Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration (HESA) M.Ed.

Program Overview

We welcome full-time and part-time students with various levels of experience and backgrounds. We enroll a relatively small cohort each year to promote strong and enduring relationships with fellow colleagues, award-winning faculty, and campus partners. 

Committed to the future of the nation’s higher education system, we challenge students to make their graduate education an unparalleled learning experience.

Our Mission

We develop practitioner scholars through academic and professional preparation whose commitment to reflection and social justice will transform higher education and student affairs in the spirit of The Vermont Connection.

Core Values

Academic and Professional Preparation:  Through partnerships between faculty and student affairs professionals, we promote excellence through academic and professional rigor. We cultivate the knowledge and skills necessary for success in the profession through the synergy between classroom and experiential learning as conceptualized by philosopher and UVM alumnus John Dewey.

Social Justice:  We are committed to pursuing social justice as both a process and a goal to dismantle individual, institutional, and societal oppression. Grounded in the ethos of HESA, UVM, and the profession, we strive to transform student affairs for more equitable and inclusive opportunities in higher education.

Reflection:  We foster reflection of self, others, and contexts as a critical component of growth in professional practice. Through critical consciousness we strive to improve higher education and student affairs with an aim toward promoting individual, institutional, and societal change.

The Vermont Connection is a collegial network of former and current students, faculty, and student affairs professionals with the shared vision of uplifting community through relationships. The spirit of The Vermont Connection weaves together the history, present, and future of UVM HESA. 

Program Information

• Academic and Professional Preparation
• Meet Our Faculty
• HESA and The Vermont Connection

Funding Pathways

Learn more about our graduate assistantships, scholarships, and employment opportunities:

HESA Funding Pathways

How to Apply

Review the Admissions section/tab on this page with instructions on how to apply.

Information Sessions

Meet our faculty and learn more about the program:

Attend an online information session

Contact Us

Reach out to our Office of Graduate Student and Program Services if you have questions or need assistance.

Follow UVM HESA on Social Media

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Admissions

HESA applications are accepted year-round, but are only reviewed twice per year, in December (due December 1) and April (due April 15) for enrollment the following fall semester. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their completed application by December 1 to increase the chances of an available spot for the upcoming fall. Those interested in interviewing for HESA graduate assistantships must submit their completed application packet by December 1. The April review cycle is only for applicants not seeking assistantships.  

We welcome new full-time and part-time students every fall semester. Admission to the HESA program is highly competitive and based on the candidate's academic accomplishments, potential for successful graduate work, knowledge of higher education and student learning and development, professional readiness, and commitment to the higher education and student affairs field. The HESA admissions committee assesses a candidate's potential for successful completion of the degree program and ability to function effectively as a professional in a college and university setting.  

Applications to the HESA program are managed via the Graduate College. The admissions process includes submitting items requested in the Graduate College application packet (details below) and a potential interview with HESA program faculty.  

HESA graduate assistantship interviews are coordinated separately from the academic admissions process and take place early in the spring semester each year.  Eligible admitted students will receive details about the assistantship interview process shortly after being notified of their admission to the HESA program. Please visit the HESA Funding Pathways page for more information. 

Application Packet

Please review the detailed application instructions provided by the Graduate College. All materials must be submitted online via the Graduate College application system. A completed HESA program application includes the following: 

• Application Form

• Statement of Purpose (specific to the HESA Program) 

• Resume/Curriculum Vitae 

• Three Letters of Recommendation 

• Transcript(s) for each higher education institution you have attended 

• Residential Status Questionnaire (for in-state tuition consideration) 

• Test scores for English proficiency for applicants whose native or first language is not English 

• Application Fee of $65.00 paid at time of submission 

For further guidance on the statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, and other application materials, applicants are strongly encouraged to review the HESA degree page in the UVM Graduate Catalogue. 

Note: The GRE is NOT required for academic admission to the UVM HESA nor for university funding through financial aid. 

Applicants are strongly advised to submit all materials (e.g., transcripts, recommendations, resume) by or before the deadline to receive a full and timely review. 

You can check whether your application is complete and all materials (e.g., recommendations, transcripts) have been submitted by logging into the application system provided by the Graduate College. Your application will not be reviewed by the HESA admissions committee until it is complete. 

Outcomes

As reflected our mission statement and core values, the four program learning outcomes embrace the ACPA/NASPA professional competencies expected of emerging professionals in higher education and student affairs administration.

• Understand, analyze, and apply the evolving body of scholarship and knowledge that guides student affairs practice.
• Develop, analyze, and apply professional skills and values that guide student affairs practice.
• Recognize, analyze, and act upon individual, institutional, and societal inequities in the pursuit of social justice and inclusion.
• Synthesize knowledge, practice, and social justice and inclusion of self, others, and context.