Master's in Organizational Leadership and Learning

Unlock your leadership potential using self-awareness and self-improvement to bring out your personal strengths and inspire the best in your team. With a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development in Organizational Leadership and Learning from the George Washington University (GW), you will concentrate on critical thinking, reflection and awareness of self and others to improve your leadership style and better understand organizational problems, develop effective solutions and lead their implementation.

The Master’s in Organizational Leadership and Learning is an innovative, academically rigorous skills-based graduate program that prepares the next generation of development professionals for broad career opportunities in diverse work settings such as public and private businesses and nonprofit organizations. It offers a practical and hands-on curriculum that covers diverse aspects of leadership, preparing you to direct individuals, teams and organizations to maximize their development and performance, and inspire their success.

• Emphasis on Awareness: The program offers hands-on practice in diverse aspects of leadership. It focuses on a unique view of leadership and expands on your understanding of how to lead in the midst of change and complexity.
• Applied and Innovative Curriculum: Further develop your leadership skills with a curriculum that focuses on practical, growth-oriented activities and topics that use readily applicable real-world examples.
• Scholar-Practitioner Faculty: Learn from faculty members who are active and experienced working professionals with real-world insights into leading organizations. All faculty members have a doctoral degree and are members of reputable industry associations.
• Diverse Student Body: Gain exposure to unique viewpoints and refine your critical analysis and communication skills with discussion forums and small group projects.

GW’s Master’s in Organizational Leadership and Learning is a 30-credit master’s program and can be completed in as little as 2 years.

In the Organizational Leadership courses, students will learn topics such as the foundations of human behavior, adult learning principles, group dynamics, research methods, organizational diagnosis, strategic change, leadership development, impact of globalization on societies and organization and assessing the impact of change efforts.

Curriculum (30 credit hours)

CORE COURSES (21 credit hours)

• HOL 6700 Human Behavior in Organizations (3 credits)
• HOL 6701 Adult Learning (3 credits)
• HOL 6702 Organizational Change I (3 credits)
• HOL 6703 Organizational Change II (3 credits)
• HOL 6704 Leadership in Organizations (3 credits)
• HOL 6746 Work Groups and Teams in Organizations (3 credits)
• EDUC 6112 Foundations of Assessment, Testing, and Measurement in Education (3 credits) OR
• EDUC 6114 Introduction to Quantitative Research (3 credits)

ELECTIVE COURSES (9 credit hours) – Select 3 courses

• HOL 6705 Strategic Change (3 credits)
• HOL 6706 Issues in Leadership (3 credits)
• HOL 6707 Organizational Learning (3 credits)
• HOL 6708 Global Leadership (3 credits)
• HOL 6709 Leadership Development (3 credits)
• HOL 6710 Globalization, Change and Learning (3 credits)
• HOL 6721 Assessing the Impact of Organizational Change (3 credits)
• HOL 6724 Increasing the Capacity to Learn (3 credits)
• HOL 6725 Internship in OLL (3 credits)
• HOL 6742 Design of Adult Learning Interventions (3 credits)
• HOL 6747 International and Multicultural Issues in Organizations (3 credits)
• HOL 6101 Research and Independent Study (3 credits)

Program Outcomes

Graduates of this organizational leadership and learning degree benefit from its unique focus on leadership, as well as a strong understanding of how to lead in a competitive marketplace. This interdisciplinary program also allows you to tailor learning to deliver specific skills, including:

• An understanding of organizational problems and innovative strategies to solve them
• Practical methods for leading effective group processes, adult learning, organizational diagnosis and change
• Effective use of critical thinking and reflection in problem solving
• Enabling social responsibility and authenticity in your leadership strategy and your organization