3 The Western Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 40, No. 3, 2016 Higher education as a ield of study at Minority Serving Institutions Sydney Freeman, Jr.- UniverSity oF idaho nicole c. Barnett- J.F. drake commUnity & technical college meliSSa l. Freeman- adamS State UniverSity Abstract Higher education as a ield of study has developed over the last 120 years within the United States. A growing segment of the ield has developed at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). In particular there have been graduate programs that prepare its students to serve in leadership and faculty positions at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The purpose of this study was to provide an historical overview of the program development of graduate certiicates, concentrations, and degree programs in the ield of higher education at MSIs. This study addresses one research question. What is the history of higher education as a ield of study at Minority Serving Institutions? This study found that eight universities have held, or currently hold graduate programs in the ield of higher education at HBCUs and the one such program at a HSI. This study provides a unique contribution to the literature base on higher education as a ield of study as there has been no study that has addressed the unique contribution that MSIs have provided in developing skilled faculty, administrators, and policymakers taught in the ield of higher education. Given that the MSI higher education programs have been virtually absent from the literature on higher education, it is the authors’ hope that this study should shed a positive light on an invaluable segment of the ield of higher education. Introduction The ield of higher education administration has been developed over the last 120 years (Freeman, 2012). Within that time period, a variety of programs have been established to address the diverse needs of colleges and universities. These programs have developed sub-ield specializations in areas such as community college and student affairs leadership. Higher education administra- tion preparation programs have been a large producer of faculty, administrators, and higher education researchers (Wright & Miller, 2007). Previous research on higher education programs within the United States has pri- marily focused on how the ield of higher education has developed at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) (Goodchild, 1991). To date there is a dearth of literature that addresses the role that Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) have played in developing a more diverse higher education workforce (Barnett, 2008). This study reviews eight universities who have had, or currently have graduate programs in the ield of higher education at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and the one such program at a Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI). This study pro- Dr. Sydney Freeman, Jr. is associate professor of higher education at the University of Idaho. His research investigates the challenges facing higher education administration programs, speciically, higher education as a ield of study and the university presidency. Dr. Nicole C. Barnett serves as the Dean of Instructional and Student Services at J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College in Huntsville, Al. Her research interests include Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Dr. Melissa L. Freeman is Project Director of the Title V PPOHA grant at Adams State University. Her research interests include access issues to higher education, particularly for historically marginalized groups.