Leadership success in an organization takes highly evolved analytical and leadership abilities. This program will equip you with the power skills you need to impress employers and excel as a key player in fields from business, non-profit and government to education and healthcare.
Recent surveys of employers in all sectors show that organizations are looking to hire people that can think critically and analyze data while also being creative and collaborative teammates and leaders. The Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership includes courses that allow students to hone both analytical and leadership skills required to excel in multiple organizational settings including businesses, non-profits, governments and education, and healthcare.
Program Highlights
- No prior business experience or degree required
- No GMAT or GRE required for admission
- Accelerated, affordable, 100% online course format with full and part-time options available
- 36-credit program
- Rolling admissions with six possible entry points throughout the year
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M.A. Management and Organizational Leadership Tuition and Fees
Business Acumen I (core course): This course provides a global perspective of organizational environments and the fundamental knowledge required to lead in them. Topics include principles of economics, business law, ethics, marketing strategy, and an overview of management techniques.
Business Acumen II (core course): This course examines accounting and finance principles from a managerial perspective. Students in this course will be able to analyze relevant accounting and financial information for the effective management of organizational resources. As part of this course, students will gain familiarity with excel as well as statistical analyses used to inform decisions.
Leadership Through Self-Awareness (core course): This course presents current leadership theory and leverages self-assessment tools to allow students to explore their personal leadership styles. As part of this course students will participate in intensive, experiential simulation exercises as both a team leader and a team member in order to evaluate their leadership style and its impact on others.
Data-Driven Decision Making (core course): This course integrates concepts from Business Acumen I and Business Acumen II with critical problem-solving methodologies. Upon completion of this program students will be able to 1) build dynamic financial models that consider all relevant data points, 2) effectively generate and evaluate alternatives 3) present persuasive arguments when making managerial level decisions.
Leading and Organizing Teams (core course): This course presents effective methods for building high impact teams. Students will compare and contrast team leadership theories and analyze appropriate applications for them. Topics covered include: providing feedback, motivating staff, implementing team building strategies, aligning organizational structures, developing and implementing training programs.
Leading Strategic Organizational Change (core course): This course will explore the role of power, politics and organizational structure in leading and implementing change initiatives in organizations. Students will use case study examples of both successes and failures to evaluate methods for fostering innovation, developing alternative and contingency plans, and creating organizational structures that align with change efforts.
Policy and Law for Managers (core course): The course examines, from a strategic approach, how the human resource function interacts with legal and regulatory requirements, competency models, job design, recruitment, selection, employee relations, career development, training, compensation and benefits, occupational health, safety and employee wellness. Students evaluate issues related to the management and measurement of people in the work environment, the ethical dilemmas associated with human resources management and the business impact of people related decisions in the workplace.
Managerial Communications (core course): This course will focus on the oral and written communication skills required in management and leadership positions. Students will 1) analyze the inter-relationship between corporate culture and communication expectations, 2) evaluate messaging and context and determine appropriate channels and writing/communication style for each, 3) develop a communication style required to convey persuasive arguments.
Management Capstone (core course): This course requires students to synthesize learnings from across the degree program in order to create a plan for organizational change. Students can either choose a practicum or research-based project for their deliverable which will include a financial model, an executive memo, an organizational structure and a communication plan.
Negotiations and Conflict Management (elective): This course requires students to explore their personal negotiation styles as well as their comfort level with conflict. Through the use of written communication and teleconferencing, students will engage in negotiation simulations and reflect on their successes and failures. They will also learn techniques for conducting difficult conversations and managing challenging employees.
Contemporary Business Issues (elective): This course emphasizes the most current topics in business and industry including: healthcare reform, the economy, globalization, ethics, outsourcing, leadership, executive compensation, and managing diversity in the workplace.
Non-Profit Governance & Practice (elective): This course provides a detailed review of the thriving area of non-profit organization law, governance and policy, including a comprehensive background and history of non-profit organizations in the United States. It will cover the public policy reasons why non-profit organizations are exempt from federal and state income taxes and why donations are permitted as charitable deductions to the donor. In addition, the social policy, economic, and business distinctions between non-profit organizations and for-profit organizations will be reviewed. This course also covers the broad societal benefit attributed to non-profit organizations, the enormous impact that the non-profit sector has on the United States and global economies, and it will focus on potential drawbacks of differing applicable state laws.
High performing students from any undergraduate major within Delaware Valley University are eligible to apply to the M.A. in management in organizational leadership during their junior year. Commonly known as the 4+1 Program, this track allows students to complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees in as little as five years while saving over $5,900 in graduate tuition. Students accepted into this program can take up to three of the required 12 graduate courses during their junior and/or senior years. Graduate courses taken while an undergraduate student are included in full-time undergraduate tuition. Classes count towards both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
