Take the Next Step in Your Career — with Minnesota State Moorhead

Minnesota State University Moorhead proudly partners with Moorhead Area Public Schools (MAPS) to support employee professional growth. Through this Preferred Partners agreement, MAPS employees can access affordable graduate programs and reduced‑cost professional development credits designed to fit your goals, schedule, and career path.

Whether you’re advancing on the salary schedule, preparing for leadership, or pursuing a graduate degree, MSUM is here to help you move forward.

Complete Employee Verification Apply to MSUM

Why MSUM Preferred Partners?

As a full- or part-time employee of Moorhead Area Public Schools, you can receive exclusive benefits, including tuition discounts and waived application fees, through the Preferred Partners program. Learn more about being a Preferred Employee.

How to Get Started

To take advantage of your employer’s Preferred Partner status, follow these steps:

• Connect with your HR office first: Let your HR department know you’re interested in the MSUM Preferred Partners program. They’ll guide you through your organization’s internal process before you apply.
• Complete the employee verification form: This will allow us to confirm your eligibility and provide the tuition discount.
  • This form must be filled out whether you are a new, returning, or current student.
• Apply to Minnesota State Moorhead if you are not a current student.
  • A code to waive the application fee will be emailed to you after your employment has been verified.

If you have any questions, contact the Office of Graduate and Extended Learning.

Graduate Programs

Minnesota State Moorhead offers best-in-class online graduate education programs that help you achieve your career goals, whether in the classroom or school administration.

Masters & Doctorate Degrees

Graduate Certificates

See all Graduate Programs

Reduced-Cost Lane Change Credits

As part of our longstanding partnership with Moorhead Area Public Schools, Minnesota State Moorhead will offer MAPS employees six credits at the reduced cost of $250 per credit.

These credits will be offered as ED 690 Topics courses. These courses will be customized to meet the strategic needs of MAPS. These courses will be taught by employees of MAPS who are qualified to teach graduate-level courses that have a specific focus.

All six credits can be used for lane changes, once prior approval is secured through standard school district operating procedures. In addition, these six credits can be applied to the Educational Leadership and Curriculum & Instruction graduate degrees.

If you are interested only in 18 Online credits, follow the appropriate steps as a non-degree-seeking student.

Complete Employee Verification Apply to MSUM

Contact Us

Taryn Akgul, EdD, MEd, BA

Assistant Professor

Department of Leadership & Learning

Send Email | Phone: 218.477.2297218.477.2297

LO 113

---

Boyd Bradbury, PhD, EDS, MA, BA

Professor and Chair

Nibbe School of Teaching & Learning | Department of Leadership & Learning

Send Email | Phone: 218.477.2471218.477.2471

LO 214N

Dr. Boyd Bradbury is a professor of Curriculum & Instruction and Educational Leadership at...

Dr. Boyd Bradbury is a professor of Curriculum & Instruction and Educational Leadership at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM), where he serves as the Chair of the Department of Leadership and Learning and Editor-in-Chief of the Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning. He holds a BA and MAT in Spanish, an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership, and a Ph.D. in General Education. Dr. Bradbury taught high school Spanish, served in secondary principal and superintendent of schools roles, and held the positions of both academic and graduate studies deanships at MSUM. Dr. Bradbury presents at regional, state, national and international conferences, and he has served twice as a visiting lecturer at Belarusian National Technical University. Dr. Bradbury has numerous publications to his credit, and his research interests focus on educational leadership, pedagogy, academic achievement, teacher preparation and professional development, indigenous populations, demographics, diversity, distance education, and organizational structure and behavior. Dr. Bradbury has received various awards, which include: a Bemidji State University Outstanding Alumni Award in 2002; the 2017 Excellence in Service Award at MSUM for his efforts to secure a three-million dollar appropriation from the Minnesota Legislature to provide increased teacher credentialing to meet Higher Learning Commission faculty requirements for high school teachers who teach concurrent enrollment courses; the 2019 induction into the Bemidji State University Professional Education Hall of Fame, which honors alumni who demonstrate excellence in teaching students or managing schools; and the 2019 Minnesota Rural Education Association Distinguished Service Award.

---

Kristen Carlson, EDD, MS, GC, BA

Assistant Professor of Curriculum & Instruction

Department of Leadership & Learning

Send Email

LO 214C

Dr. Carlson is the Director of Teacher Education, overseeing the teacher preparation and l...

Dr. Carlson is the Director of Teacher Education, overseeing the teacher preparation and licensing program processes at MSUM, including accreditation and assessment with PELSB (the MN state teacher licensing board) and CAEP (the national educator preparation accrediting board). Dr. Carlson is also the Ed.D. Educational Leadership program coordinator and part of the core faculty within the doctoral program as an Associate Professor for the department of Leadership and Learning where she also teaches in the C&I master's degree program. She has experience in teaching courses in-person and online in the areas of: science education grades 5 through 12, teacher education, technology integration, action research, and assessment. She also has leadership experience as coordinator of the teacher education unit performance assessment and graduate program director of technology integration & instructional design at a previous institution.

---

Michael Coquyt, EdD, MA, BA

Professor

Department of Leadership & Learning

Send Email | Phone: 218.477.2019218.477.2019

LO 216C

Dr. Coquyt is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Curriculum & Instructio...

Dr. Coquyt is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Curriculum & Instruction at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). He is part of the core faculty for the EdD program and coordinates the Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership graduate programs. He has been with MSUM since 2012. Prior his service at MSUM, he spent 23 years in E-12 public schools. He served eleven years as a secondary Social Studies instructor, ten years as a high school principal, and two years as a superintendent of schools. Dr. Coquyt earned his BS in Psychology at SMSU and Social Studies teaching license in 1989. He earned an MA in Medieval History from SCSU in 1993. He attended Mankato State University and earned his K-12 Principal and District Superintendent licensure in 2002. Dr. Coquyt earned his EdD at St. Cloud State University with an emphasis in Higher Education Administration in 2013. Dr. Coquyt has authored three books on the topic of Teacher Leadership. The first is titled The Leader Within, published in 2016. The second book is titled Growing Leaders Within and it was published in 2017. The third book is titled Experiencing Teacher Leadership, published in 2019.

---

Keri DeSutter, PhD, MS, BA

Professor

Nibbe School of Teaching & Learning

Send Email | Phone: 218.477.5942218.477.5942

LO 211H

---

Yamaya (Maya) Sosa Machado, B.S., M.S., Ph.D. (She/Her/Hers)

Director of Graduate Studies

Office of Graduate & Extended Learning

Send Email | Phone: 218.477.2699218.477.2699

CB 115C

---

Lisa Stewart, PhD, BA

Professor

Psychology Department

Send Email | Phone: 218.477.4081218.477.4081

BR 359E

I teach in the graduate School Psychology Program and also teach undergraduate Psychology ...

I teach in the graduate School Psychology Program and also teach undergraduate Psychology courses such as General Psychology and Developmental Psychology. I received my Ph.D. In School Psychology from the University of Oregon and I am interested in early literacy and language development and developing multi-tiered systems of support for children in schools and preschools. NCSP

---