The Master of Science in Organizational Leadership is an interdisciplinary, fully online professional master's degree that prepares early- to mid-career professionals to succeed as tomorrow's dynamic leaders. Through coursework that blends business, communications and social sciences, the program develops the knowledge and skills students need to think critically about organizational challenges and how to address them using best practices. Students learn to align others around a shared vision, build and manage effective teams, and apply the leadership skills necessary to excel in an increasingly fast-paced and complex working world.
For more information, visit the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership webpage.
Requirements
Students must complete at least 30 credit hours of graduate coursework. The program is composed of 10 courses: six core courses and four specialized track courses.
Core Courses
Core courses ensure that students have the necessary understanding of the complexities of organizational leadership and the varied dimensions of change within the context of public, private and nonprofit organizations. The curriculum prepares graduates to be successful in understanding organizational cultures, anticipating and managing change, and enhancing performance and human capital management. Core courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ORGL 5005 | Leadership and Organizations | 3 |
| ORGL 5010 | Leading Change and Innovation | 3 |
| ORGL 5015 | Analytics and Data-Driven Decision Making | 3 |
| ORGL 5020 | Strategic Communication | 3 |
| ORGL 5025 | Performance Management | 3 |
| ORGL 6830 | Master's Capstone (MSOL) | 3 |
The purpose of the capstone, the final course of the program, is for students to apply knowledge and skills acquired during their program to addressing actual challenges facing an organization. Students do this—under the guidance of the instructor and other subject matter experts—by collecting, processing and analyzing data and information about the organization and applying appropriate analytic methods to develop, propose and substantiate their recommended solution to the organization's problem.
Specialized Track Courses
Students may choose to specialize in one of the following tracks.
Human Resources Track
This track is ideal for students who wish to enter or advance a career in Human Resources or who want to focus on enhancing employee satisfaction and organizational performance as they assume increasing management and leadership responsibilities. Courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ORGL 5105 | Negotiation and Conflict Resolution | 3 |
| ORGL 5110 | Human Resources Law | 3 |
| ORGL 5115 | Total Rewards Strategies | 3 |
| ORGL 5120 | Training and Development | 3 |
Strategic Leadership Track
This track is geared for students who want to hone their ability to think, plan, and operate strategically, lead personnel in the allocation of organizational resources and accomplish organizational objectives in a deliberate and systematic manner. Courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ORGL 5205 | Strategic Planning in Organizations | 3 |
| ORGL 5210 | Competitive Analysis and Positioning | 3 |
| ORGL 5220 | Operations and Designs of Organizations | 3 |
| ORGL 5305 | Leadership and Intrapreneurship | 3 |
| or ORGL 5315 | Strategy and Innovation | |
Leading Innovation Track
The leading innovation track explores leadership at the intersection of business and innovation and helps students learn to drive strategic organizational transformation. It addresses the gap that exists between the aspirations of executives to innovate and their ability to execute. It focuses on the question: why and how should leadership, innovations and technologies be leveraged to shape and support strategic and entrepreneurial initiatives in the global competitive landscape. Courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ORGL 5305 | Leadership and Intrapreneurship | 3 |
| ORGL 5310 | Design Thinking | 3 |
| ORGL 5315 | Strategy and Innovation | 3 |
| ORGL 5320 | Building and Leading Innovative Work Teams | 3 |
Organizational Communication Track
Communication is the key social process that creates and sustains all features of organizational life—including assumptions about power, knowledge, diversity, culture and teamwork that shape the practice of leadership. The organizational communication track offers a perspective that puts communication at the center of our understanding and explanation of all organizational and leadership phenomena. Courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ORGL 5405 | Diversity and Organizational Communication | 3 |
| ORGL 5410 | Dynamics of Group Communication | 3 |
| ORGL 5415 | Organizational Culture | 3 |
| ORGL 5420 | Knowledge Management | 3 |
Corporate Communication and Public Relations Track
Relationship building with key stakeholders is critical for organizational function. The corporate communication and public relations track offers students the opportunity to become skilled in the strategic development of organization/stakeholder interactions and relationships. Courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select four: | 12 | |
| Strategic Corporate Communication Management | ||
| Strategic Global Corporate Communication | ||
| Corporate Communication and Ethics | ||
| Research Methods for Corporate Communication | ||
| Measurement for Corporate Communication | ||
| Internal Communication | ||
| Risk and Crisis Communication | ||
| Corporate Communication Techniques and Media Relations | ||
| Issues Management and Public Affairs | ||
| Corporate Communication and Digital and Social Media | ||
Executive Leadership Track
This track is geared for students who want to enhance their executive leadership skills and broaden their perspectives regarding multiple aspects of organizational structure, strategy, and people management. Students completing this track will learn to navigate strategic thinking that drives organizations forward while building organizational cultures that are productive, cohesive and inclusive. Courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ORGL 5205 | Strategic Planning in Organizations | 3 |
| ORGL 5415 | Organizational Culture | 3 |
| Select two: | 6 | |
| Human Resources Law | ||
| Total Rewards Strategies | ||
| Training and Development | ||
| Competitive Analysis and Positioning | ||
| Operations and Designs of Organizations | ||
| Leadership and Intrapreneurship | ||
| Design Thinking | ||
| Knowledge Management | ||
Leading High-Achieving Teams Track
Students pursuing the leading high-achieving teams track will learn strategies for creating and maintaining productive and cohesive teams within organizations. From building teams, resolving conflict and enhancing communication, courses within this track emphasize the importance of leadership in creating teams that enhance organizations. Courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select four: | 12 | |
| Negotiation and Conflict Resolution | ||
| Building and Leading Innovative Work Teams | ||
| Dynamics of Group Communication | ||
| Knowledge Management | ||
| Sports and Coaching Leadership | ||
Organizational Training and Development Track
The organizational training and development track is well suited for students seeking to improve the effectiveness of organizations through building and improving training and development programs. The courses in this track allow students to explore different areas of organizational structure that are critical for understanding how to improve and develop the organization and its people. Courses include:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ORGL 5120 | Training and Development | 3 |
| ORGL 5220 | Operations and Designs of Organizations | 3 |
| ORGL 5415 | Organizational Culture | 3 |
| Select one: | 3 | |
| Total Rewards Strategies | ||
| Dynamics of Group Communication | ||
Organizational Leadership (Broad Perspective) Track
This is a great track option for those who want to customize their degree to obtain broad exposure to the field of organizational leadership. Students select any four track courses from the offerings available under the other tracks listed above. With pre-approval, students also have the option of transferring in up to three relevant graduate courses from other programs and colleges.
Learning Outcomes
By the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Acquire professional competency through acquisition of knowledge about leadership theories, contemporary leadership challenges, best practices and industry standards related to leadership. \
- Develop and apply strong critical thinking, decision-making, presentation and writing skills based upon a synthesis of knowledge.
- Articulate an ethical personal leadership philosophy for a diverse and multicultural 21st century workforce.
- Develop the ability to provide vision and mission articulation, problem identification and definition, strategic planning and ongoing/iterative evaluation.
- Integrate skills in multiple types of analysis allowing the application of data analysis to organizational situations and challenges.
- By participating in application-orientated assignments delivered via a collaborative cohort model, develop high-demand career skills that contribute to employability and professional advancement.