The core curriculum of the degree program consists of three courses that integrate the important themes of leadership theory, knowledge, and data analysis.
IDS 802 Ways of Knowing in Comparative Perspective
This course is a comparative, critical exploration of the nature, kinds, worth, and limits of human knowledge. Roughly equal amounts of attention are given to (A) the sciences, (B) the arts and humanities, and (C) a selection from a menu of topics such as mathematical knowledge, epistemic relativism, moral knowledge, religious knowledge, and the role of the search for knowledge in well-lived human lives.
LDRS 801 Theoretical Foundations of Leadership
This course exposes students to leadership theory and research. Historical and contemporary approaches are analyzed in detail. Students are required to analyze both theoretical and empirical perspectives. The course material focuses on the leader in multiple contexts and levels of analysis (Individual, team, organization, and community).
LDRS 810 Qualitative Research Methods in Leadership
This course gives students an understanding of the scientific method and its application to qualitative research. Students develop a research question, collect and analyze data, and develop conclusions for qualitative methods. Students explore the appropriate means to present and disseminate the research to help organizations and communities to make accurate and informed decisions.
This area challenges students to develop knowledge of the discipline of organizational leadership and demonstrate communication and collaboration skills.
LDRS 802 Organizational Systems, Change and Leadership
This class challenged students to embrace a systems view of leadership and change at the organizational level. Students were encouraged to compare, contrast, and critique both seminal and modern theories and models of organizational learning, knowledge creation, and organizational capacity building and apply them to their organizational settings. This course enhances students’ ability to think systematically and develop a comprehensive understanding of core competencies required to initiate and sustain change in organizations.
LDRS 811 Organizational Intervention Strategies
Students are required to apply leadership concepts and assessment techniques to the design, delivery, and analysis of leadership development interventions. Students are asked to diagnose leader and leadership development needs and develop practical applications for creating, implementing, and assessing a comprehensive leader and leadership development program for an organization.
SOC 621 Advanced Sociological Research
This course centers on learning how to do statistical analysis of quantitative data using PSPP statistical software. Students learn how to set up a data file, generate and interpret frequency, crosstabulation tables, confidence intervals, correlation statistics, and learn the theory behind the interpretations of margins of error and statistical significance. Students are required to develop research questions, access data to address those research questions, analyze the resultant data using the statistical skills they learn in the course, and write a paper presenting the results of their final analysis.
Each student has the opportunity to tailor their electives to meet a specific need, interest, or career goal.
LDRS 600 Seminar in Organizational Leadership: Crisis Leadership
The purpose of this interdisciplinary course is to introduce students to key elements of crisis and leadership. The course activities engaged students in the theory and practice of crisis leadership within the context of higher education and other contexts. Students were asked to recall the major concepts of leadership theory and the principles of crisis leadership. By doing so, students understand the crisis stages, stakeholders impacted, elements of crisis prevention, and recognize the role both leadership and management skills (including communication) play in the crisis response. Lastly, students are asked to apply and demonstrate crisis leadership skills and capabilities in a context-specific setting, including the ability to develop a crisis leadership and communication plan.
COMM 606 Conflict Management through Communication
Conflict happens on the job, between groups, within families, and in most personal relationships. It often happens on a global scale as nations struggle with one another over a variety of issues. This course allows students to take an in-depth look at conflict. The class is designed to offer students a theoretical base upon which they will be able to make the pragmatic application. Students gain an understanding of the basic components of conflict including its perspectives, its nature, its goals, the role of power, and the various styles and tactics. The concept of conflict intervention was addressed in discussions. Materials related to conflict assessment, negotiation, transformation, and third-party intervention were disseminated to students.
COMM 624 Crisis Communication and Strategies
Crisis communication is an integral part of crisis management. This course focused on learning the theories relevant to crisis communication and crisis management followed by case studies in various organizations, countries, and scenarios. Students learned written and oral strategies for crisis communication and were shown how to create crisis communication plans. This course prepares students to develop analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as, communicate effectively with the news media, social media, lawyers, and internal/external stakeholders.
Each student is challenged to create a sense of connection between courses using a capstone experience.
LDRS 890 Internship in Organizational Leadership
This course is designed for students in the final stages of the Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) with a concentration in Organizational Leadership program. Activities include practical experience in an organization that will allow the student to participate in a meaningful leadership experience. As part of this culminating experience, students are expected to integrate, evaluate, critique, synthesize, and apply knowledge gained throughout their program of study. It is considered a final, mastery experience. Culminating experiences serve as turning points for learners in professional practice, as the projects/portfolios created can be used to help transition one into a new field, a new job, and/or achieve promotion.