Masters students Jennifer Kemp and Twahna Hamill (left to right) with professor and advice Chris Wesberrq on the front lawn of Southeastern Oklahoma State University as students play stickball behind them. Kemp and Hamill are both working to earn master’s degree in Native Studies.
Native Studies master’s degree offered at SE
by Zach Maxell
Choctaw Nation
The first participants in a new Native-themed master’s degree program at Southeastern Oklahoma State University have taken to (online) classrooms as of January.
The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education approved the degree plan last fall. Its official name: The Master of Science in Native American Leadership, known in academic circles by its acronym, MSNAL.
“Southeastern is recognized around the country as a leader in providing higher education opportunities and services to its Native American students,” said Southeastern President Sean Burrage, a Choctaw Nation tribal member. “This innovative master’s degree certainly enhances the programs we have in place at the university.”
Co-directors of the new program are Dr. Bryon Clark, a dean at SE and an associate vice president for academic affairs at the university, as well as Chris Wesberry, director of the school’s Native American Center for Student Success.
“The MSNAL is a result of university faculty and staff working with tribal partners to develop a degree that includes Native American topics and leadership concepts,” Wesberry said. “With this degree, students are able to take courses such as ‘Effective Communication Through Presentations’ while also taking ‘Geography and Treaties.’ The combination of historical and culturally relevant courses and courses focused on leadership skills is very unique.”
The curriculum was two years in the making, Wesberry said, and includes a required 32 hours from a list of courses with titles such as “Developing the Native American Leader” and “Current Topics in Indian Country.” All classes are online, with students in five states currently enrolled, but live classes could be on the horizon.
At an average price of $10,000, Wesberry said the Native master’s degree is very affordable compared to those offered at other universities. Coupled with tribal member and employee incentives at the Choctaw Nation, the value becomes evident.
“It’s really catered to tribal employees who work 40-plus hours a week,” Wesberry said. “It’s not limited to them, but (tribal employees) were definitely our target. You have to have some leadership skills in all management positions.”
Southeastern’s partnership with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations was enhanced recently with the announcement of a $1.1 million, four-year grant from the U.S. department of Education Office of Indian Education. This Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Grant will assist native students pursuing degrees in early childhood and special education.
There are currently 30 participants in the master’s program being taught by five instructors. Southeastern also offers an MBA (accounting) program with an emphasis on Native American Leadership. For more information on these new degree tracks, contact Wesberry at (580) 745-2376. Or visit: Southeastern Oklahoma State University