Application deadline: November 29, 2023, 4 pm MST. Apply now!

Under the Academic Interests and Background section you will need to upload the following documents:

• Resume that highlights professional and leadership experience.
• Statement of Purpose (250 words or less) – , describe how your educational pathway has influenced your future professional and educational goals. How do you see the M.Ed. Student Affairs degree program in the department of Educational Leadership & Policy helping you to achieve these goals? Provide specific examples.
• Situational Essay (500 words or less):  what is the role of higher education and student affairs practitioners, leaders, and policymakers in addressing educational inequities and injustices in educational systems?
• Financial Support through Graduate Assistantships -- Applicants who enroll as full-time students are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships. Please indicate if you are interested in a graduate assistantship and communicate your top five choices from the list posted here. Email information to marilynn.howard@utah.edu. 
• Three Letters of Recommendation - One letter must be from someone who can attest to your academic work, (i.e. professor or other faculty member.) Other letters may be from someone with knowledge of your potential as a professional in student affairs (i.e. recent/former supervisor, faculty, advisor and/or mentor).

(Note:  Students apply for graduate assistant opportunities at the same time as they apply for admission, except for Housing & Residential Education (HRE) assistantships. Click here for updates.)

Program of Study (full-time)

Fall - Term 1 Spring - Term 2

ELP 6620  College Student Development Theory ELP 6640 Special Topics: Contemporary Issues in 

Diversity in Higher Education 

ELP 6550  Student Affairs Administration, ELP 6560  College Student Retention Theory or 

ELP Elective Course (3 credits) 

ELP 6500 – Sociocultural Foundations of U.S. Higher Education ELP 6570 Higher Education Finance

Fall - Term 3 Spring –Term 4

ELP 6470 Individual & Group Intervention in Higher Education ELP 6520 Leadership for Social Justice in U.S. Higher Education

ELP 6711  Internship Class ELP 6560 or ELP Elective course (3 credits)

ELP  6610 Introduction to Student  Affairs Assessment ELP 6720  Capstone Seminar 

The program also includes:

• Graduate Assistantships: Assistantships provide students with the experience and skills essential to becoming a Higher Education/Student Affairs professional while they are completing the M.Ed. program. Read more here.

(NOTE: Department can’t guarantee all full-time students will be offered an assistantship. Assistantships are not offered to part-time students)

• Internships: Students are required to complete an internship related to their area of career focus. Internships are available in local higher education institutions as well as through professional organizations.
• Capstone: In thehe final Capstone Seminar, students will develop a scholarly paper focusing on practice and scholarship with recommendations for policy, practice, and future research.  

All courses in the M.Ed. program are offered mid-late afternoon until early evening.

All work for the master’s degree must be completed within four consecutive calendar years. Candidates are required to maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA. No graded work below a C- is acceptable towards the requirements for the degree.

University Information

• Apply Now
• Graduate School Information 
• Graduate Assistantship Information
• Available Graduate Assistantships
• ELP Higher Education Seminar Series
• University of Utah Catalog
• University of Utah Academic Calendar

Department Information

• ELP Department Student Handbook