Curriculum
The B.A. degree in Leadership & Organizational Studies results from an integrated sequence of 12 leadership courses combining online learning and in-person meetings in a small group model designed to build learners’ knowledge and skills as leaders in a variety of organizational settings. Each course is 8 weeks long, and each trimester is composed of two courses.
Courses develop
- leadership skills and practice in problem-solving and decision–making, critical thinking and analysis, reflection and learning from experience;
- knowledge of organizational change theory, interpersonal communication, and motivation;
- an ability to articulate and evaluate value systems and ethical issues;
- a capacity to work effectively in a cross-cultural context, and to use technology;
- the application of quantitative tools for planning and assessment, project proposal development, taking action in implementing a community-based project, working productively in teams, and writing and communicating orally in an effective manner.
First Trimester
LDSH 100 Developing Leaders in The Workplace
Effectiveness in today’s workplace increasingly requires skills of self-direction.
By surfacing and examining assumptions about learning and work, and examining them from the perspective of adult learning theory, students will develop and refine their capacities for leadership and effective teamwork while preparing themselves for the workplace of the future.
LDSH 101 Assessing Learning from Experience
An exploration of the learning cycle, from reflection on experience to construction and application of knowledge. This analytical and self-reflective process is recorded in an Experiential Learning Portfolio, a collection of essays and supporting documentation, which may be further evaluated for transcripted credit.
Second Trimester
LDSH 102 Leadership Theory and Ethics
This course studies the topic of leadership in an ethical framework. Beliefs and values will be examined as students learn how adult development is directed by a moral compass. Students will learn the foundations of leadership theory as they explore the role of leaders and how their vision and behavior affect the mission, goals, culture, and operations of organizations. Students will examine their own leadership potential in the light of expanded knowledge of leadership behavior and processes.
LDSH 103 Communications and Public Relations
This course provides an introduction to the major theories of communication with application to individuals, organizations and their markets, as well as society as a whole. Leaders need this knowledge, skills, and understanding in order to communicate effectively with the internal and external environment. This course affords students the opportunity to create a public relations campaign that may serve to inform their leadership project.
Third Trimester
SEM 109 Critical Perspectives I
An exploration of the great writings that have shaped the thoughts and imagination
of the Western World, including the works of Plato, Sophocles, Dante, Shakespeare,
Melville, Emerson, Stoppard, Morrison among others. Students reflect critically on important ideas and learn to cultivate habits of careful and disciplined reading.
LDSH 104 The External Environment of Leadership
This interdisciplinary course will introduce students to the economic, political and social
context for leadership. By focusing on changing demographics and socio/ political movements at the national and global level, students will identify the contextual influences on decision making, including power relationships, public policy and regulation, economic forecasts, and social trends. Students will explore the impact of technology and innovation, globalization and entrepreneurship on leadership practices. Historical cases of leadership successes and failures will be studied with particular attention to the external environment of the time.
Fourth Trimester
LDSH 105 Organizational Theory and Change
This course examines the major schools of thought regarding organizational theory.
Within that framework, students will explore how major changes in the external and organizational context enable leaders to shape organizational designs, structures, and processes in ways likely to benefit the individuals served by the organization, the individuals within the organization, and the larger society. A clear and solid understanding of the essential of organizational theory and team leadership lays the foundation for the Leadership Project, a major component of the Leadership & Organizational Studies Program.
LDSH 106 Leading in a Diverse World
This course will assist students in developing a framework to appreciate the impact of culture on leadership behavior and processes, and in developing behavioral and cognitive skills that can be applied in diverse cultural contexts, both domestically and internationally. By selecting a specific country for study of its social history and culture, students will gain an understanding of the cultural nuances to leadership style, team development, organizational and interpersonal communication. They will be able to apply this learning to the practice of leadership in human resource development within multi-cultural organizational environments.
Fifth Trimester
LDSH 107 Applied Quantitative Methods and Practicum
In preparation for the Leadership Project, students will demonstrate problem-solving
and decision-making capabilities by gathering and analyzing data and information. Through class exercises and case analysis, students will learn how to collect, display and analyze data using basic descriptive statistics. Various research methods for data collection and criteria for evaluation will be discussed and applied. A variety of concepts and tools will help students evaluate and interpret situations, including evaluation methodologies, descriptive statistics, interviewing techniques, and survey development. An offsite field experience to identify a site for the leadership project will be required. (4units)
SEM 163 Critical Perspectives II
A study of the life stories of men and women who experienced a transformation of their lives when confronted with a reassessment of their values and questions of ultimate meaning. Students will reflect on the nature of their leadership and legacies primarily though their own autobiographies. The following writers have been read: Elie Wiesel, Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Helen Prejean, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others.
Sixth Trimester
LDSH 108 Leadership Project and Fieldwork
In this course, students select a community-based project related to leadership and under faculty supervision, conduct an action research project and develop a report on their findings. Students can work on individual projects once approved by the faculty member or on team projects that have been developed by the instructor. There is a required service learning component within a community-based organization for this course. (4units)
LDSH 110 Integrative Leadership Seminar
In this capstone course, students reflect on and integrate their learning across the entire leadership program; explore insights and changes in their perspectives regarding themselves, learning, leadership, and their organizations; and connect their knowledge and experience with future learning and action. The course expands on the foundation of LOS101, Assessing Learning from Experience, more deeply examining the process and implications of knowledge construction from experience and prepares students for a second submission of experiential learning essays to be evaluated for transcripted credit.
