Leadership is the essential resource for creating and sustaining organizations, communities, and societies. The primary goal of the O&L MA program is to bring before students a continuum of new knowledge and understanding that reflects current theories, research, and innovative practices. The Organization and Leadership Master’s program is composed of a diverse and unique faculty that draws upon a common ethic to teach and live leadership through commitment, academic excellence, and innovative practice.
The Master of Arts in Organization and Leadership (O&L) consists of 30 credits. The program gives students the opportunity to work with a diverse and unique faculty and focus their study
To meet the needs of working professionals, the program follows a schedule of alternate weekend classes that convene nine times a semester (Friday evenings and all day Saturdays). See our Teaching Weekend schedule.
FOUNDATIONS | 3 CREDITS (REQUIRED)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY | 3 CREDITS
O&L COURSEWORK - GENERAL OR FOCUS AREA | 15 CREDITS
ELECTIVES | 6 CREDITS
Choose 2 elective courses drawn from the following based on program adviser approval:
The Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling is comprised of the Educational Leadership and Counselor Education Programs.
The Masters program in Educational Leadership offers a planned sequence of experiences designed to develop leadership skills essential to the improvement of administration and supervision in schools, and other educational entities. Emphasis is placed upon increased understanding of the school management function. The institution provides a unique setting for the preparation of multicultural leadership. Curricula are designed to prepare the student for entry-level administrative posts in school systems (Level I for Florida Certification) for professional development and improvement and for leadership positions in other educational entities.
The Ph.D. Program in Educational Leadership has been designed as a non-traditional program to insure the academic success of qualified individuals who are interested in serving in rural and urban settings. The full time program is designed to move students to Ph.D. candidacy in two years. Because of the developmental focus of this program, transfer credit will not be accepted. Student cohorts are admitted once each year in the fall semester.
This program will enable graduates to pursue leadership career opportunities in educational settings and organizations involved with education-related issues. The program is designed to provide professionals with theoretical and practical knowledge that will enable them to be effective change agents and successful program managers, particularly in schools and agencies that serve the needs of minority and at-risk populations. This unique program is organized in the cohort format based upon the constructivist philosophical foundation. Inter-and intra-personal development and cultural factors are identified as essential elements for effective leadership and are emphasized as part of the doctoral program. A strong emphasis is also placed upon acquisition of theoretical content and research methodology.
Counselor Education offers graduate study which emphasizes both didactic and affective experiences as necessary dimensions in the growth and development of professional counselors. The program provides a curriculum that is comprehensive, integrated, and sequential and is approved by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and meets State of Florida approval. The course of studies include differentiated patterns of preparation for school counselors, and those persons interested in enhancing their human service skills for employment in other settings such as mental health agencies. Special effort is made to sensitize and provide the learner with experiences and skills relevant in working with individuals, groups, families and populations representing varied backgrounds and motivations. Multi-ethnic and multi-cultural effectiveness constitute a pervasive focus in all program studies.
The Counselor Education program has been in existence at Florida A & M University for over thirty years with a mission of supplying school and community systems with highly qualified counselors in public/private schools, college, community agencies and businesses. Our graduates become certified school counselors or licensed mental health counselors. In both of these professions, there is an under representation of minorities, specifically African-Americans. Our candidates are exposed to instruction which emphasizes multiculturalism so that they are better equipped to address the needs of the current school and community populace.
The M.Ed. School Leadership/Principal Licensure has been approved as a principal preparation program by the TN State Department of Education. Approval in Georgia is pending. This is an excellent program which strives to prepare teachers for a future career as a school principal, curriculum leader or other supervisor.
Required courses are as follows:
A passing score on the State exam (SLLA) is required as a condition of graduation
The master's program in Catholic Educational Leadership prepares graduates for effective leadership as administrators in Catholic elementary and secondary schools and for diocesan positions. The program consists of 30 credits, 24 of which are core credits.
To meet the needs of working professionals, the program follows a schedule of alternate weekend classes that convene nine times a semester (Friday evenings and all day Saturdays). See our Teaching Weekend schedule.
The remaining 6 credits are earned in elective courses selected from among those in Catholic Educational Leadership or those offered by other master's degree programs in the School of Education.
The program is offered during three semesters of the academic year: fall, spring, and summer. The summer CEL semester, referred to as the SummerWest program, includes a wide variety of course offerings; the summer faculty are from many parts of the country and bring expertise in theory and practice in elementary and secondary Catholic schools.
The Catholic Educational Leadership Program Learning Outcomes
The Master of Arts in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) combines a rigorous academic curriculum with practicum experiences in various areas of student life. Every HESA course is infused with an examination of equity and a passion for social justice. Class conversations and coursework focus on improving access to higher education for first generation and low-income students.
Each HESA student is connected to internship and practicum opportunities at USF or other Bay Area institutions. As part of their learning experience, they work in a student affairs division in a position that reflects their professional interests. These hands-on experiences and networking opportunities helped our last graduating cohort achieve 100% job placement in relevant student affairs positions.
Our faculty are passionate about empowering underrepresented professionals and students of color because they’ve overcome the same struggles. They’re well versed in complex issues of equality and race, inspiring dynamic classroom conversations that leverage real world situations.
Professors also take an individualized approach to their students: providing feedback on resumes and cover letters, conducting mock interviews, leveraging professional connections — providing a level of mentorship that’s increasingly rare in higher education. Meet our faculty.
Requirements include 24 credits of coursework, 3 credits of practicum and a 3 credit Masters Capstone.
Students completing the degree in HESA must complete three credits of practicum experiences during their program. The required practicum commitment is approximately 100 hours per semester or 10 hours per week.
See examples of past practicum placements that HESA students have completed.
Important objectives of the Higher Education & Student Affairs program are to train professionals who will:
USF's M.A. degree in International & Multicultural Education (IME) Program is dedicated to understanding formal and informal education within its sociocultural, linguistic, and political contexts around the world.
Based on principles of equity, social justice, and human rights, the program critically addresses the realities of education within and beyond the borders of public schooling in the United States and around the world.
The MA in International and Multicultural Education is rooted in critical social theory and the practice of critical pedagogy. This program provides a dynamic learning community where students benefit from rigorous scholarship and experience both in the classroom and in the community. We believe that our program equips students with the knowledge and strategies they need to be highly effective social justice teachers, leaders, and practitioners across various learning contexts in the U.S. and abroad.
The program follows a schedule of alternate weekend classes that convene nine times a semester (Friday evenings and all day Saturdays). See Teaching Weekend dates.
THE MASTER OF ARTS IN INTERNATIONAL AND MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION (IME) CONSISTS OF 30 CREDITS FROM THE FOLLOWING COURSES.
Course descriptions are available in the catalog.
The goal of each IME program is to develop professional practitioners with expertise in three key areas:
The IME programs are designed to enable students, upon graduation, to:
Our master's program is designed for educators who are excited about the potential technology offers for increasing student engagement and learning. Our students want to extend their skills for implementing relevant technology-enhanced activities in their own learning environments.
The hands-on quality of the Educational Technology program addresses the disparity between understanding the functionality of technology and knowing how it can be taught to students. More accurately, it’s not just why you’d use technology, but how it could be strategically implemented.
Our graduates will be prepared to:
The Educational Technology master's program is designed for working professionals who are interested in both creative exploration and practical application of digital technologies.
Our focus is always on giving students tools and strategies that they can use right away in their own learning environments. We also understand that every school has different types and amounts of resources, so we explore a wide variety of technology tools with an emphasis on low-cost or free resources.
The program will be of benefit to teachers in both K-12 and post-secondary settings, educational leaders, curriculum and technology specialists, software developers, corporate trainers, and others interested in the intersection of digital technologies and education.
USF's Educational Technology program gives you five powerful ways to enhance your pedagogical toolkit and increase your impact on future learners. Enter as a savvy instructor, work hard, and leave as a:
The curriculum focuses on the discerning use of technological tools to increase student engagement, motivation, and active learning.
Master's candidates are encouraged to leverage their learning for immediate applicability; course projects require students to apply new skills to discipline-specific content needs.
The Educational Technology program helps educators:
The culminating assessment for this project-based master's degree is a portfolio website, which can serve as a platform for sharing and collaborating with other educators, as well as an electronic resume for those wishing to advance their careers.
Classes meet on teaching weekends, an alternate weekend schedule of about two weekends a month to accommodate adult students, most of whom have full-time jobs and other obligations. The Educational Technology program is designed to be completed in five semesters (two years) including summers. To finish in this timeline, you can plan to take two courses per semester. See the master's program courses.
The Educational Technology master's program has five program outcomes.
Upon completion of the MA in Educational Technology students will be able to:
Grounded in critical thinking and positive action, this program provides a rigorous human rights education in the classroom and community. You'll graduate prepared to tackle—and to teach about—inequities based on race, class, gender, sexual identity, religion, and nation.
Designed to support teachers of early childhood through college, as well as educators working in non-formal settings such as community organizations, Human Rights Education (HRE) entails understanding the promise of rights guarantees and the gap between rights and actual realities.
Courses examine the right to education, schooling with dignity and rights, and curricular efforts towards social justice and comprehensive human rights. Students engage with issues in local and global contexts, with emphasis on globalization, migration, social movements, and transnationalism.
Transformation is an essential element of HRE, and is done through a process of education that empowers people to make changes in their own lives, as well as in their families, communities, and institutions.
The program follows a schedule of alternate weekend classes that convene nine times a semester (Friday evenings and all day Saturdays). See Teaching Weekend dates.
A hallmark of the Masters in Human Rights Education program is its flexibility to work with diverse students. Students can complete the coursework requirements in as few as 18 months (two academic year semesters plus the summer term) and can extend the program as long as needed (up to 5 years). Most students complete the Masters program in 2 academic years with summer coursework often included.
The Master of Arts in Human Rights Education (HRE) consists of 30 credits. Requirements include 15 credits of core coursework, 9 credits of elective coursework, and 6 credits of Culminating Project. All classes are 3 credits, unless otherwise noted.
The goal of the HRE program is to develop professional practitioners with expertise in the following key areas:
This concentration is designed to meet the growing needs for teacher leadership and a broad base of instructional leadership in PreK-12 schools. It is designed for teachers who want to remain in the classroom and exercise leadership through school-wide collaboration, mentoring new teachers, departmental or grade-level leadership, leading professional development, and the improvement of curriculum and instructional strategies. Nine credits of electives and choice of a literacy course allow the student to focus on areas of special interest as a teacher leader. It does not lead to a special TN endorsement.
Required courses are as follows:
The State exam (SLLA) is not required as a condition of graduation.)
The Master’s degree program in Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) addresses the need for more highly trained teachers with a focus on proficiency in instruction, learning and assessment and/or minority and urban education. The curriculum is designed to provide educators with hybrid (blended) courses that are structured to ensure that future candidates will study the philosophical and theoretical foundations of curriculum development while gaining an understanding of instructional strategies that best address the needs of a diverse student population.
Those educators who pursue administrative roles will be provided with rich experiences through research and inquiry in an examination of diverse approaches to program evaluation and improvement. The program allows individuals to enhance their current skill sets as related to instructional and assessment strategies, application of theoretical foundations of curriculum development, research and inquiry as foundations for data-driven decisions about curriculum and instruction, technology, and core principles of program evaluation and instruction.
The program is uniquely designed to meet the needs of individuals with a variety of career goals that range from those who wish to serve as curriculum generalists or specialists, district curriculum coordinators, school administrators, and classroom teachers to those interested in serving as non-school based curriculum designers or curriculum evaluators. Public school districts, private institutions and corporate learning providers are increasingly turning to curriculum specialists to ensure that their programs satisfy institutional, governmental and industry requirements. Educators who work in K-12, higher education and adult learning environments can meet the demand by earning a graduate degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Any professional interested in the practical aspects of curriculum planning and supervision will find this program to be of great benefit.
The 30-credit- hour- program will employ a cohort model and may be completed in four semesters as a full-time student and six semesters as a part-time student. Candidates seeking admission into the C&I program must meet the School of Graduate Studies and Research admission requirements.
USF’s School of Education links instruction, research, and service to give students the tools to deal with the challenges and needs of diverse classrooms
