Certificates Square

Quick Facts

  • Modality: In-person
  • Degree Offered: Master of Education, M.Ed.
  • Credits: 42
  • Length of Program: 2 years
  • Application Deadline:
    • Priority consideration is December 1
    • Final application deadline is January 1

Program Overview

Being a student affairs graduate student at the Iowa State University School of Education means you are pursuing a Master’s of Education degree with student affairs as your graduate study program of choice. When you choose a student affairs emphasis, you’ll help college students learn and grow outside of the classroom in areas such as admissions, residence life, career services, and more. 

Our student affairs program draws in students from all over the country because of our outstanding curriculum, nationally recognized faculty, and exceptional practical experience. 

ISU student affairs graduates pursue a Master of Education degree with a specialization in student affairs. The program offers: 

  • A balanced approach to learning and practical experience to help you develop skills for working effectively wherever your student affairs adventure takes you. Through a required assistantship students actively practice the work they are learning about in the curriculum. 
  • A focus on student development with a social justice overlay. Social justice is not just a broad theme, our program addresses social justice issues as they affect college students and gives them the tools and experience to succeed and thrive in their profession. 
  • A strong emphasis on knowing yourself and on being sensitive to diverse populations. 
  • Active practitioner faculty who can share the wisdom that comes from being currently engaged in their practice. 

After completing the student affairs master’s program, you will be: 

A scholarly practitioner: During your program, you will learn to integrate classroom and experiential knowledge. Required assistantship and practicum experiences provide opportunities for students to actively practice the work of student affairs; faculty members encourage students to allow their practical experiences to inform classroom discussions. 

A socially just practitioner: Our curriculum and our faculty place great value on the importance of social justice in student affairs. During your courses, you will study social justice issues that affect college students. You will learn the tools to help all students succeed in college. 

A reflexive practitioner: We emphasize the importance of self-reflection and self-knowledge as student affairs professionals. You will have ample opportunities to reflect on experiences and learnings throughout the program. 

An active practitioner: You will be strongly encouraged to engage with regional and national professional organizations during your time with us. Our faculty and the student affairs professionals model this level of involvement in their own professional lives; engaging with professional organizations allows another venue for us all to share our experiences and learn from those of others. 

  Curriculum

All students in the student affairs program will complete the same curriculum, regardless of enrollment status (full-time or part-time). The curriculum was intentionally designed by the faculty to address the core competency areas in the student affairs profession, while also providing flexibility for students to pursue specialized areas of interested. The 42-credit curriculum includes 30 core, required credits and 12 elective credits. 

  • HGED 5730: Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion in Student Affairs
  • HGED 5740: Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education
  • HGED 5750: Organization & Administration of Student Affairs
  • HGED 5760: Student Development in Higher Education
  • HGED 5780: Students in American Higher Education HGED 5790: Advising & Helping Skills
  • HGED 5910: Supervised Field Experience
  • HGED 5980: Capstone Seminar
  • RESEV 5500: Educational Research
  • RESEV 5970: Assessment & Evaluation

Students will work closely with their faculty advisor to identify elective courses that meet their needs and further their education as student affairs professionals. Although great leeway is given for the student and advisor to make these decisions, the faculty have provided the following guidelines:

  • 9 credits must be “content-oriented”
  • 3 credits can be a second practicum
  • Should be related to competencies
  • Student must be able to articulate connection
  • All electives and/or certificate courses must be approved by advisor on the Academic Plan

First Year – First Semester 

  • HGED 5740: Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education
  • HGED 5730: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Student Affairs
  • RESEV 5500: Educational Research

First Year – Second Semester 

  • HGED 5760: Student Development Theories
  • HGED 5790: Advising & Helping Skills
  • RESEV 5970: Assessment & Evaluation
  • HGED 5910: Supervised Field Experience

Second Year – First Semester 

  • HGED 5750: Organization & Administration of Student Affairs
  • HGED 5780: Students in American HE
  • Elective
  • Elective

Second Year – Second Semester 

  • HGED 5980: Capstone Seminar
  • Elective
  • Elective

Course descriptions can be accessed via the Iowa State course catalog.

Practicum (Hg Ed 5910) 

Higher education 5910 is offered to provide practical experiences for students interested in the student affairs field and to give them a working knowledge of the programs at Iowa State University.  

Practica may be used by students to gain exposure to fields of work never considered or that may be of interest during the next years of professional life. It is important that each practicum take into account the experience and knowledge of the participant when initially establishing the criteria for the practicum. Requirements, expectations, and deadlines for practica in student affairs can be found online.   

Portfolio (Hg Ed 5980) 

Portfolios are created in consultation with the HG ED 5980 instructors and the student’s major professor, and the final portfolio will be shared with the student’s POS committee at the final orals meeting. The portfolio is organized according to the student affairs learner outcomes. Students will review the learner outcomes and assemble artifacts and documents that demonstrate development of their professional knowledge base, dispositions, and accomplishments. Materials will be arranged logically and displayed in a manner of the student’s choosing (for example, website notebook, folders). 

Assistantships

As practitioners, students get more out of and bring more to the curriculum as they hone skills they put to use in their professional setting. 

Because this program has a strong practitioner focus, one of the requirements for the student affairs M.Ed. is the completion of a supervised assistantship experience in a student affairs (or related) area at an approved assistantship site. Student learning is enhanced through hands-on experience with the opportunities and demands of work in this field while they work to carry out the goals of the assistantship office. 

The required assistantship is arranged through Interview Days. Part-time students must have a current position in higher education.  

Please review the Graduate College website for the most up-to-date tuition, scholarship, stipend ranges, and assessed fees.  

In-state tuition: All graduate assistants working for Iowa State also qualify for in-state tuition. 

Tuition remission: Doctoral students receive 100% tuition remission while master’s students receive 75% tuition remission.  

Health insurance: Graduate assistants also receive health insurance as part of their compensation package, vision included. Students also have the option to add dental coverage.  

The following offices have offered assistantships in previous years. We notify applicants of the available current year offerings when they become available.

  • College of Business – academic advising
  • College of Design – program coordinator
  • College of Engineering – graduate recruitment, international programs and services, and undergraduate recruitment
  • College of Health and Human Sciences – career services, multicultural programs, undergraduate recruitment assistant
  • Admissions –  College Bound, Experience Iowa State, group visits, high ability recruitment, multicultural student recruitment, new student programs, Destination Iowa State, orientation, Office of Precollegiate Programs for Talented and Gifted (OPPTAG), STARS, Upward Bound, transfer admissions
    Dean of Students Office –  Academic Success Center, tutoring, supplemental instruction, coach, Greek affairs, Leadership Education and Programming Graduate Advisor, judicial affairs, Hixson Opportunity Awards, LGBT student services, social justice and equity educator, Margaret Sloss Women’s Center, equity and social justice coordinator, multicultural student affairs, Carver Academy, Multicultural Vision Program, multicultural learning community, National Student Exchange Program, Parent’s Association, outreach, student support services (TRiO), Writing and Media Center Department of Residence – desk supervisor in multiple locations; graduate assistant in multiple apartment communities; graduate hall director in multiple residence halls
  • International Students and Scholars Office – orientation programming
  • Learning Communities – Program for Women in Science and Engineering, first-year learning communities, second Year/Transfer communities
  • Memorial Union – Student Activities Center, Dance Marathon, leadership programming, programming, service programs
  • Registrar – Student Answer Center, Veteran services
  • Student Financial Aid
  • Student Wellness 

Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators 

(Competency areas are adopted from NASPA.) 

Addresses the knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to providing advising and support to individuals and groups through direction, feedback, critique, referral, and guidance. Through developing advising and supporting strategies that take into account self-knowledge and the needs of others, we play critical roles in advancing the holistic wellness of ourselves, our students, and our colleagues.

 Focuses on the ability to design, conduct, critique, and use various AER methodologies and the results obtained from them, to utilize AER processes and their results to inform practice, and to shape the political and ethical climate surrounding AER processes and uses in higher education.

Includes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions relating to policy development processes used in various contexts, the application of legal constructs, compliance/policy issues, and the understanding of governance structures and their impact on one’s professional practice.

Addresses the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required of a leader, with or without positional authority. Leadership involves both the individual role of a leader and the leadership process of individuals working together to envision, plan, and affect change in organizations and respond to broad-based constituencies and issues. This can include working with students, student affairs colleagues, faculty, and community members.

Includes knowledge, skills, and dispositions used in the management of institutional human capital, financial, and physical resources. This competency area recognizes that student affairs professionals bring personal strengths and grow as managers through challenging themselves to build new skills in the selection, supervision, motivation, and formal evaluation of staff; resolution of conflict; management of the politics of organizational discourse; and the effective application of strategies and techniques associated with financial resources, facilities management, fundraising, technology, crisis management, risk management and sustainable resources.

Involves the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop and maintain integrity in one’s life and work; this includes thoughtful development, critique, and adherence to a holistic and comprehensive standard of ethics and commitment to one’s own wellness and growth. Personal and ethical foundations are aligned because integrity has an internal locus informed by a combination of external ethical guidelines, an internal voice of care, and our own lived experiences. Our personal and ethical foundations grow through a process of curiosity, reflection, and self-authorship.

While there are many conceptions of social justice and inclusion in various contexts, for the purposes of this competency area, it is defined here as both a process and a goal which includes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to create learning environments that foster equitable participation of all groups while seeking to address and acknowledge issues of oppression, privilege, and power. This competency involves student affairs educators who have a sense of their own agency and social responsibility that includes others, their community, and the larger global context. Student affairs educators may incorporate social justice and inclusion competencies into their practice through seeking to meet the needs of all groups, equitably distributing resources, raising social consciousness, and repairing past and current harms on campus communities.

Addresses the concepts and principles of student development and learning theory. This includes the ability to apply theory to improve and inform student affairs and teaching practice.

Focuses on the use of digital tools, resources, and technologies for the advancement of student learning, development, and success as well as the improved performance of student affairs professionals. Included within this area are knowledge, skills, and dispositions that lead to the generation of digital literacy and digital citizenship within communities of students, student affairs professionals, faculty members, and colleges and universities as a whole.

Involves knowledge, skills, and dispositions that connect the history, philosophy, and values of the student affairs profession to one’s current professional practice. This competency area embodies the foundations of the profession from which current and future research, scholarship, and practice will change and grow. The commitment to demonstrating this competency area ensures that our present and future practices are informed by an understanding of the profession’s history, philosophy, and values.

Application Process and Admission Timeline

The School of Education Student Affairs program admits 15-25 students once each year in a cohort-based program. Because there is a strong practitioner focus, all full-time students are required to have an assistantship, which we arrange through interview days. Part-time students must have a current position in higher education. 

  • Applying and being admitted to the student affairs program includes: 
    • Completing the online graduate application. Applications require:
    • Admission to the School of Education Student Affairs program 
    • Placement in an assistantship 

Student Affairs Admission Timeline 

Apply to ISU Graduate College – by December 1 (Priority Deadline) or January 1 (Final Deadline) of the year prior to the year in which you hope to begin the program. Applicants that meet the priority deadline will have a decision by January 1. Applicants that meet the final deadline will have a decision by February 1. 

Receive response from Student Affairs program – In early January, the student affairs program determines which students to admit. At this time applicants will be informed if they are: 

  • Accepted pending assistantship
  • May be accepted if there’s room in the program and a suitable assistantship is obtained 
  • Declined 

Attend interview days – Students accepted pending assistantship will be invited to attend interview days in mid-February. Students are scheduled for appropriate assistantship interviews throughout ISU based on student interest and assistantship needs. Students rank their interest in the assistantships.  

Receive assistantship offer – The program determines the best assistantship match and makes an offer to accepted students. Students decide to join the program based on the assistantship offered (no alternative assistantships are offered). Depending on the number of students that are accepted, students from the waiting list are contacted with offers. 

Join the program  – Accepted students begin the program with their cohort group in August. 

Affiliated Faculty

TJ Stewart

Associate Professor

Department: School of Education

View

Rachel Smith

Associate Professor

Department: School of Education

View

Robert Reason

Associate Dean

Department: Human Sciences Administration

View

Ann Gansemer-Topf

Director of the School of Education

Department: School of Education

View