Complete and digitally sign our online Application for Admission.

A current professional résumé or curriculum vitae is required. Please include information regarding current and/or past employment history as well as professional development and internships completed.

A statement of interest (double-spaced, approximately two pages) is required. The statement of interest should address the following questions:

• What drives you to pursue an advanced degree in leadership development?  
• What particularly intrigues you or interests you about the MSL program? Visit www.drake.edu/leadership for additional information?  
• How does your background, experiences, or personal characteristics (for example, values, traits, or motivations) help you be successful as a graduate student?
• How does the MSL support your personal and professional goals?  

Two letters of recommendations are required. When selecting your references, choose individuals such as professors and employers who can attest to your potential for success in a graduate program.

You will enter the names and email contacts for your two references into the online application. Your references will be contacted electronically with directions for submitting our letter of recommendation form on your behalf.

We require official transcripts from:

• Any institution where you earned (or will earn) a bachelor’s degree. 
• Any institution where you earned a post-bachelor’s (graduate) degree.
• Any institution where you earned credit you would like considered toward an endorsement or graduate degree.

Upon application review, you may be required to provide additional transcripts, including those with courses taken while in high school or at a community college.

Those with college credit from non-U.S. institutions are required to submit an official International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP) Course-by-Course Evaluation (preferred) or a Basic Course-by-Course Evaluation from World Education Services (WES). The evaluation must come directly from WES to Drake. If you submit an official ICAP Course-by-Course Evaluation, you do NOT need to submit transcripts from non-U.S. institutions to Drake. 
 
Official transcripts are designated as those coming directly from the university or college of attendance to Drake University.
 
Official transcripts may be sent via secure electronic transmission from the issuing institution to soegradadmission@drake.edu. This is preferred and will expedite the admission process.
 
Official transcripts may also be sent via postal mail to:

Graduate Admission Coordinator
School of Education Drake University
Collier-Scripps Hall Room 221
2702 Forest Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa  50311-4505

Transcripts and other supporting materials are not returned to the applicant and become the property of Drake University.

No standardized test is required to complete the MSL degree.  

The essay requirement is automatically waived if your overall undergraduate GPA is 3.0 or higher.  

A writing sample of 2-3 pages, double spaced, addressing one of the two prompts identified below is required.  There are no right or wrong answers. The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate your ability to express and support your ideas.  No specific number of sources is required but please clearly cite any sources used.  

Email the essay to the Coordinator of Graduate Admission, soegradadmission@drake.edu.  

PROMPT 1:

A common leadership image is that of a visionary and charismatic hero, one who can guide followers to an exciting future.  For example, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner state:  

Leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference. They envision the future, creating an ideal and unique image of what the organization can become. Through their magnetism and quiet persuasion, leaders enlist others in their dreams. They breathe life into their visions and get people to see exciting possibilities for the future. Kouzes & Posner, 2017, para. 4. 

Do you agree or disagree with this image of a leader? Please justify your answer. 

Source: Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2017). The five practices of exemplary leadership model. Retrieved from http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/about-section-our-approach.aspx

PROMPT 2:

Pick a quote related to leadership that means something to you.  Please explain:

• Why you find that quote particularly appealing or intriguing
• How the quote relates to your own leadership style or the leadership style you admire in others

1. Language Proficiency: Applicants whose native language is not English must submit a valid language proficiency test score. The minimum accepted scores are: 

• TOEFL iBT: 79
• IELTS: 6.5
• Duolingo English Test: 110

Test scores must be from within the last two years and reported directly by the testing agency. Exemptions are granted to those who hold a U.S. bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, or an equivalent degree from a university in a country where all instruction is in English.