advanced Masters degree, is almost 30 credits more than the M.A., and will therefore give a student more practical experience in a particular field (specialization). In the field of education, an Ed.M. is recognized as more advanced, and may possibly offer a higher salary. It may also give faculty a better understanding of students' abilities, especially for students who wish to pursue a doctorate after completing the Ed.M. requirements. Applicants to the Ed.M. degree must have an M.A. already. It is common for applicants to the Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs to be accepted first into the Ed.M. program." http://www.tc.columbia.edu/international-and-transcultural-studies/international-and-comparative-education/student-resources/faqs/

Got a notification around 8pm about my Financial Aid award being available (was admitted 2 weeks ago to Higher Ed). Meh

Don't know if anyone else got this news today, but my program sent out a message & included a link showing that Penn GSE is ranked #3 nationally by US News & World Report (up from #7 last year). And for my fellow Higher Ed admits, the Higher Education division is ranked #2! I know rankings don't mean a ton sometimes but it's fun to get this news as I try to decide where to go

@TCapplicant Not sure if you meant to post that here, but this is the thread for Teachers College Columbia University Still, best of luck getting off the waitlist!

Got an email at 5:15pm about an update to my application. Offered admission to the MA in Higher Ed!

@cjaneob I don't have any info but I grew up in Virginia Beach about 20 mins away from ODU! Best of luck to you, I hope you hear back soon.

@AnkarachicThanks! I applied on the priority deadline for the higher ed program, February 15th. It was a quick turnaround.