Graduate degrees and programs
in Organizational Leadership, Policy and DevelopmentJoin our world-class community of over 400 graduate students! We offer more than 25 graduate-level programs—certificates, licensure, graduate minors, masters degrees, and doctoral degrees—across six distinct program tracks. All of our graduate students have options to take elective courses within other OLPD program tracks, and degree may invite faculty to join advising and exam committees as well. Find your perfect fit below:
Certificates
Adult education
This certificate prepares you with specialized skills and knowledge of the unique challenges and opportunities adult learners face in educational growth, professional development, and personal enrichment.
Human resource development
Learn how to identify gaps in skills, knowledge, and technology for organizational units, and be able to understand and recommend a variety of development approaches and options.
K-12 administrative licensure
The U of M Administrative Licensure program offers an individualized program to prepare aspiring administrators as K-12 Principals, Superintendents, Directors of Special Education, and Directors of Community Education.
Professional development
OLPD's certificate in professional development is designed to prepare leaders in education with specialized knowledge in designing, implementing, and evaluating professional learning opportunities for preK-12 educators and staff.
Program evaluation
Our certificate in program evaluation prepares you to lead program evaluation efforts. You will learn applied methods, techniques, and processes, and how evaluation fits into larger economic, social, and political contexts.
Graduate minors
International education
A coordinated set of courses designed for students who wish to enter careers in research, consulting, administration, teaching, law, public health, public policy, or many other fields.
Integrative leadership
The premise of the Integrative Leadership Minor is that all professional and graduate students at the University of Minnesota have the potential to contribute meaningfully to collaborative efforts to address significant societal challenges.
Program evaluation
Program evaluation is an area of inquiry that uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to address questions of concern to policy makers, administrators, managers, and, in some cases, program participants.
Sociocultural studies in education
The Sociocultural Studies in Education (SCSE) Minor provides a multidisciplinary foundation for the study of social and cultural phenomena that shape educational ideologies and practices.
Master of arts
Comparative and international development education
This Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE) track program is designed for students to gain a mastery of skills and knowledge in how cultural, economic, and political forces affect international and intercultural education.
Education policy and leadership
This Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) track program is about gaining a mastery of skills and knowledge in how politics, policies, and organizational cultures affect pre-K-12 education and development.
Evaluation studies
This Evaluation Studies (ES) track program prepares you with the professional experience and the theoretical knowledge for a career in program evaluation.
Higher education
This Higher Education (HE) track program prepares you with the professional experience and the theoretical knowledge for a career in working in and with higher education institutions and systems.
Human resource development
This Human Resource Development (HRD) track program will help you gain valuable industry experience, learn key models and strategies in training and development, and prepare to enter into a number of research-focused fields and careers.
Master of education
Adult education
With a Master’s of Education in Adult Education (AdEd) you will be prepared to design and implement a range of effective curricula and programming for adult learners.
Leadership in education
With a MEd in leadership in education, you will learn about group dynamics and collaboration, creating a culture of continuous improvement, how organizational policies shape behavior, and how schools and districts can change in order to adapt to new social, economic, and political environments.
Human resource development
A Master's of Education in Human Resource Development (HRD) prepares you to lead training and development in organizations, assess when various development strategies are needed, and implement and evaluate solutions for organizational change.
Masters of learning and teaching development
Learning and talent development
The Master of Learning and Talent Development (MLTD) is an entirely online graduate degree that prepares you to lead training and development in organizations, assess when various development strategies are needed, and implement and evaluate solutions for organizational change.
Doctor of philosophy
Comparative and international development education
This Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE) track program prepares you to conduct research and provide sophisticated consultation into how schools and educational systems across the world reflect varied cultural, economic, and political contexts, and more.
Leadership for intercultural and international education cohort
This cohort-based doctorate program option for international educators and those interested in leadership in international/intercultural contexts, is oriented toward working professionals and is specifically designed to meet the needs of leaders working in highly diverse organizational settings.
Education policy and leadership
This Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) track program prepares you to conduct original research and provide expertise on how school systems work to serve all learners.
Education policy and leadership—executive cohort program
This doctoral program focuses on leadership of educational systems and is specially designed to meet the needs of mid-career educational leaders.
Evaluation studies
This Evaluation Studies (ES) track program equips you with the knowledge, experience, and resourcefulness needed to be a professional evaluator, evaluation researcher, or educator in a variety of settings.
Higher education
This Higher Education (HE) track program prepares you with a solid foundation in the history, philosophy, sociology, and organizational theory of higher education.
Human resource development
This Human Resource Development (HRD) track program prepares you to conduct research and provide sophisticated consultation into how workers acquire new knowledge and skills, relate to one another in complex social environments, and transition to management and leadership positions.
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