UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA DOCTORAL PROGRAM

GENERAL PROGRAM INFORMATION

PROGRAM STATEMENT

The Ph.D. Program in College Student Affairs Administration at The University of Georgia is designed primarily to prepare individuals for practice and scholarship in one or more of the following areas:

• Student affairs administration
• Graduate education of student affairs professionals
• Student assessment, outcomes research, and program evaluation in a student affairs context

PROGRAM MISSION

Academic Growth and Development
This community of scholars exists where learning is co-constructed by students, faculty and external constituents for the betterment and growth of the individual and the profession. Our community is on the cutting edge with respect to technology use, methods of instruction, curricular innovations, research, and the discussion of current literature in multiple disciplines.
Civility
Our learning community will promote and foster an environment that exemplifies collegiality through trust, respect, role modeling, and conflict resolution in a healthy and professional manner.
Diversity
We celebrate diversity in all its forms. We act upon this value by honoring and learning from individual differences and challenging and supporting one another as appropriate.
Generativity
We intentionally build a collaborative learning community at the forefront of developing scientist practitioners through activities, relationships, and role modeling that advance the program’s vitality.
Personal Growth and Development
We value personal growth and responsibility through challenging ourselves to take risks, to be uncomfortable, learn new skills, and take personal responsibility while promoting a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

PROGRAM UNIQUENESS

• Small size. The program limits enrollment, which assures students ample individual attention and the opportunity to have meaningful personal interaction with the program's faculty throughout their time in the program.
• Faculty.  There are four full-time faculty members who devote their time to instruction in student affairs administration. All are experienced as student affairs administrators. In addition, there are fourteen adjunct faculty members who possess a wealth of experience in a variety of college settings.
• Financial Support.  Full-time students have the opportunity to hold assistantships in the Student Affairs Division or Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, which provides additional opportunities for practical experience.  (Assistantships, in addition to stipends, carry with them a waiver of non-Georgia-resident charges and most of the matriculation--tuition--fees.  Currently, a one-third time assistantship for a non-Georgia resident is worth about $17,000 per year.) 
• Community Support.  Students and faculty in the program work to form a true learning community, which provides support to students as they meet the program's requirements and the many extracurricular learning opportunities through joint projects with faculty and fellow students.
• Advanced Specialized Study. The Program is designed specifically for persons who are committed to careers in student affairs.  Courses offered in the doctoral curriculum are restricted to doctoral students.
• Flexibility.  Students can enroll full-time or part-time.  Doctoral courses in this program are taught in late afternoon or evening and typically meet once per week.
• Commitment to Student Development Goals.  The program is based in a belief that higher education should focus on assisting students' intellectual, psychosocial, and ethical growth.  Graduates acquire expertise in enhancing students' educational experiences.
• Research Experience.  Students are involved as partners with SAA faculty in research teams throughout their programs.  Most recent research teams have involved measurement of students' psychosocial development, interventions to improve professional and support staff supervision, and studies of student affairs professionals' "career anchors."  Students are expected to be active members of one or more research teams during their enrollment in the program.
• Develop Teaching Expertise.  Students have many opportunities to develop skills as teachers under supervision.  Students may elect to take a teaching internship which would involve co-teaching a master's level student affairs administration course with a full-time faculty member or co-teaching a paraprofessional training class for undergraduates.  Through the ECHD 8990 Seminar, students also have the opportunity to work on projects directly related to instruction in the master's program.  These include, for example, developing and updating simulations, creating instructional units, or acting as consultants to student project teams.

APPLICATION AND ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Admission is for the Fall Semester only. Because there are limited spaces available, admission is competitive and is based on the following:

1. GRE scores (verbal and quantitative)
2. undergraduate and graduate academic achievement,
3. references,
4. professional contributions to the field,
5. quality and extent of professional work experience,
6. personal goal compatibility with program goals,
7. potential for success as a professional scholar/practitioner, and
8. commitment to the field.

Applicants must have completed master's degrees from accredited universities and have successful full-time professional work experience. Full time students should have a least two years of post-masters work experience in student affairs; part-time students who work full time in student affairs while enrolled in doctoral study need at least one year of post-masters work experience in student affairs prior to initial enrollment.

International students applying to our program will need to show English proficiency with score of 55 or higher on the TSE.

Students are admitted to the program for both full-time and part-time study. Students who enroll on a full-time basis generally hold graduate assistantships in the Division of Student Affairs or in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services.

The admission and assistantship decision processes take place concurrently, except in University Housing. Students wishing to be considered for assistantships in University Housing should apply directly to that Department by January 2, 2009 (Russell Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 or http://www.uga.edu/housing/.) Other assistantships are handled at the time of an on-campus interview for admission to the program.

Applications for admission are considered each year beginning in early January. Consideration of applications continues only until the class is filled. To assure full consideration, applications should be completed no later than January 9. 2009.

Deferment Policy: Due to the high demand of our programs, we will not defer admission from one year to some time in the future. All prospective students are reviewed in light of a cohort model. This requires each years’ applicants to be reviewed as a group and decisions made about admission from that perspective. Anyone who is admitted to any program in our department and decides not to attend will be asked to reapply to that program if they seek admission at a later date.

For additional information about the admissions process and assistantships, please visit the following links:

• Departmental Application Materials
• The University Bulletin
• Graduate School Application Materials
• Assistantships

Or contact Dr. Richard Mullendore, Program Coordinator with specific questions at the address / number listed at the top of this page or via email at richardm@uga.edu

CURRICULUM INFORMATION

Program Curriculum:

PREREQUISITES

Course                                                                                                                                    
ECHD 7940      Research Methods                                                                                          
ECHD 7400      Foundations of Student Affairs Administration           
ECHD 7420      Theories of College Student Development                 
ECHD 7430      College Student Ecology  (or The College Student)    
ECHD 7440      Administration in College Student Affairs                  
ECHD 7840      Internship in Student Affairs
ECHD 7060      Cross Cultural Counseling  (or any diversity training course)                              
ERSH 6300       Descriptive Statistics                                                
EDHI 8300       Law and Higher Education

REQUIRED COURSES

College Student Affairs Administration Doctoral Core

ECHD 9400      Seminar in Student Affairs Administration
ECHD 9420      Advanced Theories of College Student Development
ECHD 9480      The College Student                                                                                        
ECHD 9410      Organization Development, Policy Development and Consultation 
ECHD 9430      Environmental and Facilities Management                            
ECHD 9450      Administrative Practices in Student Affairs                                                      
ECHD 9440      Academic Student Services                                                                             
ECHD 9460      Student Affairs Administration Capstone (2 semester hours taken during last fall in program)                                                    
ECHD 8990      Research Seminar in Counseling and Human Development Services (Take each Semester: part-time students 1 cr. hr./full-time students 3 cr. hours)
ECHD 9020      Program Evaluation and Outcomes Assessment

Research and Evaluation Core

ERSH 8310      Applied Analysis of Variance
ERSH 8320      Applied Correlation and Regression Methods  in Education                                
QUAL 8400      Qualitative Research in Education                             
ECHD 9000      Doctoral Research (part-time 3 cr. hours once, 1-2 cr.hours thereafter/full-time 3  cr. hours each semester until oral prelim defense)
ECHD 9300      Dissertation  (12 hours minimum required)                 

                                                                                                      
Specialty Courses (at least 9 semester hours)

Supervised Practice*

ECHD 9830      Administrative Internship in Student Affairs Administration                               
ECHD 9840      Research Internship in Student Affairs Administration                                       
                                                       OR
ECHD 9850      Teaching Internship in Student Affairs Administration

*All students must complete at least 3-6 hours of internship.  Students with 5 or more years of full-time post-masters professional work experience in student affairs at the time of admission to the program are only required to complete a 3 hour teaching or research internship. Students with less than 5 years of full-time post-masters professional work experience in student affairs at the time of admission must also complete a 3 hour administrative internship.

STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION - Students in student affairs or higher education administration programs  (2005-2006):

PROGRAM FACULTY (Name, title, typical number of coursed taught annully, interests)

Rodney Bennet, Vice President for Student Affairs

Theodore K. Miller, Professor Emeritus [Ed.D., University of Florida]

Roger B. Winston, Jr., Professor Emeritus [Ph.D., The University of Georgia]

Adjunct Faculty
Student affairs staff members at The University of Georgia and other higher education related sites serve as adjunct faculty members for the program. Students will also work with various staff members throughout the University community to obtain practicum and internship placements.

Dr. Patricia Daugherty, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs

Dr. Thomas (Tom) Burke, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs

Dr. Ann Crowther, Associate Vice President for Instruction

Dr. Karen Kalivoda, Director, Disability Resource Center

Dr. Keener Scott, Associate Director, University Housing

Dr. Jan Davis Barhman, Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs

Dr. Gerald Kowalski, Executive Director, University Housing

Dr. Shay Davis Little, Director, University Housing Administration

Dr. Joe Moon, Dean for Campus Life and Community Affairs, Oxford College/ Emory University

Ralphel Smith, Assistant Director of University Housing

Dr. Tom Walter, Vice President for Student Development, Gainesville State College

Dr. Andy Wilson, Assistant Dean for Campus Life, Emory University

Last modified Jan 2009
Information submitted by: Diane Cooper

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