Sandmaster

The answer greatly depends on the graduate programs you attend. For example, most teachers that want to focus on their instruction will typically get their master's in their teaching subject, or something close and get certified to teach an additional subject. Some teachers will pursue more of the curriculum development (usually like an M.S. in curriculum and instruction for example) and become curriculum coordinators for their school. Others that are more interested in administrative work will take on courses to pursue their teacher leader (or mentor) certification and endorsement, or they will go the principal route. It all greatly depends. At the doctoral level (Ed.D. especially) they usually pursue administrative career paths at the school and district level. These are typically programs that lead to endorsements in principal and/or superintendent. Ed.D. programs can require so many years of service before they will consider you a competitive and qualified candidate and will usually require the school administration to recommend you for the program. It all greatly depends on the route you take. You can get far with a master's in many places, but usually to reach the higher levels of administration you will need to eventually get the doctorate. I hope this helps! Edit: I just noticed you listed yourself in Canada. I am really not sure how the education system works there in terms of the education system, however what I have listed is for the US and I can only assume it is somewhat similar. Sorry if it really doesn't help! I would continue to ask people who are in positions that you want to eventually pursue and are comfortable to talk to them to see the path they took. Again, there is usually no one single path to get there, just gives you an example.

I could be wrong as I have not gone through a Ph.D. app process yet (also applying for 2018) however, I think that while the writing score is a little low for some of those programs (they probably have averages of a 5) I would not retake and spend the time wowing them on your SOP and Writing sample. I doubt they would even take a second look at the writing score after reading good submissions of writing as pieces of the application. Just my non-expert opinion though. Good luck!

So, I tired submitting for a paper presentation, but unfortunately the regional conference I would attend (student member of) had already closed the proposal window and therefore my proposal was denied. I am hoping to secure a conference at the university I am at in the grad student showcase. It wont be before the app deadlines, but I can at least put in my statement that I am putting my research out there in hopes to present it.

Theoretically UW-Milwaukee has one if you do 12 hours in fall and spring and 9 in summer. But I would advise against it. Most programs that I know of are 1.5-2 years for the typical student.

I am willing to look it over in my spare time. Let me know!

I am also willing to look it over. Let me know!

Okay, so some things have changed a little bit since I posted this thread, so I will post my more current stats if anyone wants to give advice as admissions applications are beginning to open up. Schools I plan on applying to based on research interests (in no particular order): University of California - Irvine University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Ohio State University Michigan State University My Stats for Application: Applying for a Ph.D in Higher Education UGRAD GPA: 3.089 (Cumulative), 3.757 (Honors) Major: Physics - Secondary Education, Minor: Communication Studies, Awarded University Honors (Top University Honor with 37 Honors Credits Completed) R2 State Institution GRAD GPA: 3.75 (Cumulative) - 12 Credits Completed out of 33 Required for the Degree & Cert. M.S Higher Education Administration Graduate Certificate of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education R1 State Institution GRE Scores: (Taken Last October) - Debating Retaking Verbal: 151 Quantitative: 154 Analytical Writing: 5.0 Research Experience: Completed 2 Undergraduate Honors Theses, one in Physics and one in Communication (Education based) Physics was one semester long of research and writing the thesis and Communication was 5 semesters long with a full year dedicated to research and writing the thesis. Undergraduate Research Program In Physics for a semester (Program had limited funding, but learned a lot about research skills) Graduate Research Papers (3 Papers) Turned assignments from courses into independent studies on my research interests for the dissertation. Publications: 0 Current publications, but will try to publish a research paper by the end of my master's. Writing Sample: Using a term paper that is about 15 pages long and getting feedback from that professor (also a letter of recommendation for me) Letters of Recommendations: (3 Letters) Undergraduate Research Supervisor Graduate Advisor and Professor Graduate Professor (Wrote the writing sample for their course) Statement of Purpose: On it's fourth version now, I have about 4-5 friends in the higher education field helping revise and read it. Let me know if anyone wants to give advice, or sees any red flags I should be addressing. Thank you all!

I am currently in my master's and hold a student affairs assistantship (financial aid advising) and it was a bit different for me. So, I got admitted into the program in November and started in January of this year. It was up to me to find an assistantship, which was very difficult on an "off season" admittance to the university. However, assuming you start in the fall like most places do, you should be fine. I can not speak to all institutions, but most have a mass interview where you get a list of all openings and you rank them. Usually you get interviewed for your top choice and then any other groups that want to interview you will. Then you will get offers and can pick which one you are interested in. It is possible to change assistantships throughout your education, but I would advise only doing that if the first one was not a good fit in terms of what you wanted to do after the master's. For example, financial aid is so large it takes about a year just to learn everything so leaving without even a year doesn't work well as there is such a high amount of training to replace you (other areas can be similar such as a semester, or more). When I applied I had a lot of experience as an undergrad, 2 years as an honors house (LLC) RA, 3 years in tours and marketing, 2 years in student involvement and development, 2 years in student government, and 1 year in admissions and academic advising. (Yes, it was quite a lot while trying to do a physics bachelor's) Honestly, none of it really helped me much other than in the courses. The assistantships typically will look for experience in the interviews, but I know plenty of students get them without any student affairs experience. Also know that if you don't get any assistantships at your school, there is a chance other schools will have opening that will pay your tuition. I go to a state system wide school, so any system school would pay my "home" university's tuition bill. So, that may be an option as well, but I wouldn't worry too much. There are so many assistantships in student affairs, but you probably won't have access to teaching appointments and there may be some research appointments - but those are extremely rare.

I think the answer will ultimately come down to what it is you want to do with the degrees. Do you want to stop at a Master's and get a student affairs experience for a few years before going on? Do you want to just get the doctorate right after the master's and become a prof, or work within the academic affairs side? I think going down the student affairs route may be your better bet as it opens a bit more options in terms of employment within a university and at least gets you in the door. Also you could consider doing the Master's in student affairs and look for a higher education leadership or policy program at the doctoral level which gives you the policy and politics (government interaction) side of higher education. Personally, I love my program. I find it interesting that it incorporates many different facets of the higher education systems in the world. I just took a higher education budgeting course and a governance course. I will be taking a higher education personnel course and a higher education curriculum planning course over the summer. These are very insightful! I am currently debating if I want to do the Ph.D in educational policy, or in higher education (general degree). Both would fit with my dissertation and research interests, but I get the want to incorporate policy and government into higher education. Maybe look for a policy and leadership program rather than just a student affairs program?

That sounds like an interesting route to take. I would assume it would be fine as long as there were professors there that would be willing to help you utilize that focus within your classes. I guess it would greatly depend on the school and MPA program, but worth looking into. Maybe ask the program coordinator what they think about your interests. I am currently in a similar boat. I chose to get the master's in higher ed admin (student affairs basically at my school) but will be looking for ways to get more into academic affairs side and become a prof with my Ph.D program.

Thanks, I sent a pm your way!

Thank you for your encouragement. It makes me feel a bit better knowing I am at least possibly a competitive candidate.

" My GRE scores aren't amazing, but they are considered competitive with the highlight of my scores being my writing score at a 5.0." V: 151, Q: 154, AW: 5.0

Hi All - I was looking for some advice and I am hoping someone can shed some light for me. I am currently a master's student and will be completing my degree in summer of 2018. I am interested in applying to a doctoral program (specifically a Ph.D. in education, not an Ed.D.) for the fall of 2018. My current program is within higher education administration. I am looking to research distance education and technology integration, but I am having issues finding schools that offer that program, or even have faculty members who have a research background in that area. Also, I am not sure if my academic record warrants an admission consideration from schools for a doctorate level degree. So my first question stems from the admission requirements. Most schools that I have started to look at require a undergraduate GPA of a 3.2-3.5, or higher (mine was only a 3.089 in a completely unrelated field, but had an honors GPA of a 3.8), and a graduate GPA of a 3.5-3.75, or higher (mine is currently a 4.0, but could dip to a 3.9 from an A- I may end up with in a demanding class this term). Would admission committees be more apt to look at my graduate GPA over my awful undergraduate one? I know I can get good recommendations from my graduate professors and advisors (whom I have as professors as well) who would be able to speak on my behalf that I work very hard and go beyond the requirements of the courses. My GRE scores aren't amazing, but they are considered competitive with the highlight of my scores being my writing score at a 5.0. I wrote my undergraduate honors senior thesis in curriculum design and pedagogy which was a year of research and was quite substantial at the time. So, in all I just am worried about the GPA aspect of the application process as I think the other elements I have a competitive record in. The second question comes from the research and topic I would chose to get into the doctorate programs. Would it be advisable to look for a related general degree program and then once I am in try to do what I want with a professor who has a related topic? Or, would it be preferable to just keep looking for a professor that has researched my exact topic and I can try to work with them? I have a bit of time, but most application deadlines are in December, or as early as October. So, I have only a few more months to start to cement what my plans are and list out schools to begin application preparation for. Any advice would be helpful, thank you for reading and I hope to hear from some of you. Thanks!

I would assume the masters degree applicants are considered separately from the bachelors applicants. I know in my field, it is very uncommon to go from a BA/BS to a Ph.D/Ed.D so most of the time, at the doctoral level, they are masters degree applicants. However, I do know some who offer Ph.D/Ed.D for those with both bachelors and masters and they evaluate them differently with a different set of criteria. I guess it depends on the schools individually.

Yeah, I did this during mine. My grades came out before they made an admission decision, so I uploaded them as a document to my app. It apparently helped me cause I got admitted a day after I uploaded the new ones and the graduate school recalculated my GPA.

I got the official acceptance by email today, I will be getting the physical letter in the mail soon!

I am still waiting to hear from the grad school and I am in the process of applying to GA positions. It is really starting to annoy me that they wont even finalize my acceptance and yet I am expected to be applying to financial aid positions, plus submitting my FAFSA where there is no student ID, or account, to go with it.

Mine was right around 550 words, which seems somewhat short to give everything, but it really wasn't. I made sure to use succinct language that displayed a dynamic range of vocabulary. It was tough, but honestly it worked out well. I got accepted and they told me my SOP was very well written.

I am not sure why it is taking so long. I still have not gotten anything from them. I contacted the program and they said it shouldn't be too much longer, but that was over a week ago. I am hoping that I am going to get the notification sometime this week.

Hey all, So, I just got an email from the graduate school that informed me of an opening for a graduate assistantship in an office that is not my program. They require a resume, list of references, and a personal statement. I have applied for professional jobs in my field before (Bachelor's is typically needed for entry level positions), but I wondered if anyone could give me advice on if applying for GA positions are different? Should I expect to follow the same guidelines as applying for a professional position? Also, who should I include for references? I assume it is wiser to put professional references like my current supervisor, rather than academic references such as professors that I worked with. Thank you for any advice you can offer to me.

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Drum Kits

Hi All, I had a quick question reguarding the timelines that graduate schools typically take. I submitted my application near the beginning of October (I think it was the 5th) and got word from the department chair last week saying that the program adcom gave the graduate school a recommendation for admission. I have yet to hear anything on a formal acceptance. I was told the process would be quick once the program gave its recommendation. I am getting nervous because the graduate school is taking quite a lot of time to even send a letter, email me, or update the application portal. Class enrollment started this week and I have no official student ID yet as they havent formally extended the admission offer. Does the adcom recommendation mean I for sure got in, or can I still be waitlisted, or denied? Also, how long should I expect to wait for the formal decision to come? Any info is helpful! Thank you!

I can not comment on everything, but I can tell you that im my experience, grad schools do not like alumni for some reason. I got denied, flat out denied, to my alma mater which is an extremely uncompetitive program. They did not like that I got my bachelors there. I am not sure what it is like for other schools, but just some food for thought.