Organizational Leadership, Public Administration Specialization, MS

Description of Program

The Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) program provides students with the knowledge to evaluate personal leadership skills and the components of leadership that contribute to the health of an organization, as well as how to apply leadership best practices in an organization.

Learning Outcomes

• Assess the current state of leadership practice within a given profession
• Evaluate the components of leadership that contribute to the health of an organization
• Apply best leadership practices within a given organization
• Evaluate themselves as leaders

Basis for Admissions

Admission to the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) program requires a conferred bachelor’s degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution (including the NCU BBA degree).

Note: Students who complete NCU’s BBA bridge path in Business Leadership may be eligible to apply four graduate-level courses from the BBA program to the MBA program. Graduate-level courses completed in the BBA bridge path must be completed with a grade point average of 3.0 (grade of “B”) or better.

Degree Requirement

The Master of Science in Organizational Leadership is a 30 credit program comprised of 18 core credits, 9 specialization credits and 3 capstone credits. Graduates of the NCU program must complete 30 credit hours. Students may select a discipline-specific specialization of their interest.

Students assume full responsibility for understanding both the foundational, specialization and capstone requirements of the program. Switching programs after completing coursework may result in reevaluation, monetary loss, loss of credit hours and/or the need to take additional credit hours. Students’ Academic and Finance Advisors can assist with any questions related to program requirements.

The University may accept a maximum of 12 semester credit hours in transfer toward the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership for graduate course work completed at an external accredited college or university with a grade of “B” or better. See the Transfer Credit Policy  for additional information.

Note: Students with a conferred BBA degree from NCU who complete graduate-level coursework with a grade of “B” or better to satisfy required undergraduate specialization credit hours may be eligible to apply up to 12 graduate-level credit hours from the BBA program to the MSOL program. Please see the Bachelor of Business Administration program for program-specific course requirements.

Time to Completion

NCU allows 5 years to complete all 30 credit hour master’s programs.

Normal time to completion for this program is 23 months.

Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most NCU students are working adults balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic and finance advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.

The normal time disclosed above reflects the experience of students who may have entered under different program requirements. New students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 16 months.

Accelerated MSOL Scheduling Track

Within the MSOL program, the School of Business offers an Accelerated MSOL scheduling track. The Accelerated MSOL is not an alternative program, but is a scheduling option designed for students capable of completing an intense, fast-paced, and highly challenging graduate course structure. Students considering the Accelerated MSOL track are strongly encouraged to first think about their availability for study-time, work schedule or any other outside activities that may interfere with course participation, and their ability to learn in a rapidly moving academic environment. Students who enter and successfully complete the Accelerated MSOL track will graduate in 12 months with a Masters of Organizational Leadership degree.

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Course Sequence

Students who complete at least 9 semester credit hours in a single area of specialization at NCU (not counting foundational courses) may elect to have the specialization recorded on their transcript and diploma.

All MSOL programs require the foundation courses to be completed prior to enrolling in specialization courses. The program capstone will be completed as the last course in the degree program. 

In some cases, specialization courses listed on the initial degree plan can be changed upon the student’s request. Please contact your Academic and Finance Advisor for more information.

• MSOL-5101 - Leadership Theories and Practices
• MSOL-5102 - Ethics and Decision Making
• MSOL-5103 - People, Processes, and Organizational Health
• MSOL-5104 - Leadership: Change, Crises, and Communication
• MSOL-5105 - Leadership and Organization Strategy
• MSOL-5106 - Understanding Data
• Specialization Course 1
• Specialization Course 2
• Specialization Course 3
• MSOL-5110 - Professional Project