Professional Competencies, Leadership, and Scholarship
UNC’s Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership (HESAL) program offers a Master’s of Arts (M.A.) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). Our curriculum focuses on developing core competencies necessary for professional advancement in higher education and student affairs, including student support services, academic careers, and policy work. Students have opportunities to work directly with award-winning, research faculty who all have higher education or student affairs administrative backgrounds. The HESAL faculty are dedicated to offering a program that values a practitioner-scholar model, mentoring and advising, and coursework that reflect theory, research, and practice. The HESAL program maintains a commitment to equity and social justice through the inclusion of multiple perspectives and pedagogies.
50 Years of HESAL
UNC’s HESAL program celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2015, welcoming back graduates and former faculty members of the program. Originally named College Student Personnel Work (CSPW), and later College Student Personnel Administration (CSPA), the program became HESAL in 2001.
