Educational Leadership

Graduate Programs

Description

We prepare racially/ethically conscious leaders who are resolute in serving ALL learners in a broad spectrum of educational settings and developing educators with strong skills in racial equity leadership, instructional leadership, and experiential learning through project-based learning and learner-centered programming in a Master of Science, Specialist and Doctorate graduate degree.

Majors

 Program Locations Total Credits
Educational Leadership EDD EDD - Doctor of Education
  • Mankato
  • Edina
 90
Educational Leadership MS MS - Master of Science
  • Edina
 34
Educational Leadership SPEC SPEC - Specialist
  • Edina
 30

Policies & Faculty

Policies

For graduate program policies, including Admission requirements, please see https://grad.mnsu.edu/programs/ed.html. 

Contact Information

Department of Educational Leadership
College of Education
115 Armstrong Hall
507-389-1116
EducationalLeadership@mnsu.edu

Faculty

Chair
  • Jinger Gustafson, Ed.D
Faculty

600 Level

Credits: 1-6

Practical experience in Educational Leadership.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-6

This course provides students who are pursuing a second administrative license with an experiential experience as a school administrator.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3-6

This course is designed for aspiring educational leaders and is intended to provide experiential experience with the roles and responsibilities of a school superintendent. Embedded in the course are the internship requirements for Minnesota state administrative licensure for superintendent.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-6

The intent of the Portfolio Review is to provide the student with a focused opportunity to construct and present a professional portfolio that will ultimately lead to Superintendent licensure. Students will document and present evidence of mastery of required competencies.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Communication and Leadership is a three credit graduate course designed to prepare aspiring leaders in PreK-12 and higher educational settings with the communication skills needed to lead effectively. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skill development through understanding, applying, analyzing, and evaluating communication practices to improve personal and professional effectiveness. Course design will offer a combination of readings, collegial discussion, individualized projects, presentations, and interactive exercises.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Equity and Education serves as a fundamental course of study in preparation of educational leaders. Students engage in discourse and examination of issues related to racial equity, achievement, teaching and leadership gaps. Through the lens of race, students will explore, read, discuss, write about and observe content that describes local and national educational issues. Students will study the work of leading authors who introduce protocols and practices for holding conversations about race. Students will apply and transfer knowledge about racial equity to educational settings.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Program Evaluation in Educational Leadership is a three credit graduate course designed to prepare aspiring leaders in PK-12 and higher educational settings. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skill development in understanding, applying, analyzing, and evaluating data collected. These steps will result in the design of a meaningful evaluation of a program within a PK-12 or higher education institution. Course design will offer a combination of readings, collegial discussion, program evaluation projects, presentation, and/or interactive exercises.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This three credit graduate course is designed to prepare educational leaders for the PreK-12 and higher education settings with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to prepare learners for the 21C workforce. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skill development through applying, analyzing, and evaluating technological advances, changing practices and paradigms in educational systems,and leading system change. Course design will offer a combination of readings, collegial discussion, individualized projects, presentations, and interactive exercises. The effective use of various technologies will be used to enhance the students' awareness and use of applications for leadership, teaching and personalized learning.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-3

This seminar provides an avenue for the exploration and investigation of special study topics in educational leadership.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is designed for students preparing for school leadership positions.It provides the conceptual framework for brain-based learning, neuroscience and culturally responsive classroom teaching. The goal is to develop racially conscious leaders who will, in turn, develop culturally responsive teachers.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This seminar explores the dynamics of organizational and systems change in theory and practice.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This is the introductory course for the Masters' in Educational Leadership program. The purpose of this course is to provide students with foundational knowledge in the area of leadership. Throughout this course students will explore what it means to be a leader and will review current research on leadership. They will also investigate the personal side of leadership and focus on skills needed to lead an organization.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Selected ethical/moral philosophies are studied using theoretical paradigms. Students become skilled at making ethical and moral decisions regarding every day dilemmas facing educational leaders.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines past and current research theory and philosophy relative to leadership development in both formal and informal educational settings.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Surveys past and current research about women in leadership roles. The course will examine leadership through the lives of culturally diverse women who had both traditional and non-traditional roles.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Introduction to research methods as well as tools for becoming a critical consumer of the body of research that exists in educational leadership.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines legal issues in educational settings.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-6

The process by which candidates for school administration licensure document and present mastery level evidence of required competencies.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course provides an overview of leadership in the educational setting.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines how political influence and governance affect school policy.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course develops skills in leading programs for students of special populations.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

The course examines the role of the school leader within the function of supervision and evaluation.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is designed to provide students with knowledge about the practical experience in identifying potential funding sources; planning, writing, and evaluating grant proposals and implementing funded projects.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course will focus on funding, organization, governance, processes, and structures of higher education.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

Individualized study in an area of leadership theory, research, or inquiry. Admission by prior application only.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

In this course students apply advanced knowledge and skills in finance and leadership in the educational setting.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course develops research skills in the educational setting.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines the role of school leaders in a multicultural inclusive learning environment.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-3

This course will present a wide range of techniques and models for developing professional academic projects, including portfolios. Students will develop and demonstrate a professional project. This course may replace or be used in addition to an APP or thesis.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

An experience where the principle learning takes place through interchange among class members and the facilitator.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-3

The alternate plan paper includes a research requirement less extensive in nature than a thesis, but significantly greater in quality and quantity than the standard graduate term paper.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Portfolio Development is a 1-credit independent course aligned with the Department of Educational Leaderships assessment plan for the Masters of Science in Educational Leadership degree. In the portfolio, students will demonstrate accomplishments and growth experienced throughout the Masters program in professional knowledge, skills and performance, and dispositions (professional attitudes and character). Permission is required from the student's academic advisor to register for the Portfolio Development course, usually during the graduation semester. The completed portfolio is submitted to the student's academic advisor toward the end of the graduation semester. Permission is required to register for the Portfolio Development course.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3-6

The course provides an applicant for licensure for K-12 principal, superintendent, and director of special education completing an approved licensure program, but lacking the three-year teaching experience, the required teaching internship.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3-12

This course provides students with an experiential experience as a school administrator.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3-6

The thesis involves extended research resulting in a significant contribution to new knowledge. This reflects a student's ability to do individual, independent work of a creative and/or investigative type in an area of relation to the student's major field.

Prerequisites: none

700 Level

Credits: 3

This course will provide doctoral students with the knowledge and skills required to become a professor or instructor in higher education settings through topics including professional development plans (PDP), professional development reports (PDR), library research, portfolio development, conference presentations, developing lines of research, and writing for publication.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 4

This seminar course provides an avenue for the exploration and investigation of special study topics in educational leadership.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

The primary framework of this course is the main theoretical perspectives and issues of organizational decision-making, organizational innovation and organizational identity. Each theory/perspective will be examined with the following questions in mind: what is/are the overarching question(s) with which the theory is concerned? What is the central unit of analysis? What are the key concepts?

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Examination of ethics in leadership which includes student research on ethics in leadership and professional settings.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

In depth study of exemplary leaders and research into their applicability to broader leadership contexts.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is a required course for the doctorate in Educational Leadership. The seminar is offered so students can acquire the knowledge of how public policy is developed and the influences exerted on public policy.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course provides an introduction to and opportunities for producing scholarly writing of publication quality. It offers ample opportunities for practicing formatting, grammar, and APA citation skills needed for peer-reviewed theoretical papers and primary research reports including dissertations.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 4

This course is designed for doctoral students to conduct research in school districts to resolve problems that have legal implications. Completed research will be shared with the school districts as well as with fellow doctoral students.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course offers investigations into traditional and exploratory genres of qualitative research and provides the critical analysis tools necessary for doing so. Included will be aspects unique to qualitative design used for sampling, instrumentation, data collection and analysis, and report formats.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

The course provides an overview of quantitative research methods, clarifies the role of quantitative methods in the research process, and provides experiences for application of quantitative methods.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course offers focused investigations into a specific genre or methodology of research. Class members will work individually or in small learning groups in completing individually-constructed learning contracts to gain in-depth knowledge and skills in particular genre or methodology.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course offers focused investigations into a specific genre or methodology of research different than those investigated in EDLD 793. Class members will work to complete an individually-constructed learning contract to gain in-depth knowledge and skills in research.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-12

This course is designed for doctoral candidates in educational leadership to experience implementation of theory where they are given the opportunity to create, demonstrate, and maintain effective strategies and methodologies from leadership practices in a school or higher education setting.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-12

The doctoral dissertation course is designed to guide the student through preparation and defense of the dissertation proposal, assist the student in the dissertation research and writing process and ensure focus and consistency in preparation and defense of the final product.

Prerequisites: none