Master of Arts in Leadership

Leadership Core: 12 credits

• LDR-600E Inner Work and Leadership Identity (3)
  This course grounds students in the inner dimensions of leadership: self-awareness, embodied presence, and the relationship between personal transformation and organizational change. Drawing on contemplative traditions and reflective practice, students examine their own leadership histories, values, and growing edges. Practices of journaling, somatic awareness, and structured reflection are woven throughout the course.
• LDR-615E Foundations of Leadership Theory and Inquiry (3)
  This course introduces students to the major theories and frameworks of leadership – from transformational, servant, and adaptive leadership to distributed, feminist, and decolonial models – alongside the research methods most relevant to leadership practice. Students develop a critical leadership vocabulary, examine the ethical demands different frameworks place on the leader, and design a small-scale inquiry project connecting their professional context to a guiding research question. This inquiry project serves as the intellectual foundation for the capstone. 
• REL-615E Power, Privilege & Diversity (3)
  An examination of the nature of the human group-field. Of particular concern is how human groups create both helpful and harmful conditions in the world. This class provides the theoretical underpinnings of the group-field, including living systems theory, group dynamics, liberation theory, conflict theory, and healthy communication models such as mediation and nonviolent communication. Woven throughout is a focus on the dynamics of privilege, power, and diversity, and group-field process work as a way to engage group life. Course offered online.
• LDR-620E Transforming Systems (3)
  This course examines how leaders understand and intervene in complex adaptive systems. Drawing on systems thinking, organizational theory, and social change literature, students develop tools for mapping systems, identifying leverage points, and leading change at multiple scales. Case studies span environmental, nonprofit, civic, and spiritual community contexts, illustrating how systems transformation looks different depending on the leader’s domain. 

Choose One Track: 9 credits

Environmental Leadership

This track is designed for students working in or aspiring to lead environmental advocacy organizations, sustainability initiatives, land-based communities, or ecological justice movements. It develops policy literacy, ecological frameworks, and justice-centered analysis in direct dialogue with leadership practice. The name Roots and Branches reflects both the rootedness in place and the reaching outward — toward systems, toward policy, toward community — that ecological leadership demands.

• LDR-625E: Applied Leadership Skills (3) This practicum-style course builds the interpersonal and organizational competencies essential to effective environmental leadership: facilitation, conflict transformation, collaborative decision-making, courageous communication, and adaptive management. Students apply skills in real or simulated professional settings and receive structured peer feedback throughout. 
• ENV-633E: Environmental Policy and Trends (3)  This course examines the landscape of environmental policy at local, national, and international scales. Students analyze how policy is made, contested, and implemented, with attention to the roles leaders can play as advocates, administrators, and organizers. Emerging trends in climate legislation, environmental justice policy, and international agreements are examined alongside historical context. 
• ENV-601E: Sacred Ecology and Environmental Leadership (3)  This course explores the intersection of spirituality, ecology, and public leadership. Students examine how contemplative practices and indigenous wisdom can inform environmental policy and community resilience. 

Contemplative and Spiritual Leadership

This track is designed for students who lead or aspire to lead within religious communities, spiritual care organizations, chaplaincy settings, or interfaith institutions — any context where the inner-life of the leader and those they serve is central to the work. It draws on Naropa’s deep expertise in religious studies and contemplative practice, situating these within a contemporary leadership frame. The name Threshold Leadership invokes the liminal space of genuine encounter: where traditions meet, where transformation happens, and where the leader must be fully present to what is ending and what is emerging. 

All students in this track must complete REL602E: Contemplative Communication. The remaining 6 credits will be chosen by the student aligned with their own spiritual tradition and interests. Options include courses offered in Naropa’s MDiv program, MA in Yoga Studies, MA in Religious Studies, and MA in Spiritual Care.   

• REL-602E: Contemplative Communication (3) This course develops essential communication skills grounded in mindfulness and contemplative practice. Students learn to communicate with clarity, compassion, and presence in professional and personal contexts. 

Civic and Social Justice Leadership

This track is designed for students working in or aspiring to lead nonprofits, government agencies, community organizations, advocacy coalitions, or social enterprises committed to justice and the flourishing of all. Drawing on the Master of Public Administration curriculum, it develops rigorous competencies in organizational management, ethical leadership for diverse constituencies, conflict resolution, and nonprofit governance. Students choose 9 credits from the following list of courses:  

• MPA-502E: Leadership for Social Transformation (3) Provides an overview of key philosophies and theories of ethical leadership for public administrators serving diverse constituencies. By analyzing various ethical frameworks and decision-making models, students learn about the complex moral and ethical dilemmas faced by public administrators. Students develop inclusive leadership skills that include cultural competence, social equity, and effective cross-cultural communication, and learn to champion diversity, promote justice, and uphold the public trust while navigating varied stakeholder interests. 
• MPA-602E: Nonprofit Management (3) Provides comprehensive training in managing nonprofit organizations, including governance, fundraising, volunteer management, and strategic planning. Students learn the unique challenges and opportunities of nonprofit leadership in the context of community service and social change. 
• MPA-601E: Conflict Transformation(3) Presents the essential skills to manage conflict and negotiate effectively within diverse organizational and public settings. Introduces foundational theories and principles of conflict dynamics, analysis, and resolution techniques emphasizing mediation and consensus-building in the public interest, alongside negotiation theory, strategies, and practical application. Students learn to navigate disputes, foster collaboration, and achieve sustainable outcomes for the common good. 
• ENV-710E: Sustainability Practice and Policy (3) Students study the historical origins, theoretical frameworks, and tools associated with the three-legged view (economy, environment, society) of current sustainability policies and practices, and use case study methodologies to analyze and evaluate how sustainability policies and practices are being designed and implemented in a variety of organizations and communities. Students conduct an experiential exploration of the personal and spiritual dimensions of sustainability practice. 
• ENV-637E: Ecological Justice: Patterns of Oppression and Healing (3) This course explores how the oppression of earth and the oppression of people are deeply connected. Drawing from the diverse fields of environmental justice, political ecology, ecofeminism, ecopsychology, and social justice, students will build skills to unravel the patterns of oppression, hold multiple and conflicting world views, and contemplate healing. As a result of this course, students will have heightened capacities to bring these issues to their work and service to the world.  

Capstone: 3 credits

• MPA-603E Social Transformation Capstone (3)
  The Capstone Project is the culminating experience of the program, requiring students to synthesize and apply knowledge gained throughout the curriculum to a real-world challenge. This research project involves a case study of a government, nonprofit, or private sector entity, with a focus on analyzing the intersectionality of these sectors. Students are expected to identify weaknesses or deficiencies in current processes or outcomes, analyze, and propose evidence-based, actionable solutions. Students will demonstrate mastery of public administration or leadership competencies through this independent project.

Electives: 6 credits

Students can choose 6 credits of electives from the list of track-specific courses above, or from other elective courses available available in the Graduate Collective. Some courses in the Graduate School of Counseling may be able for students to take with instructor approval. 

Total: 30 credits