Master of Science in Native American Leadership Online

This online M.S. in NAL program is developed by tribal leaders and can help you strengthen the Native community, connect to cultural heritage, and become a leader who supports the tribal nations.

Next Apply Date: 8/4/25
Next Class Start Date: 8/18/25
Apply Now

Program Overview

Get to know our online Master of Science in Native American Leadership program

The Master of Science in Native American Leadership online program at Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a leadership-focused degree program that is designed to equip you with culturally relevant knowledge and skills.

Whether you are seeking to advance your career within the tribe or looking to develop business relationships with tribal nations, this 100% online program prepares you for leadership. The distinctive curriculum is designed by tribal leaders and covers historical, cultural and regulatory factors affecting business and leadership within the native community. This degree program highlights leadership-related skills like communication, presentations, critical thinking and problem-solving. Additionally, you will gain an understanding of the complex culture and history influencing modern Native American communities.

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 program, you will be prepared for higher-level roles, such as:

  • Tribal Government Roles
  • U.S. Federal and State Government Roles
  • Tribal Affairs
  • Human Resources Management
  • Non-profit Management
  • Hospitality Management
  • Gaming Manager or Supervisor
  • Industrial Services
  • Educational Program Leadership Roles
  • Program Leadership in Healthcare
As a graduate of this M.S. in NAL program, you will be prepared for higher-level roles, such as:+
  • Tribal Government Roles
  • U.S. Federal and State Government Roles
  • Tribal Affairs
  • Human Resources Management
  • Non-profit Management
  • Hospitality Management
  • Gaming Manager or Supervisor
  • Industrial Services
  • Educational Program Leadership Roles
  • Program Leadership in Healthcare
+

Also available:

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

Total Tuition, Including Fees $11,640*
Duration As few as 12 months
Credit Hours 30
Apply Now

Need More Information?

Call 844-515-9100

Call 844-515-9100

Learn about leadership from a tribal perspective

Hear what Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Chief Gary Batton and others have to say about this unique program.

Tuition

Learn more about our affordable tuition

SOSU is committed to providing an outstanding education that is also affordable. Tuition is structured to give our students the best value and flexibility.

View additional tuition information+

Program Per Credit Hour Per Course Per Program*
M.S. in NAL $388 $1,164 $11,640


*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 $11,640*
Per Credit Hour $388

“This graduate program, being online, worked for me. A lot of times, I work more than 40 hours a week—plus, I travel... I can do this at my own pace.”

Robin Counce

Director of Career Development at Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and M.S. NAL student

“I felt like it was actually more one-on-one than if I was in a physical classroom setting.”

Jody Nelson

Senior Director of Human Resources at Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, MBA and M.S. in NAL student

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 milestones that will guide your student journey

At SOSU, we offer multiple start dates throughout the year so you never have to wait long to get started on your online degree program. The chart below shows upcoming start dates, along with important deadlines, such as when your application should be submitted and when payments are due.

View full calendar +

8 week coursesProgram Start DateApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlineTuition DeadlineLast Class Day
Summer II6/30/256/16/256/16/256/27/257/3/258/17/25
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

Now enrolling:

Apply Date 8/4/25
Class Starts 8/18/25

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 our streamlined admission requirements

Southeastern Oklahoma State University's online M.S. in Native American Leadership 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.
  • 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.
  • There is a non-refundable $30 application fee for both domestic and international students.

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 courses

For the M.S. in Native American Leadership 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
This course focuses on effective organizational leadership approaches, strategies, and methods within Native American Organizations. Introducing leadership tactics and cognitive frames students can use to assess organizational culture and environmental factors, evaluate behaviors, and apply effective responses within a Native American organizational context.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course presents the fundamentals of multi-cultural leadership and assists students in developing the essential skills for effective multi-cultural bridge-building within Native American organizations and across Indian Country.
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 developing the personal skill set to become an exceptional leader in Indian Country. Exploring the influence of leaders regardless of position and the role of managers at all levels as servant leaders in tribal organizations. The challenges of balancing the needs of supervisors, subordinates, colleagues, and citizens will be addressed along with the case studies exploring how exceptional leaders in Native American / tribal organizations successfully handled challenges and crisis.
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 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
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.
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
Specifically for the Special Studies course, the objectives are to provide a flexible evaluation of skills needed regarding the organization and history of Native American peoples and tribes. The course may be adjusted to fit specific needs of employers and individuals pursuing the degree while remaining focused on Native American Leadership.

Choose two courses from the following:

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 presents strategies, tools, and best practices for sourcing, preparing and submitting grant request proposals to federal, state, foundation, and corporate grant funding agencies. Students will prepare a complete grant for a project of their choice using templates and guides provided in the course. Students may propose developing grant proposal topics related to education, housing healthcare, cultural preservation I revitalization, community development, economic development, the arts, and other Native American / Indigenous related projects or programs.

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