Goals of the Degree Program
Successful graduates of the Master of Science Degree will be able to:

• Evaluate the role, challenges, and opportunities of their organizations within in the context of homeland, national, and global security.
• Apply critical and innovative thinking to achieve results-oriented organizational goals.
• Collaborate across boundaries to leverage talent, resources, and opportunities to achieve mission outcomes.
• Create resilient, adaptable, agile, and productive government organizations focused on national security in the Information Age.
• Commit to lifelong development of self and others as reflective learners.
• Lead Information Age defense and government organizations.
• Employ information and information technology for strategic advantage.

Degree Requirements

The GSL Master of Science Degree requires successful completion of 36 to 39 graduate credits, depending on the specialty selected.  There is no thesis requirement.  The Program consists of twelve (12) or thirteen (13) courses comprised of four components: Foundation (two required courses), Management (three selected courses), and Leadership (three selected courses).  The final component is a Specialty in one of five areas chosen from the existing certificates offered by the IRM College.

Courses in the Government Strategic Leader Certificate form the core of the Master’s program.  They align with a required leadership portfolio.   Courses may be taken for the Certificate alone or as the core for the Master’s Degree program.  Specialties in the Master’s Degree correspond to the College’s certificate programs (Chief Information Officer, Organizational Transformation, Enterprise Architecture, Information Operations, and Information Technology Project Management).

Program Completion Time Limit:  All coursework applied toward a M.S. degree must be completed within the previous seven years.  Students must successfully complete at least one course every 18 months to maintain active status in the program.

Applying Coursework Earned Prior to Program Admission:  If a student has completed IRM College coursework in a certificate program, he/she may apply eligible courses to the Master of Science Degree. Eligible courses are those that directly apply to the Master of Science Degree requirements.  Courses taken for a grade of Audit (AU) or Professional Development (PD), or which have been used to satisfy degree requirements for other degrees are not eligible.  All coursework applied toward a M.S. degree must be completed within the previous seven years.

Portfolio Requirement:  Master of Science Degree students are required to complete an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) during the course of their program.   As part of the Degree Program, guided by a faculty member, students will collect and assemble electronic evidence of their academic work and their reflections on their leadership development.  The e-portfolio may include papers, presentations, projects, pictures, hyperlinks, and blog entries.  The e-portfolio is a learning record of achievement and is used to facilitate students’ reflection on their own learning.   This is a non-credit activity.