Graduate Education Programs

Southern Adventist University’s Master of Arts in Teaching is designed for professionals with a bachelor’s degree in any field who feel called to the teaching profession and want to become licensed educators. The program integrates practical classroom training with Christian values through mentorship, hands-on experience, and a relationship-centered approach. Graduates are prepared to teach with competence, compassion, and integrity in elementary or secondary education settings while building a fulfilling career in teaching.

Program Highlights

• Fully online program

• Elementary Education emphasis: 32 credits

• Secondary Education emphasis: 47 credits

• Completed in approximately 2 to 2.5 years of full-time study
• Part-time options available for working professionals

• Graduate teacher education program leading to teacher licensure

• Emphases available in Elementary Education and Secondary Education

• Combines practical classroom training, mentorship, and Christian values

Southern Adventist University’s Master of Science in Education equips educators with advanced strategies in teaching, administration, and learning facilitation through a Christ-centered framework. Designed to support professional growth and leadership development, the program prepares graduates to serve as servant leaders in their schools and communities while increasing marketability and recognition among peers and employers.

Program Highlights

• Graduate education program designed for practicing educators

• 33-credit program, fully online program

• Complete in 2 years of full-time study
  
  
• Part-time options available for working professionals

• Emphasizes Christian-based leadership, current learning trends, and instructional excellence

• Prepares graduates for administrative and leadership roles

• Experienced faculty with backgrounds in public and private education

• Integrates educational technology and real-world application

Program Emphases

Students select one of the following emphases:

• Instructional Leadership: Fully online; prepares educators for leadership roles such as school principals and superintendents and includes coursework meeting NAD Principal Endorsement requirements

• Literacy Education: Fully online; prepares educators to strengthen student communication, literacy, and critical thinking skills

Southern Adventist University’s Master of Science in Education with an emphasis in Outdoor Education prepares educators and outdoor professionals to teach and lead effectively in nature-based learning environments. Designed for professionals with a bachelor’s degree in any field, the program focuses on maximizing the potential of the outdoor classroom to accommodate diverse learning styles and foster real-world problem-solving skills in children and adolescents. Grounded in a Christ-centered philosophy, graduates gain practical and instructional tools to inspire learning through God’s book of nature.

Program Highlights

• Graduate education program open to professionals with a bachelor’s degree in any field

• 33-credit program

• Completed over 3 consecutive summers with a fall practicum

• In-person, two-week summer intensives

• Emphasizes experiential, nature-based education and outdoor leadership

• Prepares graduates to work as educators, youth leaders, and outdoor professionals

• Summer field school format with immersive, In-person two-week summer intensives with online coursework

• Completed over 3 consecutive summers with a fall practicum

Southern Adventist University’s Doctor of Education in Innovation in Leadership and Learning prepares scholar-practitioners to address today’s educational and organizational challenges with creativity, ethical leadership, and purpose. Grounded in a Christ-centered, service-minded philosophy, the fully online EdD program integrates leadership theory, learning science, and applied research to equip professionals across education, business, healthcare, nonprofit, ministry, and public sectors for transformative leadership.

Program Highlights

• 60-credit doctoral program

• Fully online, designed for working professionals

• Completed in approximately 2.5 to 3 years
  
  
• Part-time options available

• Focus on innovation, leadership, organizational change, and learning science

• Core competencies include leadership, communication, innovation, and research methods

• Customizable electives aligned with professional interests and career goals

• Prepares leaders to serve across K–12, higher education, nonprofit, business, ministry, and public sectors

• Doctoral project centered on an authentic problem of practice within the student’s professional setting

• Instruction and mentorship from experienced faculty across education, business, healthcare, and ministry