Giving leaders the vision, skills, and experience to transform higher education
Our nationally respected Higher Education Administration and Policy program will prepare you to transform individual lives, organizations, and institutions across the higher education landscape and beyond. There is a place for you in our community, whether you are a college senior, already working in higher education, or you seek to change careers to enter higher education.
Northwestern’s Master of Science in Higher Education Administration and Policy degree is a professional master's program provides the foundation for working in colleges and universities, government agencies, and higher education consulting firms and non-profits and more.
The Foundations certificate introduces students to a broad range of current topics in higher education, including the concept of institutional diversity, student development theory, and budget philosophies, strategies, and structures.
Learn about the myriad factors that influence students - beginning with the college application process in high school to the post-undergraduate education experience. The courses cover how to access, persist, and succeed in higher education.
Explore the complex dynamics of a wide variety of higher education organizations and learn how they excel at teaching, research, and service.
Earning a master's degree or a certificate in higher education prepares students for meaningful career fields, including academic advising and administration, alumni relations and development, athletics, career services, central administration, institutional research, enrollment management, international and global education, non-profit, policy and government relations, and student affairs.
“What I loved most was the community that was fostered and the connections I made with people who have a wide variety of experiences in higher education. You’re able to collaborate and learn about other people’s experiences and values.”
— AG Gomez-Shah, MS’20