Master's in Communication & Leadership - FAQs

Jesuits have been educating people since 1540 with a focus on the whole person, not just your mind. Gonzaga was founded in 1887 and continues to pursue a mission of educating leaders with the capacity for reflective and critical thought. Gonzaga's graduate programs offer you the opportunity to pursue a degree that strives to educate you intellectually, spiritually, physically and emotionally.

Yes, Gonzaga is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Schools (NWCCS). Gonzaga is also member of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

Yes, your final degree will read "Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Studies" from Gonzaga University.

The average student completes the program in 2 - 2.5 years. If you are able to add additional credits in any given period, you can accelerate your graduation.

There are five optional concentrations you can choose to declare. They will be noted on your transcripts as an additional specialty. They are a way to structure your elective courses to dive further into a special area of study. You do not have to choose a concentration, but you have the option to choose from:

• Change Leadership
• College Teaching of Communication
• Digital Media Strategies
• Global Leadership
• Servant Leadership
• Strategic & Organizational Communication

No, students come from all industries looking to make an impact by learning effective and intentional communication practices paired with the most effective leadership skills.

Our Master's in Communication & Leadership program challenges you to harness communication on all levels and in all types of organizations, whether through a crisis communication plan, an internal strategic plan or a social media strategy. You will learn to analyze your audience, understand your influence and leverage various platforms to communicate your message to become a more effective, ethical leader.

Our Master's in Organizational Leadership program challenges you to formulate your own leadership practice, allowing you to lead change, resolve conflict and motivate groups within your organization.  We focus on diversity, global strategy and organizational behavior. You can take elective courses within either program to fulfill your elective credit requirements.

You may transfer credits with the approval of the Department Chair, the Dean of your program and the Registrar's Office. A maximum of 1/5 of program credits (usually 6 semester credits for graduate level students) may be transferred.

Coursework must be distinctively graduate level by the transfer institution and must have been taken within the last five years. A minimum grade of a B (P grades must be defined as B or better) must be earned. Courses previously applied to a completed degree are not transferable to the student's current program.

The great thing about the COML program is the customizability and convenience.

You have the option of completing your master's degree fully online or coming to campus for an immersion experience.

It depends on what works for your life right now.

We have several immersion electives that are a hybrid format, requiring a number of days on campus here in Spokane, usually three days, along with online coursework.

We also offer other immersions that include short term study abroad classes in Italy, Colombia or Belgium.

You will take ten classes to complete the degree. Four core classes to set the foundation of your communication and leadership education along with five elective courses that can be customized to your interests and goals, plus one capstone course.

Fall and Spring semesters are broken up into two 8-week sessions called A and B sessions. Summer is either one 8-week session or a 12-week session depending on the class you choose, for example ORGL 699 Leadership and Hardiness is a 12-week course.

If you are on track to finish your degree in two years, you would be taking two classes in Fall and Spring and likely one class in the summer, taking each course one at a time.

You always have the option to speed up your progression, but we have found this schedule is a great way for a working professional to balance their work, personal life and school. This program is designed for those working full-time.

A capstone is your final project in which you demonstrate what you have learned during your program and apply it to an issue, challenge or other real-world situation.

Students have identified opportunities for improvement in their organizations and created solutions, launched websites, written books and even career shifted by building businesses. You will work closely with your academic advisor to identify a project that will work for you and your future goals.

The capstone course is a 16 week course lasting the entire semester. Students often take their capstone course and one other course in their final semester.

An immersion is a hybrid course that requires a certain number of days in-person on Gonzaga's campus or another location, as well as online course work before and after the 'immersion'.

COML 599 Content Creation and Strategy is the only immersion class that is required, but you have two options for the course delivery.

You take COML 599 as an in person 3-day on-campus immersion or fully online with 3-days of in-person synchronous zoom meetings.  Both versions of the immersion include pre and post online coursework.

While we would love to see you on campus for the required class COML 599 Content Creation and Strategy, we understand that not everyone has the flexibility to make it to campus for the 3-day immersion.

That is why we offer the course in a fully online synchronous format.

The fully online version of COML 599 is offered multiple times a year but is not like our regular asynchronous classes, requiring 3-days of synchronous virtual sessions.

The on-campus version of COML 599 is offered 5 times a year, during every session of every semester.

Remember we believe the best learning is experiential and occurs in the context of community and while our virtual COML 599 experience does build community, coming to our beautiful campus means in-person interactions and relationship building with classmates and faculty.

15-20 students are in a course, which is often split into smaller discussion groups. Class sizes are kept small to allow professors more one-on-one time with you.

Every class is designed by our Gonzaga faculty. Most classes are taught by faculty who have a PhD, or Master's degree or have achieved distinction as a practitioner of communication.

This will vary, depending on the courses you are taking, your learning style and your course load.

However, most students dedicate approximately 10-15 hours per week towards coursework. This may fluctuate up and down.

During a week with a major paper or project due, you might spend more time on coursework than other weeks. What remains true is that you will get out of this program what you put into it.

Our classes are asynchronous, meaning you don’t have to log on at a certain time of day, enabling you to do your course work when it’s convenient to your schedule, following along with your course syllabus and assigned deadlines.

Our classes include reading, research, interactive discussion board posts in your online classroom, writing papers and possible group projects, depending on the class.

If you choose an immersion class, you will have pre- and post- work online as well as either an in-person multiple day immersion or a synchronous virtual multiple day immersion.

Classes are 8 weeks long. Depending on the class you will likely need 10 to 15 hours a week to complete your coursework, more time may be needed if there is a large project or paper due.

One other note: you will be amazed at how quickly you will be able to schedule your life to do everything you want to accomplish. Think about it, you can do anything for 8-weeks.

The Student Services team is available to answer your questions and connect you to the resources you need.  You will also be assigned a faculty advisor to help you meet your academic goals.

Online students have access to all of Gonzaga's resources including:

Foley Library

IT Help Desk

Career Center

Grad Student Association

Disability Access

University Ministry 

We are all here to help you succeed.

Tuition is based on the cost of a credit. Currently a credit costs a competitive $1,065*. The COML program is 30-credits, with a total tuition cost of $31,950**. Most students finish the program in two years, so the program ends up running approximately $16,000** per year.

*Tuition rates subject to change.
**Does not include additional fees or travel for immersions.

We have a number of resources to help you fund your education, which you can find on our tuition and financing page.

Remember graduate students qualify for Federal Student Aid. This funding is not need based, follow the link to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Gonzaga also offers payment plan options and other financial resources.

The Master's in Communication & Leadership Studies program offers a new student scholarship. Students apply for this when applying for the program and will know upon acceptance if they received the scholarship. Gonzaga's Financial Aid Office maintains a database of scholarships for students to access, search and apply for awards.

We offer a 10% discount to active members of the military and their spouses, as well as to veterans.

10% Discount

Federal Employees

Boeing Employees

Bank of America Employees

50% Discount

Diocese of Spokane - qualified full-time teachers, principals and Pastoral/Diocesan Ministers working in schools or parishes under the auspices of the Diocese of Spokane.