Elizabeth Niehaus Associate Professor & Graduate Faculty Chair
Ph.D., College Student Personnel Administration, University of Maryland, College Park, 2012
M.A., American Culture Studies, Washington University in St. Louis, 2007
B.A., Linguistics, University of Virginia, 2002
Dr. Niehaus's research focuses how we can create and improve educational environments to facilitate learning and development in higher education, with a particular emphasis on international higher education. Her current research focuses on faculty-led short-term study abroad programs, student engagement in tertiary education in Trinidad and Tobago, and the intersections of free speech and campus climate. Prior research projects have examined student learning and development in the context of alternative break programs and how graduate programs and early career work environments facilitate the development of research self-efficacy in scholars in the field of higher education and student affairs.
Areas of Expertise
- Study Abroad
- Free Speech
- Research Methods
- Internationalization of Higher Education
- Student Affairs
- Service-Learning/International Service-Learning
- Qualitative Research Methods
Dr. Niehaus advises PhD students in Educational Leadership and Higher Education and MA students in the Higher Education specialization. She looks for students with a clear vision for why they want to pursue a graduate degree as well as students with specific questions they are interested in exploring through research. Dr. Niehaus regularly teaches EDAD 842: College Students in America, EDAD 932: Global Issues in Higher Education, EDAD 984B: Qualitative Techniques – Case Study Research, and EDAD 984E: Qualitative Techniques – Grounded Theory in Educational Administration. She has also taught special topics and hands-on research seminars for both masters and doctoral students, including recent courses on the First Amendment, Free Speech, and Campus Climate; Controversies in Higher Education; Qualitative Data Collection; Qualitative Data Analysis; and Novel Approaches to Research on Student Experiences in Higher Education.
- Niehaus, E. & Nyunt, G. (2020). Adding to our methodological toolkit: Identifying meaningful individual-level change in educational experiences. Journal of College Student Development, 61(5), 637-653.
- Briscoe, K., Niehaus, E., Nelson, M., & Bryan, A. (2020). Examining the role of mental health issues in faculty-led short-term study abroad. College Student Affairs Journal, 38(2), 143-156.
- Niehaus, E., & Williams, L., & Fullerton, A. (2020). Community identity development and interpersonal development in tertiary education in Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of College Student Development, 61.(4) 492-509.
- Niehaus, E., Bryan, A., Nelson, M., & Briscoe, K. (2020). Addressing students’ mental health needs in faculty-led study abroad courses. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy.Advanced online publication.
- Niehaus, E., & Woodman, T.C., Bryan, A., Light, A., & Hill, E. (2019). Student learning objectives: What instructors emphasize in short-term study abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 31(2), 121-138.
- Niehaus, E., & Williams, L., Zobac, S., Young, M., & Fullerton, A. (2019). Exploring predictors of sense of belonging in Trinidad and Tobago. Innovative Higher Education, 44(2), 103-117.
- Niehaus, E. & Wegner, A. (2019). What are we teaching abroad? Faculty goals in short-term study abroad courses. Journal of College Student Development, 60 577-594.
- Niehaus, E., Reading, J., Nelson, M.J., Wegener, A., & Arthur, A. (2018). Faculty engagement in cultural mentoring as instructors in short-term study abroad courses. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 30(2), 77-91.
- Niehaus, E., Garcia, C., & Reading, J. (2018). The road to researcher: The development of research self-efficacy in higher education scholars. Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education, 3, 1-20.
- Niehaus, E. & Garcia, C. (2017). Does location really matter? Exploring the role of place in domestic and international service-learning experiences. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 5(1), 99-118
- Niehaus, E., Holder, C., Rivera, M., Garcia, C.E., Woodman, T.C., & Dierberger, J. (2017). Exploring integrative learning in service-based alternative breaks. The Journal of Higher Education, 88(6), 922-946.
- Niehaus, E. (2017). Building momentum in student engagement: Alternative breaks and students’ social justice and diversity orientations. Journal of College Student Development, 58(1), 53-70.
- Niehaus, E., Reading, J., & Garcia, C. (2017). Enacting efficacy in early career: Narratives of agency, growth, and identity. Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education, 2, 43-58.
- Niehaus, E. & Rivera, M. (2016). Serving a higher power: The influence of alternative break programs on students’ religiousness. Journal of College Student Development. 57(4), 343-361.
- Niehaus, E. (2016). Alternative breaks as a context for informal interactions with diversity. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 53(2), 160-174.
- Niehaus, E. & Williams, L. (2016). Faculty Transformation in Curriculum Transformation: The Role of Faculty Development in Campus Internationalization. Innovative Higher Education, 41(1), 59-74.
- Niehaus, E. & Inkelas, K.K. (2016). Understanding STEM majors’ intent to study abroad. College Student Affairs Journal, 34(1), 70-84.
Dr. Niehaus’s current research projects include a mixed methods study of students’ moral reasoning around issues of free speech in college classrooms and a multiple case study of students’ experiences in virtual international courses.