Here are answers to some questions we have encountered and you may have been thinking about:
1) What kinds of jobs can I get with a Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs masters degree?
- There are many opportunities in the field of Student Affairs. Areas including Residence Life, Student Activities, Admissions, Financial Aid, Career Services, and Multicultural Affairs. In this degree program you will have many opportunities including practicum and internships to help you find which area(s) best fit you. Please visit this link detailing more about the Student Affairs profession - http://www.myacpa.org/c12/career.htm
2) When should I start applying for the program and assistantships/scholarships?
- Applications, transcripts, recommendation letters (3), essays, and assistantship and scholarship applications are all due by FEBRUARY 1st. You are welcome to start building your file any time. Some even start building their file in September or October. We create a file for you in our office and keep it up to date as you turn items in. You can always check with Marlene Shea about the status of your file (319) 273-2605 or marlene.shea@uni.edu. Assistantships and Scholarships
3) What is the difference between a thesis and non-thesis degree?
- We offer both thesis and non-thesis options in our program. The non-thesis option requires 44 semester hours of credit and the thesis option requires 48. Thesis option students are required to take extra research hours.
4) What kinds of financial assistance can I get for this program?
- On top of the assistance UNI Financial Aid offers, our program provides assistantships and scholarships to help you. There are assistantships in various places on campus including Financial Aid and the Center for Multicultural Education (CME). To see a list of assistantships and scholarships and requirements for both, visit the Financial Support link on this website.
5) How can an assistantship help me in the program? How can I get one?
- Not only will an assistantship help finance school for you, it will provide you with experience while in the program. Visit the Assitantships link in our website for more information.
6) How many people are typically accepted into the program? Class size?
-15 people are accepted each year. There is a mix between full time (9 credit hours) and part time (less than 9 credit hours) students. Class sizes range from 15-18 people depending on the class and the semester.
7) How can I gain extra experience and be competitive in the field if I do not have an assistantship?
- If you do not receive an assistantship, the best thing to do is apply for jobs on campus (UNI or surrounding colleges) in the Student Affairs field. Many areas such as Advising and Counseling Services will hire students for hourly paid work. One example is a Peer Advisor in Advising, Counseling, or Career Services.
8) What are practica and internships? Where can I do them?
- Practica and internships allow you to see what a Student Affairs professional does first hand. 6 credit hours (300 work hours total) of practica are required for graduation from the program. You will do two separate 150 hour practica (10 hrs/week for 15 weeks). Practica are required, non-paid experiences, and are credit/no credit. Internships are not required, but maybe taken as electives. They are graded and some may be paid. You can complete practica and internships at various colleges in the area including UNI, Wartburg, Hawkeye Community College, Coe, and others. Out of state and international options are also available (see your advisor for more information). Please see the Resources section of this website for practica and internship information.
9) What is MyUniverse? What kinds of information can I get there?
- MyUniverse is a site where students can go to view their personal records and profile. The student tracks their progress through their program, registers online, checks e-mail, checks grades, reads campus news and events, and can even check an online job board for employment in the area. Only the student can access MyUniverse with a UNI login name and a password set by the student. This is a great tool for finding information about your degree program and managing your personal records.
The Program of Study, Student Request forms, and Transfer Credit forms will all be found here. You can check messages and also keep track of your assistantship status on this site as well as apply for graduation.
10) What are the various forms on My Universe for?
- All of the following forms can be found on My Universe and can be downloaded onto your computer. You can fill them out right on the computer and submit them through My Universe. (This cuts down on paper work!)
- Program of Study
This specifies the courses for your Master's degree program. Subsequent changes to it may be made with a Student Request form approved by your advisor. Your program of study is automatically populated on My Universe when you are admitted to the program.
- Student Request Form:
This is to request a change on your program of study or for other academic related changes that may need to be done during your program. You'll complete these in consultation with your advisor.
- Transfer Credit Evaluation Form:
This is when you have taken graduate courses at another institution and would like to substitute those for classes in your program. If, for example, you took graduate courses at the University of Illinois, yoiu will have to fill out both the Transfer Credit Evaluation form and the Student Request form. Print out the Transfer Credit Evaluation form and fill out the appropriate information and send to the granting institution. The institution where you took the courses will fill out the form and return to the UNI registrar office. UNI will determine if the course meets Graduate Council Criteria. A copy will be mailed to the student, then you can log on to My Universe and submit a Student Request to request the course number, title, and semester hours from the University of Illinois be substituted for xxx:xxx, course title, and credit hours on your program of study.
If you have taken courses at another Iowa Regents institution (University of Iowas or Iowa State) you will not have to fill out the Transfer Credit Evaluation form - only the Student Request is required.
- Graduation Application Form:
required This is to be filled out the first few weeks of the semester you intend to graduate. Graduation applications have a fee of $35. If you fill out the form and do not graduate the intended semester, you will have to fill it out again for the next semester you intend to graduate. You will also have to pay another fee.
To access the graduation application form, log onto My Universe -
Then click on Planning My Academic Career
Then click on Forms and Requrests
Then click on Graduation Application - Graduate Degree
11) What is WebCT? How do I use it?
- WebCT is a site where you will be responsible for turning in assignments for various program courses and practica online. While doing practica you will turn in weekly assignments by uploading them into this site. Go to htttp://webct.uni.edu/ to find more information or to login to your account.
