Educational Leadership

Where do I go for advising in Flagstaff?
Please refer to the list of advisers included in the program information on the Educational Leadership home page. 

Where do I get advising if I don't live in Flagstaff?
You may contact your local Northern Arizona University statewide office; there are coordinators at each of those sites to help answer your questions. Statewide locations and numbers can be gotten from the Northern Arizona University Extended Campuses. 

Where can I get help for problems with class registration?
On our student resources page, select "Registration help." 

What if the class I want is full?
If a class is full, students must get a capacity override directly from the instructor. Please refer to the "Registration help" link described above. 

How do I set up an independent study?
Individualized study arrangements must go through your adviser. On our student resources page, select "Individualized Study Contract." Follow instructions on that form. 

You are not offering the class I want right now, when will you offer it again?
If you have any questions concerning which classes may be offered in the future, contact Dr. Bob Boothe. 

Does Educational Leadership offer any tuition waivers?
The Educational Leadership department can recommend one tuition waiver per year for an in-state (Arizona resident) Educational Leadership student and one tuition waiver per year for an out-of-state (Arizona non-resident) Educational Leadership student. Tuition waivers are assigned in the spring of each year for the fall and spring of the following academic year. To request a tuition waiver recommendation, please download a Scholarship Recommendation Form. This will open in Microsoft Word. You must print the blank form, fill it out, and then send it to the Educational Leadership chair, Dr. Michael Schwanenberger. Please make a statement in the "Comments" section as to why you think you should get a tuition waiver; use an additional sheet of paper, if necessary. You will be notified by the Graduate College if you receive a tuition waiver. If waivers have already been granted for the semesters you want, there still might be an opportunity to receive a tuition waiver through the Graduate College due to students who may have declined previously-awarded waivers from other departments. Therefore, you may wish to apply for a tuition waiver anyway, in hopes that something comes available. 

How do I find more information about the Educational Leadership’s master’s program? 
See the Program information packets section of our student resources page.

What do I need to do to get admitted?
Submit an application to the Graduate College for admission to the university, and an application to the Educational Leadership Department. You will need to meet with an Educational Leadership adviser and submit a completed program of study within the first semester. 

May I transfer credits from another institution or program into my master's program?
A maximum of nine hours (25 percent of your total hours) may be transferred from another institution, but they must be relevant to your course of study and have been taken within the allowed six-year time period, or be part of a previously-completed master's degree. Also, they cannot have counted toward any part of an undergraduate program. Your adviser must approve any Petitions to Transfer Credit from another university.

Are classes available to complete the master's degree entirely online? 
No. A few limited classes are available online, but most are either face-to-face classes or available at selected Statewide sites. You can find a complete listing of all online degrees and certifications offered by Northern Arizona University by going to the Extended Campuses website.

How do I find more information about the Educational Leadership doctoral program?
You can link to the doctoral information page from the degrees and programs link on the Educational Leadership home page.

Do I need a master's degree to apply to the doctoral program?
You do not always need a master's degree to be admitted into the Educational Leadership doctoral program, but it is uncommon to come in without one. Judgment is made based upon each applicant's portfolio; it is up to the discretion of the Doctoral Committee to admit someone without a master's degree.

May I transfer credit from another institution or program into my doctoral program?
A minimum of 90 post-baccalaureate hours is required for this degree. Students may transfer up to thirty-six hours of prior graduate course work from other institutions, with all transfer credits subject to faculty review. Courses older than ten years at the time of admission to the doctoral program must be part of a completed graduate degree program in order to be eligible for transfer.

Can I count classes taken at Northern Arizona University before my admission into your doctoral program?
You may take classes prior to admission into our doctoral program, but there is no guarantee of those classes being accepted into our program later. You might be able to count core classes taken at Northern Arizona University prior to doctoral program admission, but that would be subject to faculty review. All classes previously taken at Northern Arizona University that are part of the Educational Leadership doctoral program of study, and have been applied to a master's degree here, can count toward the doctoral degree.

I was on campus for a previous master's degree. Is it possible to count that as the residency requirement?
Residency is required so you can experience a scholarly atmosphere with access to events, resources and fellow academicians while in pursuit of your degree. Having been on campus at a time previous to being in a doctoral program, you would not have been engaged in the same activities that count toward graduate residency for doctoral degrees. However, our department has worked out a special plan with the Graduate College whereby Education Leadership doctoral students can meet their residency requirements through various weekend or summer workshops, activities and classes. Those particular options may change from year to year, so they will be clarified after students are admitted into the program.

When do classes begin?
The first semester of classes for any admission group will be either the summer or fall following acceptance into the program, depending on how you intend to meet the residency requirement.  

Are classes available to complete the doctoral degree entirely online?
No. A few limited classes are available online, but most are either face-to-face classes or available at selected Statewide sites via ITV or interactive computer. You should be able to get all of the classes required for your doctoral degree in a timely manner if you are willing to travel to the Phoenix or Flagstaff campuses. This is in addition to the residency requirements described above. You can find a complete listing of all online degrees and certifications offered by Northern Arizona University by going to the Extended Campuses website.