Degree Requirements for MA


Course Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 30 graduate-level credit hours in approved courses with Leadership and Diversity and Inclusion content. Coursework is a combination of face-to-face and online classes. 

LDST 705 Professionalization Seminar in Leadership Studies

Four courses (3 credit hours each) totaling 12 graduate credit hours. Courses are categorized into three pathways:

Pathway 1: US Race and Ethnicity

Pathway 2: Women, Gender and Sexuality

Pathway 3: US Social Differences

Students must develop a concentration in one pathway by taking at least one 6 credit hours of coursework in any one of the three pathways. Courses must be selected in consultation with a faculty advisor.

At least 1 course (3 credit hours) must be taken in a pathway other than the concentration.

A current list of approved courses for each pathway can be found here. The course list continues to grow and is updated regularly. If you’re unsure about whether or not a specific course will count for a specific pathway, please contact us at ilsgradstudies@ku.edu

In lieu of a pathway students may complete a graduate certificate in Deaf Studies and Social Justice, Indigenous Studies, or Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. 

Four courses (3 credit hours each, all completed fully online) totaling 12 graduate credit hours:

  1. LDST 710 History and Theory of Leadership Studies (3)
  2. LDST 720 Leadership Ethics (3)
  3. LDST 730 Managing the Work of Leadership (3)
  4. LDST 740 Leadership and Power (3)

LDST 850 Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion Capstone (3)

This course is required of all admitted students in the final semester of their degree program and provides students with the opportunity to integrate and synthesize the interdisciplinary knowledge they have gained.

LDST 700 Introduction to Graduate Studies in Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion (3)

This course is required for all provisionally admitted students and is offered as an optional course to all admitted students prior to their first semester of the degree program.

All MA students must pass a final oral exam and defense of their capstone project. Students are required to be physically present for the exam unless permission for distance examination has been granted in advance.

Listed above are the program's current degree requirements, the requirements that go into effect in Fall 2024 can be found here:  New M.A. Degree Requirements

M.A. in Leadership in Diversity & Inclusion