Master of Arts in Educational Leadership with Concentration Higher Education

at Northeastern Illinois University USA

Political Science is central to an understanding of all basic social issues and is one of the most popular liberal arts majors. A political science education gives people the ability to understand the workings of politics and the way it impacts the lives of all of us. A major in this field helps students develop skills of understanding and analysis, and builds competence in oral and written expression. Graduates go on to careers in law, business, journalism, teaching, and government.

Geography is the study of space and location; it is a practical discipline which incorporates knowledge from the natural and social sciences to address problems of a spatial dimension. Geographers describe spatial patterns – where things are, where they are not, and why they are distributed that way. They determine optimal locations – for example, where a business should be or where to purchase a home. They also study interactions, such as travel patterns, trade, and migration.

Many geographers use Geographic Information Systems: computer software that merges maps, data, and analysis. The Department’s GIS Certificate Program can be incorporated into their major as electives or may be taken for the Certificate alone, outside of the degree program.  A minor in Geographic Information Science, which results in a Certificate as well, is also available.

In addition to the required courses in geography, students may choose to specialize in urban and social geography or geospatial techniques. The first option focuses on the study of metropolitan areas and the socio-spatial patterns that characterize them. Students are introduced to principles of urban planning and urban design and the dynamics of urbanization. The latter option includes instruction in field methods, computer-assisted mapping, statistics, geographic information science, and interpretation of aerial photos and satellite images.

The undergraduate program in Mathematics leads to a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and has been designed to provide the students with options suitable for various career plans. In addition, Northeastern is listed in the Society of Actuaries University and Colleges with Actuarial Programs, in the tier Introductory Curriculum.

CONCENTRATIONS

The choice of concentration determines the set of mathematics courses required, as well as those that can be taken as electives. Concentrations include:

• Applied Mathematics
• Secondary Mathematics

Mathematics provides tools and techniques that can be applied to solve problems in many fields. With a major in Mathematics, students learn to apply these tools, and consequently improve their career opportunities. Our programs are designed to prepare Mathematics majors for jobs currently offered by industry, business, educational and government institutions. The choice of a concentration should reflect the student’s academic interests as well as career plans.

The Economics major provides students with a rigorous applied and theoretical curriculum designed to prepare students for careers in quantitative and analytical positions in private, public and non-profit organizations. We provide a flexible program based on a common core of theory courses and an array of elective courses offered at a range of times designed to accommodate both daytime and evening students.

Our curriculum is designed around five concentration tracks based on faculty skills and popular career paths, but Economics majors have a great deal of freedom to choose elective courses that meet individual goals.

Economics, as a field in general and at Northeastern in particular, provides training in building strong economic fundamentals, and sharpens analytical and critical thinking skills. The program is rigorous, and yet accessible to a large population of students with diverse backgrounds. Some of the program benefits include:

• Build/enhance quantitative and written skills
• Sharpen critical and analytical thinking power
• Studying content with depth and substance
• Rigorous and yet accessible curriculum
• Focus on both theoretical and applied components
• Dynamic range of concentrations available
• Almost all courses taught by field experts
• Small class size
• Opportunities for research collaborations
• Prepare for graduate studies

The B.A. in Art with a concentration in Art History introduces students to numerous periods of art, cultural and historical events, visual means of expression and communication, and research methods. Students begin the program with survey courses that cover the history of Western art from ancient to modern eras, plus selected areas of non-Western art and continue on to seven specialized courses at the upper-division level, which include areas such as:

• early European art
• Latin American art
• Pre-Columbian art and architecture
• African, Native American and Oceanic art (through the lens of art and ritual)
• Contemporary art (national and international movements across media in the visual arts)

Upper-level art history courses include theory, analysis, and criticism and students have access to NEIU’s extensive database of more than 300,000+ art history images. Students have the opportunity to take part in international art history study trips to Italy and Peru and are able to work with the Northeastern Art + Design Association (NADA), our student art and design organization, on a variety of student organized art exhibitions and events. Each semester one art history major is appointed to tutor students in 100-level art history courses through the NEIU Learning Support Center.

The Master of Arts in History provides a sophisticated knowledge of history, both as a mode of inquiry and a form of understanding, and can serve as a terminal degree or as the foundation for more advanced graduate work.

This program provides graduate students with:

• An understanding of history as a mode of inquiry
• An in-depth exposure to a least two different historical fields
• A grounding in historical research methods
• An introduction to the art of historical interpretation

Northeastern Illinois University offers the Master of Arts in Educational Leadership degree.

• Higher Education Leadership.

The Higher Education Leadership concentration provides knowledge and skills related to the history and development of colleges, universities, and community colleges, and to effective administrative practices at that level. It stresses an understanding of administrative and supervisory skills for the development and support of instructional systems at the collegiate level. Students in this concentration have the option of completing a thesis. Courses are taught in the evenings and Saturdays at the main campus, at El Centro, at Carruthers Center, at Lake County, and at a variety of locations in the Chicago metropolitan area through Distance Education and web-enhanced courses.

Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGS) is an interdisciplinary field that explores the experiences of women and the many ways that gender works throughout everyone’s lives. Gender shapes our identities, how we are perceived socially and our opportunities in life.

At Northeastern Illinois University, we approach our studies through intersections of feminist, anti-racist, multicultural, global and ecological perspectives. We examine how power is distributed and used along the intersections of race, class, gender, geography, age, abilities and sexualities.

We work together to create an environment of learning and passionate commitment to social justice. Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies is not just about learning facts and theories, but also about praxis—using our knowledge to become practitioners, researchers, learners, leaders and activists. We work to develop and implement meaningful social change within the University and beyond.

The Couple & Family Counseling, M.A., offered through the Department of Counselor Education, fulfills the educational requirements for the two levels of licensure as a professional counselor in the State of Illinois: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC); and two levels of licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Illinois, Associate Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (ALMFT) and the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT).

Graduates of this program also meet the educational requirements for Clinical Membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. The Couple and Family Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) through the year 2024. In addition, the program’s graduate students are eligible to sit for the National Counselor Examination (NCE) during their last year of study. A passing score on the NCE is one of the requirements for the LPC or LCPC. Graduates from the Couple and Family Counseling Program are eligible to sit for the AMFTRB National Marriage and Family Therapist Exam.

The Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (BAIS) is a degree completion program designed to meet the undergraduate needs of experienced adults in a manner compatible with career and family responsibilities.  Students complete graduation requirements through an alternative, self-paced approach to higher education.

The Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (BAIS) is a degree completion program designed to meet the needs of adult and experiential learners, in a manner compatible with career and family responsibilities. Students complete graduation requirements through an integrative, self-paced approach to higher education.

Interdisciplinary Studies students design a unique curriculum based on personal interests, career, or academic goals. These options include:

• a second academic major
• an academic minor
• an Interdisciplinary Studies Concentration