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Letter to Prospective Students

Dear Prospective Student:

Thank you for inquiring about the Masters of Science in College Student Affairs program at Eastern Illinois University. Our department will be admitting 15 to 20 new masters’ candidates for the 2013 – 2014 academic year. Applications received by Feburary 8, 2013 receive priority, with decisions for admission made by March 8, 2013 regarding the fall cohort of students.

Application information for the department of Counseling and Student Development can be found at www.eiu.edu/~csd. The Graduate School application information can be found at www.eiu.edu/~graduate. Both the CSD and Graduate School applications, along with two letters of recommendation and official copies of your college transcripts are required for admissions to the CSA program. A GPA of 3.0 is preferred for admission, with full time applicants given priority over part time applicants. All candidates admitted to the program are required to have either a graduate assistantship at EIU or be employed with an area college or university. To receive a graduate assistantship, a 3.0 GPA is required. The department works with candidates to acquire graduate assistantships.

All candidates for the CSA program are asked to visit the campus for an admissions interview. There will be a CSA Days program for applicants on February 17 - February 19, 2013. CSA Days will provide candidates for admission to the program an opportunity for a personal admissions interview. Candidates will also have multiple interviews with university student affairs staff members and other EIU offices for a graduate assistantship on this or a nearby campus. CSA Days is also an opportunity to become familiar with the EIU campus, its faculty members, and other prospective graduate students who very likely will be a part of your masters’ cohort group.

The CSA degree is a 48-credit-hour program that meets the criteria for student affairs pre-service preparation standards set by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. The program has two full-time faculty members, Dr. James Wallace and Dr. Diane Timm. Additional courses are taught by other CSD faculty members, including former university president, Lou Hencken; the Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Dan Nadler; Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Jeff Cross, Professor and Chair of Secondary Education and Foundations, Dr. Patricia Fewell; and retired professor Dr. Charles Eberly.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact either Dr. Charles Eberly or Lou Hencken, the recruitment committee chair, by phone or email. Dr. Eberly can be reached at 217.581.7235 or cgeberly@eiu.edu. Lou Hencken can be reached at 217.581.2420 or lvhencken@eiu.edu.

Sincerely,