Higher Education & Student Affairs Program
Student Personnel Assistantship
The Student Personnel Assistantship (SPA) program provides the primary means of funding for most students in the HESA academic program. Established in 1948, SPA at The Ohio State University is one of the oldest assistantship programs of its kind for higher education and student affairs. This nationally acclaimed assistantship program has a history of excellence in providing supervised field experiences with financial support for students admitted to the M.A. or Ph.D. programs in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) academic program. As a graduate student with a SPA assistantship, you will have the opportunity to work with practitioners in addressing contemporary issues of theory and practice in higher education and student affairs in a postsecondary setting.
The SPA assistantships are a collaborative effort among the Division of Student Affairs, other administrative offices at Ohio State and several colleges and universities in the Columbus area and are integrated with the MA and PhD academic programs in HESA. The majority of the SPA assistantships are in Student Affairs or Academic Affairs offices. Research and teaching assistantships generally are not available through the SPA Program. However, research or teaching may be a component of particular assistantship positions.
Other options for funding include student loans and fellowships, both of which have application processes separate from the SPA process. Additionally, a wide variety of assistantships, not coordinated through the SPA Program, are available throughout the University.
SPA Staff: Dr. Jen Gilbride-Brown, Coordinator; and Sean McKinniss, Assistant Coordinator. Contact us at spa@osu.edu or (614) 292-4322.