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Teacher Education & Leadership

Organizational Leadership

The interdisciplinary M.S. program combines courses across several disciplines to prepare students to successfully lead organizations.

Earn A Master of Science in Organizational Leadership

Gain practical experience and develop the skills necessary for a productive career in organizational administration and leadership.

This Master of Science program is designed for graduate students who have an interest in organization administration and leadership. This interdisciplinary program will utilize existing courses across several disciplines to prepare students to become leaders within their organization. This program is offered in both the traditional and online formats.

Specially designed organizational leadership practicum experiences will give graduate students an opportunity to observe and participate in administrative roles across the university. The following areas are available for practicum experiences:

  • athletics
  • advancement
  • academic offices
  • bursar's office
  • residence life
  • student activities
  • student development [judicial]
  • intramurals
  • enrollment services
  • career services
  • counseling and testing
  • religious programming
  • international programs
  • public safety
  • other administrative offices

Application and Admission Requirements

Application Deadline: Rolling academic calendar

  1. Meet general requirements for admission to the Graduate School of Mississippi College.
  2. Provide transcripts of all university work.
  3. Hold Bachelor's degree in any field from a regionally accredited university or college
  4. Applicants must submit an acceptable original "Statement of Purpose" outlining their reasons for seeking the M.S. in Higher Education Administration. This essay should be focused and as specific as warranted in order to address the student's motivations(s) in seeking this degree in higher education administration, including personal career objectives once the degree is completed. Following the Statement of Purpose, prospective students should also include professional experiences within a college or university, or within an area related to higher education, and/or student experiences which contributed to their career objectives of their desire to work within a college or university.

Maintenance and Graduation Requirements

  1. Maintain good standing by earning 3.00 cumulative grade point average. Good standing is required before students can apply for graduation and participate in comprehensive exams.
  2. Complete 31 hours of graduate course work as outlined in program requirements including the two practicum experiences.
  3. During the final semester of coursework, a candidate will complete the following requirements:
    1. Complete 27 hours of coursework in selected concentration.
    2. Complete four hours of practicum.
    3. Successfully complete a Comprehensive Examination administered by the Department in the last semester of the program.
Requirement Class Name Hours
Higher Education Administration Courses   27
EDU 6519

HED 6500 - Basic Understandings in Higher Education Administration (History and Issues) 

HED 6501 Law and Higher Education
HED 6502 Finance in Higher Education
HED 6503 Student Development Theories/Ethics and Inquiry  3
HED 6504 Research-Methods and Procedures 3
HED 6506 The Community College 3
HED 6520 Basic Effective Leadership 3
HED 7530 Issues and Concepts of Personnel Management in Higher Education  3
MGT 6551 Management of the Human Resource 3
Practica   4
HED 6587 Higher Education Administration Practicum I 3
HED 6588 Higher Education Administration Practicum II 3
Total Hours   31

Notes: Traditional face-to-face courses are offered according to the following schedule: Fall - HED 6500, HED 6503, and HED 7530 Spring - HED 6501 and HED 6502 Summer - HED 6506 and HED 6520 All year - HED 6504 and MGT 6551 are available any time during the year.

Available formats may vary. For the HED online schedule, please click on the following link.

HED Online Schedule

Nine hours of completed HED coursework is required prior to taking a practicum (HED 6587 and HED 6588) for both traditional and online students. Registration for practicums must be approved by the program advisor.

Online Schedule

The following schedule applies to the online classes.

Summer Year 1

HED 6500 Basic Understanding in Higher Education Administration
HED 6503 Student Development in Theories/Ethics & Inquiry

Fall Year 1

HED 7530 Issues and Concepts of Personnel Management 
HED 6504 Research - Methods and Practices

Spring Year 2

HED 6506 The Community College
HED 6520 Basic Effective Leadership

Summer Year 2

HED 6501 Law and Higher Education
HED 6502 Finance in Higher Education
MGT 6551 Management of the Human Resource

Fall Year 2

HED 6500 Basic Understanding in Higher Education Administration
HED 6503 Student Development in Theories/Ethics Inquiry

Spring Year 3

HED 7530 Issues and Concepts of Personnel Management 
HED 6504 Research - Methods and Practices

Summer Year 3

HED 6506 The Community College
HED 6520 Basic Effective Leadership


(Students may only enroll in practicum after completing 9 hours of core courses.)

By completing these 27 hours of coursework and 2 practicum experiences, a student can graduate in less than 18 months.