Dec 09, 2024  
NCU Catalog - December 2016 
    
NCU Catalog - December 2016 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Organizational Leadership, Public Administration Specialization, MS


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Master of Science in Organizational Leadership


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 Northcentral University 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 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


Northcentral University 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 Northcentral students are working adults balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic 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.

Course Sequence


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

All Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (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 inital degree plan can be changed at the students request. Please contact your Academic Advisor for more information.

Public Administration Specialization


This specialization focuses on acquiring the administrative knowledge and skills in such diverse areas as budgeting, government relations, personnel policies, politics, and urban planning. Practicing public administrators, as well as those seeking entry into public administration and related fields, will benefit from this curriculum. Students focus on a wide range of skills needed by the public administrator overseeing local, state, and federal government management. This specialization examines budget preparation, government relations, personnel policies, politics, and urban planning. Students will complete a final written research project demonstrating the ability to conduct an investigation on a workplace problem, identify an area for intervention, critique, justify, and recommend a plan of preventative action.

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