Selective cohort program for full-time students

The Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration's on-campus cohort program is designed for students with little to no professional experience working in higher education.

The program is especially well-suited for recent graduates who desire to gain experience and a career direction by working and completing practica in a variety of campus offices.

Students progress through program together, taking the same classes and forming connections with their fellow students.

This program admits students for the Fall term only.

Next Steps

Start Your Graduate Application

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Program Requirements

HEA 501 - Foundations of Higher Education Administration
HEA 502 - Survey of College Student Development Theory
HEA 503 - Leadership in Higher Education
HEA 504 - Research and Assessment in Higher Education
HEA 521 - Diversity and Higher Education
HEA 595 - Project Seminar

All of the above courses must be taken in-person.
HEA 520 - Advising and Counseling in Higher Education
HEA 522 - Crisis Management and Prevention in Higher Education
HEA 523 - Student Affairs Administration
HEA 525 - The Contemporary Undergraduate

The above courses will be offered in-person, but students may request to take an online course substitution for two of these four courses.
HEA 586 - Practicum in Higher Education
HEA 587 - Advanced Practicum in Higher Education Administration

The practicum courses must be taken in-person.

Practicum sites can be at Stony Brook or at another college or university. Students can find current listings of available Stony Brook opportunities in Handshake (the database supported by the Career Center) and the HEA Brightspace community. Students who are looking outside of Stony Brook must find a department and supervisor who is willing to work with them. Supervisors will be required to have an earned master's degree and at least 5 years of professional higher education experience.

In addition to their field hours, students will also complete a 14-week online course, HEA 586 Practicum in Higher Education, to build a strong theory-to-practice connection, and to reflect on and discuss the practicum experience. Once they have found a location, HEA program advisors will work with the supervisor to make sure the experience meets program requirements.

All practicum experiences must be approved by the program director prior to enrollment in HEA 586 or 587.

Note: The practicum opportunity is for students in the Master of Arts program only. Students in the Advanced Graduate Certificate program are not eligible to earn credit for a practicum experience.

View Course Descriptions View Course Schedule

Two graduate students give an explanation to an undergraduate student in a campus office

Graduate
Employment
Opportunities

To strengthen your resume with hands-on higher education experience and help support your education costs, upon admission to the HEA program, our team works closely with you to find a graduate employment opportunity on Stony Brook's campus.

We offer graduate employment opportunities in a variety of areas, including student affairs, academic affairs, enrollment management, and student services.

Student affairs employment opportunities are listed on the Division of Student Affairs website and Handshake.
Enrollment management and student services positions are posted on Handshake.

Upon admission to the HEA program, you can apply for the opportunities noted by submitting your resume to the specific department and setting up an interview. The Student Affairs team will help facilitate those connections with you.

Graduate employment positions are typically paid at an hourly rate (usually $16-$20/hour) for 15-29 hours per week (29 is the maximum number of hours per week permitted for domestic students; 20 is the maximum number of hours per week for international students.)

Most graduate employment positions do not cover tuition costs, but students can earn between $15,000-$25,000 per year (for example, working as a graduate student for 25 hours per week at $17/hour = $22,100) to then support tuition and other expenses.

Most graduate employment positions in Campus Residences offer on-campus housing as part of the compensation. In most cases, you will work a certain number of hours per week to cover the housing costs and then receive payment for the remaining hours.

Outside of graduate employment in Campus Residences, if you work in a graduate position within the Division of Student Affairs and would like to live on-campus, we will apply the first 15 hours of work towards covering your year-round housing costs in graduate housing and pay an hourly rate for the balance of the hours that you work (maximum of 14 hours for domestic students and 5 hours for international students).

For more information on graduate employment opportunities, please contact Dr. Cheryl Chambers, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, at cheryl.chambers@stonybrook.edu.

On-campus and Off-campus Housing

Need housing? There are several options to consider.

West Apartments on the Stony Brook campus

Campus Residences

To learn more about graduate housing on campus, including options, costs, amenities, and deadlines, visit Campus Residences or email reside@stonybrook.edu. Note that some graduate employment opportunities include on-campus housing as part of the compensation.

Off-campus Housing

To learn more about off-campus housing, including rental advice and current listings, visit the Off-Campus Living or email commuter_services@stonybrook.edu.

Social Media

There are also several Facebook groups for off-campus housing (not affiliated with Stony Brook University) that you can join by searching for "Stony Brook Graduate Housing Group".

Before you start looking for off-campus housing, please read and follow the important What You Need to Know advice on our Off-Campus Living website.

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Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration

On-campus, Full-time Cohort Program