M.Ed. in Higher Education

About

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The M.Ed. in Educational Administration with an emphasis in higher education has been offered since the fall 2006 semester. The Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations is proud to have conferred more than 50 of these degrees as of spring 2015. The program’s goals are to meet the needs of current and emergent educational leaders in post-secondary education across the nation. The program encourages intensive study of policies and organizational issues in higher education that will assist future leaders, administrators, researchers and policy analysts. The location of The University of Texas at El Paso on an international border provides rich context to address the population of our community and the needs of our growing nation.

Candidates are encouraged to personalize their program experience to meet their career goals in policy, academics, administration or other related interests. Graduates of our higher education program are employed in a variety of campus and nonprofit settings.

DEGREE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

The M.Ed. in Educational Administration with emphasis in higher education requires the completion of 36 semester hours of graduate credit work with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 to avoid academic probation. Minimum credit hours shall be distributed in the following way:

• Higher Education Core (18 credit hours)
• Research, Design and Methodology (6 credit hours)
• Electives (6 credit hours)
• (M.Ed.) (6 credit hours)

INTERNSHIP/APPRENTICESHIP REQUIREMENTS (M.ED.)

Administrative Internships (M.Ed.)

An eligible student with less than a year of documented administrative higher education experience is required to complete two semesters of an administrative internship to gain some experience in higher education leadership. The internship should be at a site that will advance the student’s professional interests. The setting can be at a student’s current place of employment. However, students must assume duties that are not associated with the students’ current position. The internship should be at one site, but the student’s adviser may approve two internships at two sites. The internship must include a minimum of five goals to be accomplished by the student. The internship’s goals must be detailed in a contract approved by the student, adviser and site supervisor. In addition to accomplishing the internship goals, students must, at minimum, meet or communicate with their adviser midway through each semester to report on the internship’s progress and for the advisor to provide appropriate assistance if necessary. Midway through each semester, the adviser will meet or communicate with the site supervisors to obtain their perception of the student’s progress and performance.

Research Apprenticeships (M.Ed.)

An eligible student who has a year or more of documented administrative experience in higher education and has less than one year of documented research experience is required to complete two semesters of a research apprenticeship in order to gain additional research experience at the graduate level. The apprenticeship should be for one research project, but the student’s adviser may approve two apprenticeships. The apprenticeship must include a minimum of five goals to be accomplished by the student. The apprenticeship goals must be detailed in a contract agreed upon by the student and the adviser. In addition to accomplishing the apprenticeship goals, the students must, at minimum, meet or communicate with their adviser midway through each semester to report on the apprenticeships progress and to give the adviser the opportunity to provide the appropriate assistance. The adviser and student may agree to amend the contract, but no contract may be amended after half the semester has passed. The adviser and the student will agree on the end product of each apprenticeship.

How To Apply

Admission Process for Master’s Program with Higher Education Concentration

Priority Application Deadlines

• Fall - July 1^st
• Spring - November 1^st
• Summer - April 1^st

Admission Criteria

• Application materials are appraised in a holistic review process where no single factor is used to select or eliminate an applicant.
• Completion of a Bachelor Degree: The Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations welcomes and accepts applicants from a variety of fields due to the interdisciplinary nature of higher education today. A background in education is not required for admission.
• Written Letter of Intent: Applicants will provide a brief cover letter outlining their prior experiences that prepared them for graduate study and their objectives in pursuing the master’s in educational leadership that focuses on higher education.
• Academic or Professional Writing Sample: An original written report or paper submitted academically or professionally.
• Letters of Recommendation: Applicants will furnish a minimum of three recommendation letters from individuals who can assess the applicant’s scholarly potential, past academic performance and leadership skills.
• Transcripts: Attainment of an undergraduate cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.0; or attainment of an undergraduate GPA of no less than 3.0 in all upper division undergraduate coursework.
• TOEFL: International applicants for whom English is not a primary language also must provide evidence of acceptable scores (minimum of 550) attained on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). With the department’s permission, students scoring lower than 550 may apply to the program providing they are attending formal English classes and attain a score of 550 within a year

Submit the materials to the Graduate School Admissions Application

For further program information, contact: 
Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations
Education building, Room 501
Email: edlf@utep.edu
Phone: (915)747-5300
Fax: (915)747-5838

Advising

Students should arrange to meet with their assigned adviser as soon as they are admitted into the master’s program. The student and adviser will create a degree plan during the initial meeting. This plan will be filed and may be revised after additional student/adviser meetings as the student progresses through the program.

Students who want to discuss their progress in the program or ways to tailor their degree plan to their areas of interest may contact:

Eduardo Arellano, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Foundations
ecarellano@utep.edu 
(915)747-7593

Degree Plan

Click the link below to download the degree plan:

Download Degree Plan

Independent Study EDAD 5365

Click the link below to dowload the agreement form:

Download Agreement Form