HESL Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Absolutely! You can contact the program director, Dr. Perry Glanzer, to arrange a time to visit. If you cannot make it to Waco, we are also more than happy to schedule a phone call or online meeting to discuss the program further.

The HESL program does not transfer credits from master’s programs outside Baylor’s Higher Education and Student Affairs MSEd program. Given that our program includes comprehensive exams, we want to ensure that all students have encountered the ideas and concepts that we believe are crucial to understanding the landscape of higher education. By not accepting outside credit for courses, we can better ensure that our students are prepared with such frameworks and topical knowledge.

Baylor does provide housing options for graduate students. More information about these options can be found on the Graduate School website. Please note, however, that these spaces are limited and tend to fill up quickly. As such, many of our students find apartments or houses in the area surrounding campus, and some choose to live further from campus in order to provide clearer work/life separation.

Students in the HESL program follow the university schedule for classes, including the fall, spring, and summer terms. In their apprenticeships, students are considered professionals and are expected to maintain a schedule similar to the professional staff at Baylor or the institution at which they work. However, Graduate Assistants are also students who do not accrue leave time. Therefore, the following are given as vacation times: 

• University Holidays 

• Thanksgiving Week

• Spring Break 

• Monday after finals week and graduation for the fall semester through New Year’s Day 

• Monday after finals week and graduation for the spring semester through Memorial Day 

There is no break between the end of the summer semester and the beginning of the fall semester. However, the apprentice, the supervisor, and the graduate program director can agree upon occasional deviation from the vacation times stated.

Graduate students at Baylor have access to campus resources such as the Health Center and Counseling Center, as well as Campus Recreation facilities such as the McLane Student Life Center (which includes a workout facility, climbing wall, racquetball courts, basketball courts, and pool) and the Marina (where students can borrow kayaks, sailboats, and paddleboards). In addition to the campus facilities, a health insurance plan is available through Baylor, administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. Furthermore, as of fall 2024, graduate students also get a discount on meals at the campus dining halls.

Unlike some PhD programs, you are not expected to have selected a dissertation advisor before coming into the program. In fact, you will not select your advisor until after completing comprehensive exams. Since HESL students do not choose a dissertation mentor until after completing comprehensive exams, the program assigns an informal faculty mentor to guide students through the first years of the program.

The HESL program is designed to be full-time. In some rare cases, the Graduate School does permit a student to work an additional 8 hours in a Baylor-related job but those are exceptions to the rule and would only be allowed for second-year or later students in good standing. 

This program is designed to be a full-time, residential commitment. Thus, the only students who can work full-time and participate in the program are Baylor student life staff or student life staff at another university within commuting distance. Of course, those students will not be assigned a 20-hour-a-week Graduate Assistantship and thus will not be eligible for a stipend. 

After completing coursework and beginning the dissertation process, some students choose to work full-time while finishing the dissertation; however, we recommend making this decision only after consulting with your advisor to ensure you are on track to graduate in a reasonable amount of time.

The Baylor Graduate School does provide travel awards for students who are presenting at conferences, which can be used to reimburse lodging, transportation, and registration fees. Students may apply for two awards each fiscal year, though you may request less than the full award to apply for funds to put toward an additional trip as well. In addition to the funds from the graduate school, the School of Education and HESL will each match a portion of what the graduate school offers as a maximum award. In addition to funds for conference presentations, the Graduate School and the department also offer a one-time travel award for conducting research.

The residency requirement primarily holds for those who are in the coursework phase of the program. We do have students from time to time who choose to take on a professional role at an institution outside the Central Texas region as they complete their dissertation. Like many decisions in life, this choice presents trade-offs. On the one hand, you do get the opportunity to gain full-time professional experience as you finish the program; however, staying in an apprenticeship gives you more time to work on completing your dissertation in a timely fashion. We recommend you weigh these options as you wrap up your coursework and determine what the dissertation phase of the program will look like in consultation with your advisor. 

Our program does not have specific publication requirements; however, in consultation with the program adviser, students are expected to complete at least one of the following tasks successfully: 1) write and submit a proposal to present a paper at a national conference (and if accepted present the paper), 2) attend a national conference in the students’ area of specialization, 3) author/coauthor and publish an article in an appropriate journal as outlined in the Department of Educational Leadership’s list of recognized journals (the coauthor could be a faculty member or other graduate student), or 4) work with a faculty member to write an external grant proposal. Through these activities, students will have opportunities to study higher education, produce high-quality research, engage in the various activities expected of higher education faculty members, network with other professionals in the larger national environment, and gain practical experiences performing tasks necessary to succeed as university leaders and faculty.

Though our program emphasizes understanding the field in light of one’s faith, we aim to prepare students to work in any type of higher education institution they choose. To help prepare students for working in settings outside of faith-based institutions, we encourage HESL students to attend conferences and participate in professional organizations that include the larger higher education sector.