Specializations · Pennsylvania
Higher Education Administration Pathways in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania does not license college presidents or deans. The Department of Education handles many postsecondary authorizations, the State System of Higher Education governs the state-owned universities, and state-related institutions—Penn State, Pitt, and Temple—have their own boards. Independent campuses hire through their trustees. Evaluate graduate programs against PDE or PASSHE information, institutional accreditation, and the posted search criteria on the campus you want—not against a K–12 administrative-certificate checklist.
Higher education administration prepares educators and professionals for leadership roles in colleges and universities. It is related to educational leadership but is not a K–12 principal credential. State teaching or administrator licenses usually do not govern college roles the same way public-school building licenses do.
Reviewed by Brittnie Vargas, School principal, M.Ed.Editorial processHow higher-ed administration works in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania does not license college presidents or deans. The Department of Education handles many postsecondary authorizations, the State System of Higher Education governs the state-owned universities, and state-related institutions—Penn State, Pitt, and Temple—have their own boards. Independent campuses hire through their trustees. Evaluate graduate programs against PDE or PASSHE information, institutional accreditation, and the posted search criteria on the campus you want—not against a K–12 administrative-certificate checklist.
Pennsylvania’s public map is three layers that people flatten at their peril. PASSHE is a true system for the state-owned universities; West Chester appears in this inventory. Penn State, Pitt, and Temple are state-related: publicly supported, independently boarded, and not PASSHE campuses. Community colleges are a fourth public flavor with local boards. A graduate student who interned at University Park should not assume a West Chester or community-college search will treat that experience as in-system service.
PDE’s postsecondary role is authorization and consumer protection, plus the department’s better-known K–12 work. Keep those desks separate. The same agency that issues a principal certificate does not issue a dean’s card. When you use pa.gov/agencies/education, decide whether you are checking a private provider’s right to operate or wandering into educator-certification pages that do not govern campus HR.
The independent sector is where much of the completion volume lives. Penn, Drexel, Duquesne, Widener, Immaculata, Gwynedd Mercy, Marywood, Messiah, Carlow, DeSales, and others hire through their own trustees and often want evidence of Catholic, urban-research, or regional-comprehensive student services. Mid-level roles commonly list a master’s; dean and vice-presidential roles more often list a doctorate plus a faculty-facing record. None of those titles is a PDE administrative certificate, and none of them is state-reciprocal as a K–12 principal license.
What to verify before you enroll
Use PDE for postsecondary authorization, not campus HR
The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s postsecondary and higher-education offices handle many institutional and program authorizations. PDE does not issue a personal license for college deans. Confirm authorization in department materials, then read the hiring campus’s search ad.
Source: pa.gov
Evaluate the large independent sector on its own terms
The University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Duquesne University, Widener University, Immaculata University, and many other independents report higher-education administration completions. Their trustees, not PDE or PASSHE, write those search criteria.
Source: pa.gov
Match degree level to the function in the posting
Pennsylvania campus searches typically ask for a master’s for student-affairs and enrollment roles and a doctorate plus a matching portfolio for academic deans. There is no PDE exam or cut score for those personal titles.
Source: pa.gov
Treat IPEDS completions as supply, not a principal certificate
Awards conferred identify programs. They do not create a statewide campus-administrator license and they do not replace a PDE administrative certificate for K–12 buildings.
Source: nces.ed.gov
Institutions with higher-education administration programs in Pennsylvania
Rows come from IPEDS awards in higher-education administration CIP codes. This extract reported no completion counts, so none are shown. An award conferred is not a state license and is not proof that a campus job requires that degree.
| Institution | CIP | Award level |
|---|---|---|
| Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Carlow University (Pittsburgh, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| DeSales University (Center Valley, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Geneva College (Beaver Falls, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Gwynedd Mercy University (Gwynedd Valley, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| Immaculata University (Immaculata, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| Marywood University (Scranton, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Messiah University (Mechanicsburg, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Peirce College (Philadelphia, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (University Park, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (University Park, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Pennsylvania State University-World Campus (University Park, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Rosemont College (Rosemont, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
| University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus (Pittsburgh, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| West Chester University of Pennsylvania (West Chester, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Master’s |
| Widener University (Chester, PA) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Doctorate (research) |
Frequently asked questions
Does the Pennsylvania Department of Education license college deans?
No. PDE authorizes many postsecondary institutions and programs and separately issues K–12 certificates. Campus officers are appointed by PASSHE, state-related, community-college, or independent boards and HR offices.
Is Penn State part of PASSHE?
No. Penn State, Pitt, and Temple are state-related institutions with their own boards. PASSHE governs the state-owned universities such as West Chester.
Will a Pennsylvania higher-education administration degree meet PDE principal certification?
Not by default. PDE administrative certificates for K–12 buildings require an approved preparation sequence. Campus degrees are a different pathway.