Overview

Candidates gain an understanding of scholarship, independent judgment, academic rigor, and intellectual honesty. Students work collaboratively with faculty advisors who will help them assess and develop their leadership skills, facilitate the transfer of their academic knowledge and research designs into workplace settings, and prepare them for professional longevity. 

Focus on building leadership skills across all types of organizations, rather than just in one specific area. Regardless of discipline, students learn to increase their ability to communicate and lead in a collaborative work environment. The M.S. Organizational Leadership offers three concentrations, which provide candidates the choice to specialize in either area of expertise. The M.S. in Organizational Leadership program is offered at Mercer's Atlanta, Henry County and Macon locations, and students are admitted two times per year in August and January.

The degree program offers three concentrations:

• Leadership and Organizational Development and Change
• Leadership for the Healthcare Professional
• Leadership for the Nonprofit Organization

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of the program, students will be prepared to:

• Program participants will become skilled, innovative, principled, and ethical leaders who understand the foundations of organizational leadership and build on those to contribute to the effective functioning of society at all levels.
• Program participants will demonstrate an understanding that leadership is not solely a matter of formal authority or power but rather is a matter of influence, integrity, spirit, and respect regardless of one’s power or authority.
• Program participants will demonstrate proficiency in inquiry, creative problem solving, and examining values in decision-making. Program participants design and complete a professional research project that demonstrates their understanding of the importance of research and careful data analysis in solving problems, and addressing issues related to organizational leadership.
• Program participants will communicate effectively using various forms of expression, such as logical, statistical, and visual. While all program participants have proficiency in written and oral communication, they will demonstrate skill in professional presentations.