Northwestern University

Northwestern University's nationally respected Higher Education Administration and Policy program prepares you to transform individual lives, organizations, and institutions across the higher education landscape and beyond. There is a place for you in our community with our diverse academic offerings, whether you are a college senior, already working in higher education, or you seek to change careers to enter higher education.

Our faculty - all accomplished higher education practitioners and researchers - bring current issues in higher education into our small, groupwork intensive focused classes. Throughout our program, we emphasize developing our students ability to conduct effective social sciences research, culminating in a 3-course required master's research project (like a thesis) for our degree-seeking students.

You may choose to pursue the 12-course Master's of Science in Higher Education Administration and Policy in person at on our Evanston campus either full-time (one year) or part-time (2 - 5 years). Full-time students and part-time students completing the degree in two years also complete an internship(s), which they obtain before having to commit to the program through our highly personalized internship matching process.

You may also pursue a 4 or 5-course Higher Education Certificate (also in-person) in Higher Education Foundations, Organization Management, Student Access and Success, or Leadership in Organizations.

If you are looking for a virtual option, we offer a remote synchronous Executive Education Assessment non-credit Certificate that is offered in eight (8) virtual sessions (plus coaching meetings).

Graduates and Certificate completers receive comprehensive career development and search support from our Senior Career Advisor, who work with our students only and then with them as they become our engaged alumni at Northwestern, throughout Chicago and the Midwest, across the U.S., and around the world.