MA in Leadership Career Opportunities
- Chief Executive Officer
- Corporate Trainer
- Church Leader
- City Manager
- Human Resources Manager
- School Principal
- Health Services Manager
- Sales Manager
- Public Relations Specialist
- Politician
- Management Consultant
- Strategic Planner
- Organizational Development Specialist
Online Master’s in Leadership: Stand out as a Servant Leader in Any Industry
Every workplace needs ethical, visionary, transformative leaders. Mid-America Christian University (MACU) in Oklahoma City, offers a Master of Arts in leadership that addresses this growing demand. Our master’s in leadership program will prepare you with a deep understanding of theoretical foundations and applicable knowledge of leadership. You’ll have the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to be an effective and ethical servant leader in a variety of industries, including business, healthcare, government and nonprofits.
MACU’s master’s degree in leadership is a career booster for students of many backgrounds—from employees with technical skills who want to transition into management roles to professionals already in positions of leadership who wish to polish their expertise. With an MA leadership degree, you’ll be positioned to elevate your impact in the workplace, advance your career and increase your earning power. A recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the employment of top executives to grow 8 percent from 2020 to 2030 and lists a $179,520 median annual wage for chief executives.
MACU, a bible-based university, is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA).
How Does MACU’s Master’s in Leadership Online Program Develop Servant Leaders?
Our 100-percent online program prepares you to lead in any workplace environment through courses that focus on organizational culture, training, leadership theory and decision-making. The program emphasizes strategies for leading ethical and effective change, preparing you to manage rapidly expanding work environments in today’s marketplace.
You’ll also cultivate skills in communication and teamwork. You’ll graduate from the program as a leader equipped to manage yourself and others, identify and offer solutions to organizational problems and initiate positive change in any setting. You’ll appreciate that MACU is different from other leadership master’s degrees because biblical principles are incorporated into every course.
Add Optional, Expert-level Skills to Your Online Leadership MA Degree
To set yourself apart in a competitive marketplace, you can choose from among these optional five emphases:
- Business Management is a good fit for a business major or anyone who wants to manage both finances and people using leadership strategies rooted in ethics.
- Communication focuses on leading an organization’s communication strategy across a variety of media platforms to help your brand and organization stand out from the crowd.
- Higher Education Administration is a perfect next step for professionals with an education degree as it develops servant leaders who are ethically equipped to meet the challenges of higher education in a global society.
- Public Administration will give you the knowledge and skills to be a collaborative, ethical and innovative leader, ready to serve the public good in government agencies and beyond.
- Ministry Leadership can complement a degree in ministry, giving you an even stronger foundation of leadership principles, or it can help take any career to a higher level with training in organizational culture, leading change, leadership theory, and more.
Program Information
Online Master’s Degree in Leadership: An Accelerated and Affordable Way to Advance Your Career
We understand the need for flexibility when you are working full time while earning an advanced degree. Since 2008, MACU has offered fully accredited online learning that caters to busy professionals. We offer ways to complete your degree quickly, which keeps the cost of your degree reasonable. Although this degree is offered completely online, select courses may be offered on campus depending on student interest and faculty availability.
Our six-week classes are taught by professors with real-life industry leadership experience and they have a passion for sharing their knowledge with their students. You’ll likely be surprised by the individual attention you receive in this program–you won’t feel like a number. The student-teacher ratio is small, our staff is always willing to help, you’ll develop relationships with your classmates and we do everything we can to make you feel like a part of the MACU community. Here are some of the benefits offered to MACU’s online students:
- Just one six-week class at a time in a consecutive order
- Consistent career networking opportunities
- An emphasis on soft skills training
As you prepare to begin your degree at MACU, our enrollment counselors are ready to assist you. Please take a look at this downloadable degree sheet, featuring an overview of MACU’s Leadership degree program. Don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing [email protected] or calling 888-888-2341 if you have any questions.
M.A. Leadership Core Requirements (18 Hrs.)
MGMT 5113
Organizational Behavior
This course introduces the theories of behavior in human management. A critical analysis is performed on the contributions to the organizational behavior discipline and its research as applied to the business environment. The student would apply the theories of their research as applied to the business environment. The student would apply the theories of culture development, time management, job design, change, motivation, leadership development, communication, small group dynamics, and negotiation in the business setting.
COMM 5103
Advanced Professional Communication and Leadership Practicum
Advanced Professional Communication Leadership would provide a dynamic range of oral, written, and digital communication opportunities that would enhance the student experience through diverse presentation methods. The course would posit opportunities for students to employ concepts, strategies, and content selected from individual areas of interest and adapt these labors into public and/or digital performances that demonstrate applied skills across multiple modalities.
ML 5143
Leadership Theory and Practice
This course explores the history and development of leadership theory in the students’ current organizational settings. Although leadership and management are not the same, they are often confused. The unique features of each are studied along with a practical application of case studies of current leaders as well as from history. Managers develop subordinates, leaders develop
followers, and the most highly successful leaders develop leaders. Students would evaluate their leadership style using the
Leadership Practices Inventory developed by Kouzes and Posner.
Students would gain hands-on experience by analyzing their
performance in a current or new leadership role.
ML 5163
Training and Development
This course addresses the core aspects of instructional systems design as applied to workforce learning and performance. Learners apply key principles involved in assessing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating employee development and performance improvement programs. Learners gain hands-on experience by creating an active training event.
ML 5243
Leading Change
This course explores the processes necessary to identify the need for change using appropriate models, plan the process of change, obtain authorization for the change, and motivate the appropriate stakeholders to ensure success. It helps leaders sharpen their change attempts that they believe are critical to the organization’s survival and provides practical tools to face the potential resistance from the people the leader is attempting to help. It provides an expanded perspective for leaders to communicate more effectively the need for change, get more people involved in the change process, and get team players to understand the implications the
change has for their roles.
ML 6023
Integrative Leadership Project
This course serves as a capstone course for the Master of Arts in Leadership program and is designed to advance students to synthesize knowledge gained in previous courses into a cohesive view of leadership and to put learned leadership abilities into practice through an applied integrated/consulting leadership project.
Additional Degree Requirements (12 Hrs.)
ML 5263
The Adult Learner
Learners explore the basic theories and current research in adult education. This class draws from both adult development and adult education to explore the stages of human development, issues concerning adult learning ability, how and why adults learn, and how to make sure that learning has taken place.
ML 5273
Nonprofit Leadership
This course examines the unique leadership challenges and opportunities presented in nonprofit organizations. Students would learn about the nature of the nonprofit sector and gain perspectives on management, financial, leadership, and governance issues facing nonprofits.
ML 5343
Financial Development and Resource Management
This course explores the skills necessary for budgeting,
stewardship, funding, accountability, and ethical use of resources. While not an accounting course, the differences between for-profit, not-for-profit, and cash flow accounting requirements are explored. It helps leaders to ensure budgetary income streams for the planned programs to accomplish the mission of the organization they are leading.
ML 5353
Decision Making
This course provides an understanding of various forces that influence the process of making and implementing decisions. Students will learn leadership decision-making from individual, small group, and social environment contexts, the values of good decisions, and the unintended consequences of poor decisions.