Organizational Leadership Curriculum & Specializations

A bachelor's degree in organizational leadership can help you land numerous management and leadership roles in many different types of organizations. These degrees teach the foundations of leadership, as well as organizational behavior and operations management.

Some programs, including affordable online organizational leadership degrees, also offer specializations so you can focus on your career goals. Keep reading to learn more about organizational leadership curriculums and specializations.

What Is an Organizational Leadership Degree?

Organizational leadership degrees train students to be effective leaders in corporations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. They help students hone core leadership skills and competencies, such as:

• communication
• conflict management
• critical thinking
• problem-solving
• time management

Organizational leadership degrees are usually offered as bachelor's or master's degrees. Some programs offer concentrations, allowing students to tailor their studies to their career goals.

Core Curriculum in Organizational Leadership Programs

While every organizational leadership program will be a little different, there are some core topics that they all teach. Below, we've broken down what you can expect from a core curriculum in organizational leadership.

Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Leadership

Bachelor's degrees are undergraduate degrees that usually require 120 credit hours and take four years of full-time study. An organizational leadership degree may be offered as a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Business Administration.

In a bachelor's degree program, you'll typically spend the first two years or so completing your university's general education curriculum. Then, you'll move on to the core organizational leadership coursework, as well as any elective courses or specialization courses. Your program may include an internship or capstone project.

Learn more: What Are General Education Courses?

Some common core courses you'll find in an organizational leadership degree include:

• Introduction to Leadership Theory: Introductory courses will provide a foundation in effective leadership theories and cover different types of leadership styles.
• Organizational Behavior: Understanding organizational behavior is key to being an effective leader, and these courses explore the different theories, strategies, and skills of organizational behavior.
• Communication for Leaders: Courses like this help students develop the communication skills needed for all leadership roles.
• Ethics in Leadership: These courses provide an introduction and general discussion of the meaning of ethics and how it relates to organizations in for-profit, community, and non-profit groups.
• Strategic Planning and Decision-Making: Courses like this will examine the different components that influence decision-making and strategic planning by leaders, including ethics, data, and more.
• Change Management: Change management courses prepare future leaders to lead organizational change, covering best practices and strategies for moving initiatives forward.
• Human Resources Management: These courses cover various topics in human resources management, including compensation and benefits, staffing, training and professional development, and ethics and employment law.
• Team Dynamics and Development: Courses on team dynamics and development will examine frameworks for understanding and increasing individual and team performance in organizations.

Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership

Master's degrees are graduate programs that usually take two years to complete. Schools typically offer organizational leadership degrees as Master of Science degrees.

Common courses in master's programs for organizational leadership include:

• Advanced Leadership Theory and Practice: Advanced leadership theory courses provide a more in-depth look at different leadership theories and strategies.
• Organizational Development and Change: These courses cover processes for leading change, organizational development initiatives, and professional development programs.
• Global Leadership: Global leadership courses prepare students to lead across cultures and continents while fostering innovation, driving strategy, and strengthening team dynamics.
• Strategic Leadership and Management: These types of courses train students to apply various tools and techniques for decision-making and develop strategic approaches to management decisions.
• Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility: Ethics courses will teach ethical principles related to the organizational environment and leadership.
• Leadership in Innovation and Technology: These courses prepare students to drive strategic organizational transformation through technology, as well as strategic and entrepreneurial initiatives.
• Research Methods in Leadership: Research courses teach students research design and research methods in leadership using qualitative and quantitative approaches.
• Capstone Project or Thesis: Most master's degree programs conclude with a final thesis or capstone project, in which students utilize and showcase the skills they've developed throughout the program.

Common Organizational Leadership Specializations

Many organizational leadership programs at the bachelor's and master's degree levels offer specializations. These allow you to fine-tune your curriculum so you can be the type of organizational leader you want to be.

Common specializations in organizational leadership include:

• Human Resources Leadership: This specialization is for students who want to work in human resources departments. It focuses on the interrelationships between human resource capital, leadership, and the business organization.
• Nonprofit Leadership: Nonprofit specializations teach students the fundamentals of nonprofit management, including how to maximize fundraising opportunities and maintain healthy budgets.
• Global Leadership: These programs prepare students to lead organizations that include employees from different cultures and countries or collaborate with organizations in other countries.
• Healthcare Leadership: Students in healthcare leadership programs develop essential knowledge and skills for effective healthcare management.
• Educational Leadership: These specializations are for students pursuing leadership and administrative roles in educational settings.
• Project Management: Project management programs provide students with the principles, concepts, tools, and techniques to improve project performance and organizational effectiveness.
• Change Management: A program like this helps students learn to drive strategic organizational change and transformation through strategy, innovation, and teamwork.
• Strategic Leadership: Strategic leadership tracks are geared toward students who want to hone their ability to think, plan, and operate strategically. It also prepares them to lead personnel in the allocation of organizational resources and accomplish organizational objectives deliberately and systematically.
• Corporate Training and Development: These specializations prepare students to develop and lead professional development programs that resonate with adult learners.

What Are the Admissions Requirements for an Organizational Leadership Program?

Admissions requirements for organizational leadership programs often vary between programs. At the bachelor's level, you may need a specific GPA, a minimum score on the SAT/ACT, and completion of prerequisite coursework.

At the graduate level, you'll likely need a minimum undergraduate GPA. Some programs also require an undergraduate degree in a specific field or a minimum score on the GRE or GMAT exams.

Earn Your Degree Today

Start your degree in organizational leadership today by exploring programs on Learn.org. Reach out to individual schools to request information, such as admissions requirements, enrollment steps, financial aid, and the organizational leadership curriculum.