PHD, Higher Education

Degree Program Summary:

The Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education offers the Ph.D., Ed.D., and M.Ed. IHE graduate programs prepare graduate students for positions of leadership in colleges and universities and in other organizations involved in the continuing development of postsecondary education. The programs provide a broad overview of the institutions, policies, practices, personnel, programs, and services of U.S. higher education. By offering various courses, seminars, and other learning opportunities, the programs give a comprehensive view of the constituencies that sponsor, support, and benefit from higher education programs, services, and activities. In particular, the programs are concerned with the overall structure of higher education, its pluralistic purposes and goals, and its many diverse functions. Students acquire a professional knowledge and understanding of colleges and universities as social and cultural institutions.

The Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, founded in 1964, is noted for its multidisciplinary approach to teaching, research, and outreach, with particular emphases in policy and law, faculty and instructional development, and public service and outreach. IHE faculty members also specialize in history, leadership, curriculum, institutional research, and international higher education. The Institute offers the M.Ed., Ed.D. and Ph.D. in higher education, and students may earn an M.P.A. with a higher education specialization through the School of Public and International Affairs. The Institute also collaborates on projects and programs with the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, and the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia.

The Institute is freestanding, allied with the College of Education and other divisions of the University of Georgia, but established independently, operating with its own resource base, and housed in its own building. This rare combination of independence and integration into a major research university provides the Institute with the freedom to capitalize on opportunities as they arise, for research, policy, and service initiatives worldwide. In turn, the Institute’s multidisciplinary and international reach enables it to offer the best knowledge and best practices in fulfilling its service missions to the university, the state, and the region.