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Master of Arts in Leadership
REQUIRED CREDITS: 45
LOCATIONS and START DATES: Online: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer | Renton, WA: Fall
Is the master's in Leadership program for me?
If you're currently in or aspire to be in a leadership role, but want to learn how to be a more effective leader, our M.A.L.
program is a good fit. It's designed for people in all sorts of businesses - for-profit, non-profit, health care, military,
government, education, human services, global, and more.
The M.A.L. degree program will help position you to receive a leadership promotion in your career field. If you would like
to explore some of the basic principles of leadership, you also have an opportunity to complete a Change Leadership certificate
that will help you boost your leadership skills. This certificate does not represent a full degree.
What will I learn in the master's in Leadership program?
You'll gain the knowledge and skills you need to be a strategic leader in your field, at any level of your organization. Our program shows you how to:
- Think systematically
- Seek input from others so you can make informed and sustainable decisions
- Use your interpersonal skills to coach and motivate others
- Make ethically, socially and environmentally responsible decisions
- Navigate organizational politics and build strong teams
- Apply strategic planning to organizational decision-making
- Develop a comprehensive leadership capstone thesis
- Conduct a leadership practicum or publish a scholarly leadership article as a culminating application
Read through the course descriptions below for more details.
What can I do with my master's degree in Leadership?
Be a leader, naturally - communicate your vision, make your organization stronger and position yourself for promotion.
Why CityU?
- Because you want an education that's relevant to what's happening in the real world, right now.
- You can complete your degree in just 21 months (seven quarters) taking two courses per quarter.
- Our faculty teach what they do for a living, not just what's in the book. They're smart, successful people who can help you get there, too.
- You can get an education without sacrificing your lifestyle. Attend class on a schedule that works best for you.
How to get started:
Do you have at least a bachelor's degree? If so, you're eligible to apply. Here's how:
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Chat with an admissions advisor or call 888.42.CityU
- You may also communicate directly with Pete Anthony, the program's director
- Apply online
- Order your official transcripts from other schools you attended
- Submit application with application fee
Leading Change through Whole-Systems Thinking and Coaching Core (18)
MAL 505
Successful leadership is built on self-awareness, understanding individual and group differences, image management, professional development, and effective communication. This course applies an array of theoretical foundations to explore leadership in the context of individual values, ethics, leadership, and followership. You will be exposed to effective written and oral communication skills necessary for successful completion of the Master of Arts in Leadership degree program. You will be exposed to effective teambuilding skills in preparation for team-based learning within each course of the degree program.
MAL 515
This course focuses on organizational coaching from a whole-systems perspective and explores coaching theories and models useful for individual and task force professional development, development of individual and organizational goals, evaluation and monitoring of goal attainment, strategic process, and leadership effectiveness. Empowerment and motivation processes will be explored to prepare you to become an effective change agent. You will learn how to confront difficult situations and reinforce motivational behaviors. Critical thinking will be introduced to expose you to the art of systems thinking as a method of creative problem solving.
MAL 525
This course will synthesize the challenge of leadership. Leaders are faced with a multitude of challenges from relationship building, participatory leadership, building trust, collaboration, delegation, training, and professional development. You will explore role-modeling, shared vision, process evaluation, empowerment, and methods to create a foundation of mutual respect and trust that empowers internal and external stakeholders to positively embrace your organizational mission and vision.
MAL 535
This course will explore diversity of individual and organizational perspectives as a catalyst to understanding and applying differences as a method of continuous process improvement. You will be challenged to strengthen and widen your definition of leadership from insightful examples and sharing of best practices. Decision making will be analyzed in the context of applying executive and emotional intelligence with diverse perspectives that challenge you to develop sustainable growth as a leader in a learning organization. Change management will be explored in context of a leadership challenge of balancing risks and opportunities through collaboration with stakeholders. Students explore emerging change management issues through systematic perspectives and discussions. You will develop a plan to transform a culture and sustain excellence.
MAL 545
This course focuses on values-based thinking with an overview of legal and ethical considerations encountered by leaders. Professional understanding, internal and external politics, and personal integration are explored in the context of effective decision making and moral leadership. Personal, organizational, and societal influences will be examined.
MAL 550
This course explores innovative methods of problem-based solution analysis through critical thinking and analysis of alternatives. Collaborative brainstorming methods will be applied to determine optimal solutions that address actual problems verse symptoms of problems. You will be exposed to fallacies in reasoning, decision-making models, appreciative inquiry, and repercussion analysis. Humility and mistakes as an opportunity for improvement will be explored. You will learn how to challenge assumptions and expand perceptions. When to begin, continue, and cease the critical thinking process with be evaluated in the context of achieving viable and timely innovation and continuous process improvement.
Global Leadership through Technology and Communication Management Core (15)
MAL 560
This course explores global leadership strategies to achieve global competitive advantage. Cross-cultural training, relationship-building, and expatriate management will be examined. You will be exposed to specific leadership and personality traits, methods of processing and classifying information, communication strategies, and training necessary for developing positive presence in the global arena.
MAL 570
This course explores the art of team building with face-to-face, global, and virtual teams. Collaboration provides whole-systems thinking and analysis that presents an opportunity for a win-win decision-making process that mutually benefits all stakeholders. Local and global project planning will be explored through effective application of human capital and communication strategies. Students will be exposed to different style of thinking. Managing team idea exchanges will be evaluated. Practical techniques for leading, coaching, and motivating collaborative teams of technical and non-technical professionals will be discussed and practiced. You will evaluate methods that foster team synergy and promote high performance teams.You will learn methods of creating cohesive and emotionally intelligent teams. Benefits of chartering for team effectiveness will be explored.
MAL 580
This course will introduce concepts, theories, and models of strategic planning. Analytical and conceptual approaches will be explored to capitalize on market and competitive advantages. You will learn methods to align strategies with organizational mission and vision through integration of objectives, metrics, and performance measures. Case studies will be introduced to examine specifics of the planning process. Internal and external environmental influences will be examined. Variations in strategic planning for local and international initiatives will be explored. You will develop a foundation for managing results-oriented strategic alliances. Synthesis of strategic planning processes will produce best practices for effective implementation of an organizational strategy.
MAL 590
This course will examine challenges of evaluation of employees with varying work schedules. Challenges and opportunities are explored to determine best practices for equitable evaluation of employees in differing work situations: face-to-face, international, and virtual. Facilitation of training events and meetings that encompass the various work schedules will be examined. Design and implementation of mutually supportive training, meetings, and conferences will be explored. Balanced and fair assessment of performance, professional development goals, and coaching for success will be discussed for each variation of work situation. You will learn strategies for disciplinary counseling, rewarding productive employees, and empowering performance improvement. Methods to inspire and engage employees of diverse working arrangements will be explored.
MAL 600
This course will address environmental and social concerns leaders should see as a proactive opportunity to be environmentally and socially friendly. Consumers have begun to buy based on level of environmental and social responsibility even when the price of the product or service may be higher. You will learn, as leaders, the value of placing emphasis on being socially progressive. Operating your business using cost vs. benefit approach will be explored. You will learn how to include the long-term prosperity for all stakeholders into your operational and financial planning. Using environmentally friendly marketing, advertising, and product packaging will be discussed. Global impact of environmentally and socially responsible leadership will be examined.
Leadership Experience (12)
MAL 650
This course integrates your learning from the Leading Change through Whole-systems Thinking and Coaching; and the Global Leadership through Technology and Communication Management core learning. You will produce a final project, practicum experience, or internship that synthesizes leadership concepts from all program courses. This will allow you to practically apply your learning to a real-life leadership situation. You will submit your proposal for your leadership project, practicum experience, or internship which will become your culminating practical application assignment in the Master of Arts in Leadership program.
MAL 660
This course focuses on research, development, and analysis of a practicum experience or submission of a leadership article for publication. Emphasis is placed on completion of a project or practicum identified in MAL 650. Students will analyze a leadership environment, identify the root cause of an existing problem, identify opportunities for improvement, recommend a solution, and evaluate the impact of the practicum or leadership article. Specific deliverables for the practicum or leadership article are defined in the Project or Practicum Experience Handbook for the MAL Program. Course Entry Requirements: MA in Leadership Core courses.
Note: Scheduling sequence: No prerequisites are required for any of the core courses, except the Leadership Experience (MAL 650 and 660) which may not be taken until all 11 core courses have been completed. MAL 660 may not be taken until completion of MAL 650.
Recommendation: All courses should be taken in numerical sequence, if possible, for smoother flow of related concepts.
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