Leadership for a changing world...

The exclusively graduate-level program in higher education administration, through its varied course offerings and structured learning experiences, meaningfully serves a broad clientele. Course offerings are designed primarily to train, sensitize, and broaden the information base of administrators and personnel already affiliated with institutions of higher learning, and to prepare others for employment with institutions of higher learning in Alabama and the Southeast.

The program in higher education administration offers three post baccalaureate degrees: the M.A., Ed.D. (as well as the Executive Ed.D.), and Ph.D. We are proud to offer high-quality graduate education that prepares leaders to act as agents of change to create a more just society. Working together, faculty and students engage in discovering and disseminating knowledge. The curriculum, centered on small seminar classes, is intended to produce scholars and scholar practitioners who can think critically about problems, discover ways to solve them, and put those solutions into practice.

Taught and mentored by a singularly outstanding faculty and surrounded by a tremendously talented pool of fellow students, this program was an intrinsic element in my personal and professional development. I also firmly believe that the exemplary reputation of Higher Education Administration at The University of Alabama was an instrumental factor in my selection as a faculty member at the Air Command Staff College before I had even completed my dissertation.

Jeff Reilly, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Joint Warfare Studies, Air Command Staff College

Understand the field of higher education…

The mission of the Higher Education Administration Program is to provide academic preparation and professional development for those individuals who have and will assume positions of leadership in two- and four-year colleges and universities.

The mission also identifies the need of the Program to enhance the academic understanding of higher education as a field of study. This dimension of the mission, defined through research and publication, is consistent with the mission of the contemporary research university to advance knowledge and pursue a national advancing knowledge and pursuing a national reputation for excellence in research performance.

The HEA Program seeks to promote the academic integrity of the field of higher education, as well as to provide a professional development service to the community of educators and potential educators in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. In addition to offering course work and degree programs designed to enhance professional performance and to advance the discipline, program faculty provide a variety of services to the region. Through this service, the Program works to improve the performance of higher and postsecondary education in the State.

The Higher Education Administration Program provided me with a great foundation for understanding how higher education works. Association with colleagues in the program increased my comfort regarding professional interactions.

Cassie T. Jones, Ed.D.
Assistant to the President, Stillman College

These are exciting times. Contact us…

We invite you to learn more about the Program in Higher Education and about how to apply by:

• Emailing the program at hea@bamaed.ua.edu

• Calling us at 205.348.6060

The relationship and communication of the faculty is one of the true strengths of the program. We have worked together on every aspect of the program - revising admissions and program requirements, conducting and publishing research together, sharing ideas and altering our syllabi and teaching strategies based on lessons our colleagues have learned.

Nathaniel Bray, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor