FAQs About Admission to the M.Ed. Program

We have a graduate assistantship placement process, known as GA Days, that takes place once per year. If you are admitted to the program, we will contact you about participating in GA Days. During GA Days, you will have the opportunity to interview with our assistantship employers. (International applicants may participate in interviews with graduate assistantship employers virtually.) Note that participation in GA Days is not a guarantee you will be placed in an assistantship; placements are competitive, and not all admitted students receive a placement. If you wish to be considered for a graduate assistantship, you must submit your application by December 1 each year for admission the following fall semester, to ensure we have sufficient time to review your application prior to GA Days.

No, we do not offer an online master’s program. Currently, all of the required courses for the MEd program are offered in person at the Kent campus. Some elective courses may be offered in online or hybrid (i.e., partially online and partially in-person) formats. If you are admitted to the program, you must be able to attend in-person classes.

We offer four certificate options for MEd students: Career and Academic Advising, Community College Leadership, Institutional Research & Assessment, and Internationalization of Higher Education. Many students in the MEd program choose to complete at least one of these certificates as a way to document their interest and expertise in a specific area of higher education, and the courses you take for the MEd and our certificates can be double-counted, making them easy to complete without much, if any, additional coursework. More information about the certificate programs is available on our Higher Education Administration program website as well as in the Kent State catalog.

MEd students are eligible for general Kent State scholarships based on merit and financial need as well as awards and fellowships specific to graduate students. In addition, Higher Education Administration program offers several scholarships specifically for current and admitted students; eligibility and application requirements for these vary, with some based on interests and some based on financial need. If you are placed in a graduate assistantship, it may come with full tuition remission or a partial tuition stipend (benefits vary by placement).

Our program requires the completion of nine core courses and at least six elective courses (45 credit hours total). Our plan of study provides details about course requirements for the program. If attending part-time, the time to complete the degree will vary based upon how many courses you’re planning to take each semester. If you are working full-time, we recommend taking no more than two courses per semester; some part-time students choose to only take one per semester. Kent State University requires that all coursework for a master’s degree be completed within 6 years.

The Higher Education Administration program offers a limited selection of courses during the summer, many of which are electives. Our course projections will give you an idea of which courses we plan to offer in future summer sessions. In consultation with your advisor, you may be able to take courses in other academic programs at Kent State or other area institutions during the summer.

If your undergraduate GPA is below a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), you may still submit an application for admission, and we will consider it. However, be aware that the MEd admissions process is competitive, and we don’t often admit students with undergraduate GPAs below 3.00 unless they can provide very strong evidence of their qualifications via the other admissions requirements (i.e., goal statement, resume, recommendation letters, and interview).

Information about Kent State University’s English proficiency requirements and exemptions is available at the Admissions website.

No, the MEd program in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs prepares graduates to assume a wide variety of administrative positions within colleges and universities in the U.S. and throughout the world. Applicants who are interested in becoming primary or secondary teachers or furthering their professional development as primary or secondary teachers should consider Kent State University’s many excellent graduate programs in the School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies. We do not expect applicants to the MEd program in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs to have a teaching background; those who do should clearly address in their goal statement the connection between any prior teaching experience at the primary or secondary level and their desire to work in higher (or tertiary) education as an administrator or student affairs professional.

Under certain conditions, international students may be able to submit unofficial transcripts—but there are specific parameters for this.  Please contact international admissions (intladm@kent.edu) to inquire about your specific situation.  The higher education administration program coordinator or faculty cannot make this determination.