Higher Education, M.A. Advising Resources

Students should reach out to their advisor or the Graduate Student Services team to begin planning their program as soon as possible. We highly recommend meeting with a member of our team prior to registering for your first semester. The following information should guide your academic planning, but each student's experience is unique and it is important to review your plan with your advisor prior to making any final decisions.

Program of Study

Please review the appropriate Program of Study for your program. You will find all of the requirements for your degree listed. 

Please see Programs of Study for more information on how to complete and submit your final Program of Study.

Depending on your graduate program, you may plan to complete your degree in as few as three semesters, however, most students complete their secondary degree in two years (four to five semesters). 

Concentrations

Each student must select one of four concentrations within the Higher Education, M.A. Each concentration has different requirements and its own Program of Study. 

• Administration Concentration: This concentration prepares you to work as a professional within college and university offices, policy organizations, and advocacy organizations. You will gain an understanding of the foundations of higher education with a focus on law, policy, and administration, and you will link theory and practice through your field experience.

• Student Affairs Concentration: This concentration prepares you to work as a professional in functional areas of student affairs such as student activities, residence life, admissions, service learning, orientation, career services, and academic advising. You will gain an understanding of the foundations of higher education and student affairs and learn to link theory and practice through class projects and field experience.

• International Perspectives Concentration: This concentration prepares you to work in internationally-focused positions within U.S. institutions or around the world. You will gain an in-depth understanding of internationalization and other impacts of globalization on higher education, as well an appreciation of the diverse ways that higher education is understood and organized around the world.

• Spirituality, Faith, and Formation Concentration: This concentration integrates theories of student development with the sociology of religion, institutional culture, leadership formation, policy development, and theology within a Catholic higher education setting.

Electives

Each concentration allows for students to take two elective courses during their time in the program. The Higher Education department offers electives each semester but students may explore graduate electives from other departments within the Lynch School and within other schools across Boston College with the approval of their Faculty Advisor. In order to register for a course outside of the Lynch School students must forward the permission of their Faculty Advisor, along with the permission of the course instructor, to the Registration Team at lynchgradcourseregistration@bc.edu. 

In addition to coursework, students must complete Field Experience and the Master's Comprehensive Capstone Portfolio to graduate from the Higher Education program.

Field Experience

Field Experience is a year long experience where students take 2 credits in the fall semester, and one credit in the spring semester. The field experience requires supervised work (graduate assistantship or internship) in a higher education institution or agency and participation in an internship seminar. Field work is overseen by program faculty and supervised by a professional administrator at the graduate assistantship or internship site. The Field Work in Higher Education seminar requires demonstrated knowledge of the Higher Education program core competencies as they are practiced in a particular area of administrative expertise and demonstrated knowledge of professional skills development related to theory and research in higher education. The spring semester experience is taken under Advanced Field Experience.

Field Experience is a core requirement and cannot be waived or replaced by another course. Dual-degree students should consult their Faculty Advisor regarding field experience requirements.

Comprehensive Capstone Portfolio

To ensure that all students graduating from the master's program possess a fundamental understanding of their field, they must complete a Comprehensive Capstone Portfolio (CCP). The CCP aims to showcase students'; substantive and integrative knowledge of higher education and its professional literature, reflecting their knowledge base and accomplishments aligned with the Higher Education program's core professional competency requirements. Each student's CCP comprises a resume, four narrative core-competency assessments with accompanying artifacts, one narrative professional competency of their choice from their program concentration, and a professional philosophy statement. Throughout their program, students collaborate with their Faculty Advisor to develop the Comprehensive Capstone Portfolio and submit it for review in the semester of their intended graduation. Enrollment in ELHE8100 is mandatory for students planning to graduate, and submission of the CCP is a prerequisite.

If a student is scheduled to graduate in December, they are required to register for ELHE8100 Masters Comprehensive Examination in the Fall semester. If a student is scheduled to graduate in May, they are required to register for ELHE8100 Masters Comprehensive Examination in the Spring Semester.