Master of Science in Native American Leadership – Education Online

Utilize this Native American studies online program to increase your opportunities with a highly marketable skill set to lead and facilitate education operations that benefit tribal nations.

Next Apply Date: 9/29/25
Next Class Start Date: 10/13/25
Apply Now

Program Overview

Learn more about the online M.S. in Native American Leadership – Education program

Gain a highly marketable skill set to lead and facilitate educational operations that benefit tribal nations with your Master of Science in Native American Leadership – Education online at Southeastern.

This unique 100% online master’s program develops your leadership skills and guides your understanding of issues specific to tribal nations such as student retention and the need for effective communication and collaboration with school and community stakeholders, as well as the effect of various government policies on Native Americans.

Accelerated online coursework includes a historical overview of Native education as well as an examination of principles and practices in school administration and of effective school operations management.

This program is open to students of all backgrounds—Native affiliation not required—and offers valuable insight for anyone working with tribal communities or governments.

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As a graduate of this M.S. in NAL – Education program, you will be prepared for leading roles, such as:

  • Superintendent
  • Principal
  • Department Chair
  • Curriculum Developer
  • Dean of Instruction
  • Program Administrator
  • Education Specialist
  • Director of an Academic Division
As a graduate of this M.S. in NAL – Education program, you will be prepared for leading roles, such as:+
  • Superintendent
  • Principal
  • Department Chair
  • Curriculum Developer
  • Dean of Instruction
  • Program Administrator
  • Education Specialist
  • Director of an Academic Division
+

Also available:

Southeastern Oklahoma State University offers a broad range of Native American Leadership degrees. Explore our online NAL programs.

Total Tuition, Including Fees $12,000*
Duration As few as 12 months
Credit Hours 30
Apply Now

Need More Information?

Call 844-515-9100

Call 844-515-9100

Tuition

Pay for your online program by the course at Southeastern

Southeastern Oklahoma State University offers its students the opportunity to earn their online degree with affordable, pay-as-you-go tuition that includes fees.

View additional tuition information+

Program Per Credit Hour Per Course Per Program*
M.S. in NAL – Education $400 $1,200 $12,000


*University reserves the right to change tuition and fees at any time.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available for those who qualify. The first step in applying for financial aid is to file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). SOSU's Federal School Code is 003179.

Contact Us

Student Financial Aid Office
425 W. University Blvd.
Durant, OK 74701-3347

Phone: 580-745-2186
Fax: 580-745-7469
Email: [email protected]

Tuition breakdown:

Total Tuition $12,000*
Per Credit Hour $400
SE faculty Amy Gantt

“I really feel like it changed my life in that it gave me... tools to use in my job now and, hopefully, in the future.”

Amy Gantt, MFA, M.S. NAL, instructor and alumna

Southeastern alumni Julia Boyd

“I delved deeper into my culture, my ancestry, and learned a lot that I did not know... It makes me proud that we have come as far as we have as a tribe, overcoming much adversity to get to where we are today—and that makes me so proud that I'm a member of the Choctaw Nation.”

Julia Boyd, MBA and M.S. in NAL student

Calendar

Discover the important dates you need to know

At Southeastern Oklahoma State University, we offer multiple start dates throughout the year so you never have to wait long to get started on your Native American studies program online.

View full calendar +

8 week coursesProgram Start DateApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlineTuition DeadlineLast Class Day
Fall I8/18/258/4/258/4/258/15/259/15/2510/5/25
Fall II10/13/259/29/259/29/2510/10/2511/1/2512/7/25
Summer I5/11/264/27/264/27/265/8/266/1/26
Fall I8/17/268/3/268/3/268/14/269/15/26

Now enrolling:

Apply Date 9/29/25
Class Starts 10/13/25

Have questions or need more information about our online programs?

Ready to take the rewarding path toward earning your degree online?

Apply Now

Admissions

Follow these steps to be admitted to our online NAL program

Southeastern Oklahoma State University's online M.S. in Native American Leadership – Education program has specific requirements that applicants must meet to enroll. Please read the admission guidelines to ensure you qualify.

  • Online Application
  • Bachelor's Degree
  • Minimum 2.0 GPA
  • No GRE or GMAT required
View all admission requirements +

If you have any special circumstances that need further clarification, please contact us at 844-515-9100.

To meet the admission requirements for the M.S. in Native American Leadership online program, applicants must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university with a minimum 2.75 overall GPA or minimum 3.0 GPA in the last 60 hours of courses, or
  • Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university with a minimum 2.0 overall GPA AND a current resume demonstrating two years of experience in the field of study that must be reviewed and approved by program coordinator
  • Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university and at least 6 hours in a graduate program from a regionally accredited university with a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and must be in good standing at previous university.
  • No GRE is required for Southeastern Oklahoma State University online M.S.-NAL programs.
  • There is a non-refundable $30 application fee for both domestic and international students.

The M.S. in Native American Leadership degree online at SOSU allows a maximum of nine credit hours that can be transferred from another program with approval from the program coordinator.

International Application and Admissions Requirements: Please note, unfortunately, students with an F-1 visa are ineligible for online programs.

  1. Complete the application.
  2. Academic Records:
    • Original final post-secondary transcript(s) from each college or university attended within the United States.
    • Post-secondary records from outside the U.S. must be course-by-course analyzed by a NACES (www.NACES.org) educational credential evaluation service such as IERF or WES or ECE.
  3. English Proficiency: Internet-based TOEFL score of 79 or an IELTS Academic score of 6.5; taken within 2 years of enrollment.
    • For TOEFL, have your score report sent to Southeastern (institution code: 6657).
    • For IELTS, let us know your TRF number.
    • You do not need TOEFL or IELTS scores if you meet one of the following:
      • English is your first language from a country whose official language is English
      • You have a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. college or university
      • You have a bachelor’s degree from an English speaking country

Official sealed transcripts from all previous institutions should be sent to Southeastern Oklahoma State University:

Southeastern Oklahoma State University/Registrar
425 W. University Blvd.
Durant, OK 74701-3347

Email: [email protected]

Courses

See what you'll learn in your online Native American Leadership – Education courses

For the M.S. in Native American Leadership – Education online, students must complete 10 courses for a total of 30 credit hours.

Expand all courses

NAL 5970 is an optional course that may replace any of the other courses (approval required).

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Leaders not only need a vision, but a way to effectively communicate that vision. This course will prepare the student for a variety of leadership roles by exploring contemporary concepts about the meanings and functions of communication and presentations in organizations. Communication styles of Native American peoples will be examined to better understand the characteristics that may include eye contact, assertiveness, and body language. Students will analyze key aspects of knowing the audience, developing persuasive content, effectively using media, understanding delivery techniques, and the use of story in presentations. Students will contend with these concepts from a personal standpoint by using examples from their own experiences to apply best practices and improve their own communication and leadership skills.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines the role of Native culture and Indigenous ways of knowing and being in approaching and solving problems, the mental activities needed to effectively formulate or solve problems, make decisions, or understand and conceptualize issues. Concepts such as free-will, determinism, truth, knowing, and moral judgements will be explored and applied to the modern leader. Barriers to effective problem solving will be reviewed along with strategies for improvement. Special attention will be paid to the role of Indigenous cultural values, traditions, and worldviews in the problem-solving process.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course focuses on historical and contemporary developments in Indigenous Native American and Alaskan Native education policy within the United States; and the results of governmental education policy and law on Indigenous peoples. The course includes historical perspective on North American Indigenous education prior to the arrival of Spanish, British, French, and other European influences and will give careful examination to U.S. Federal "American Indian Education" legislation and policies.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Federal Indian policy and law encompass the legal relationships between the U.S. government and Indian tribes, encompassing treaties, statutes, executive orders, and court decisions, recognizing tribes as sovereign entities with inherent right.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The course examines issues that directly impact the daily operations of tribal governments and the tribal members of those governments. The course will highlight areas from a broad range of topics with the understanding that these topics of interest are constantly changing and developing.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines the historical relationships of Indigenous peoples of North America to place and the tribal nation's experiences of the treaty-making era with the United States of America. Concepts of agency, survivance, and the importance of place in Indigenous cultures will be discussed to assist students in understanding the context of Native American removal, and relocation. Students will use colonial era documents, Historical Geography, Native American Indigenous Peoples' Geographies of the Homeland, and Native American Treaties as evidence for to multi-disciplinary, qualitative research.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course explores concepts of Indigenous Sovereignty, and the effects of U.S. policy and law on Native American and Alaska Native Indigenous peoples. Concepts of agency and survivance will be applied to assist students in understanding sovereignty and its many potential implications and expressions beyond a legal construct or matter of law. Students will use European colonial era documents, U.S. federal and state court cases, federal Indian policies, Indian treaties, and/ or the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights as evidence for multi-disciplinary, qualitative research.

Complete 5243 and 9 CH from the remaining courses.

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines the history of Native peoples through the lens of land, agency, sovereignty, language, and aesthetic. Students will use historical records, and source materials such as maps, music, paintings, photography, folklore, oral tradition, archaeological materials, museum collections, enduring customs, language, and place names to perform multidisciplinary, qualitative research.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An exploration of the need for presenting factual information and communication through collaboration with all school and community stakeholders.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An examination of the history, theories, principles and practices in school administration.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course will address facilities, finance, resource allocations, resource management, and technology for the principal.

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