Complete MGMT-537
Explore Organization Development & Human Relations with Leadership (M.S.)
Champlain College Online’s master of science degree in organization development & human relations (ODHR) specialized in leadership is designed to prepare students to nimbly address organizational challenges and influence change at individual and group levels in today’s global organizations. Combining the expertise and value of a master’s degree in human resources with a foundation in organizational strategy and a concentration in leadership, this program empowers professionals to identify and leverage an organization’s unique strengths to form resilient and adaptable organizational cultures that withstand the constant disruption today’s workforces face.
Interdisciplinary by nature, the enriching curriculum of this online master’s in organizational development will teach you how to successfully lead, inspire, and cultivate diverse talent and help you establish yourself as an effective leader. With an emphasis on applied learning, this organizational development degree program will teach you how to lead change management in organizations and guide diverse people and perspectives to work toward a common goal in authentic and relevant ways that will give you a competitive advantage in today’s increasingly complex business world.
Build Your Career Future
Designed for both mid-career professionals and those seeking to join the field, this HR leadership organizational development master's will help facilitate career growth and opportunities for real-world application of knowledge in key areas from organizational behavior and group dynamics to leadership development. You'll gain expertise in managing organizational change, reflect upon changes in personal leadership behavior, develop practical creative problem-solving skills, and create an authentic personal mission statement rooted in continued learning.
A concentration in leadership is a great way to highlight these in-demand skills and showcase subject matter expertise, as well as gain knowledge that can be applied to your workplace from day one.
Take the next step
Academic Excellence and Recognition
Regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education
Ranked among the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs by U.S. News & World Report
Designated as a Military Friendly School for our commitment to the military community
Named the among the best schools with accelerated bachelor's degrees by Intelligent.com
Prepare For What's Next
Take the next step in your work life by creating new perspectives and methodologies for identifying and leveraging opportunities masked as challenges, and the cultural context within which they occur. By gaining expertise in leadership and organizational development, as well as the critical soft skills needed in advanced roles, graduates of Champlain's online master’s degree in ODHR with a concentration in leadership will be prepared to pursue leadership roles in the vast and varied field of business.
Master's degrees are in high demand and employment in master’s-level occupations is projected to grow by 15% from 2019 to 2029. A master's degree also pays off: the median salary for professionals with a master's degree is $78,210.*
*Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2020; job titles: Payscale, 2020
Top Jobs for Master's in Organization Development & Human Relations Graduates
- Change Management Specialist
- Compensation & Benefits Manager
- Director of Human Resources
- HR Analytics Specialist
- Training and Development Manager
Program Details
Learn more about Champlain's 100% online Master's in organization development & human relations with a graduate certificate in leadership, designed for working professionals.
Champlain's online organization development and human relations courses encompass the top skills needed by today's human resources professionals.
Required Courses
Also choose one, 3-credit elective. Talk with your advisor about what course would be most appropriate.
Be introduced to the foundational ideas of organization development (OD) theory, informed by historical roots and current strategies. Attend to the nature of organizational complexity in today's world and recognize the need for an evolved approach to organizational change. The emerging dialogic mindset is contrasted to the diagnostic mindset that historically pervaded OD practice. Learning is both theoretical and applied; students will form the basis for a change in their own context to integrate theory into practice.
The most powerful tool an OD practitioner has when influencing change is themselves. In this course, students explore how to be an effective change agent and develop a self-awareness of how our thoughts, beliefs and experiences affect what we see and how we behave.? Students will also have opportunities to enhance this self-knowledge as leaders of change.
Prerequisites
A significant part of organizational life is experienced through groups and teams. This course will explore theories of team processes and group dynamics with an emphasis on how to influence team development and effectiveness in decision making and collaboration. Students will have an opportunity to integrate class learning through applied team projects both within the class and beyond.
Prerequisites
Complete MGMT-537
This course explores the concepts and theories related to strategic and large system change. Special attention is given to the importance of engaging diverse stakeholders in change efforts and creating momentum for change at the system level to prevent typical resistance to change. Students will explore a variety of cases as well as their own organizational system as a context for putting course concepts into practice.
Prerequisites
Complete MGMT-537
In a world of continuous change, organizations strive to create cultures that blend and leverage the unique strengths of the organization and its people to meet challenges presented by such an environment.? This course explores the theory and practices that allow organizations to develop resilient cultures and mindsets to successfully meet dynamic environments.? Students will explore a variety of cases as well as their own organizational system as a context for putting course concepts into practice.
Prerequisites
Complete MGMT-537
In this capstone course, students complete an applied project to support the translation and application of core concepts and program competencies, including those in the embedded certificate. Students will learn about and use action research principles, as appropriate for their individual research topic, and reflect on research practices and results.
Prerequisites
Complete certificate requirements prior to begining capstone.
Explore the formal and informal communication strategies that help leaders influence beyond their formal authority. Topics will include how to have generative conversations, communication tactics for engaging stakeholders, cross cultural communications, managing conflict, building impactful narratives that engage and inspire, and the impact of technology on communication in today's organizations.
Examine how to cultivate meaningful relationships across an organizational system, from co-workers, to team members, to broader stakeholders. Attention will be given to how to leverage both formal and informal relationships to create positive impact. Topics include perceptions, motivation, emotional intelligence, building teams, and conflict management.
Explore how to accelerate organizational change by focusing on and leveraging the core strengths of individuals and the collective system. Learn how to challenge the traditional deficit mindset that pervades organizations, and how to use evidence-based appreciative practices to cultivate shared leadership across a system.
- Culture Builder. Advocates for the health and vitality of an organization to embody its mission, vision, and values.
- Innovative Change Leader. Using a strengths-based approach, fosters a learning environment which capitalizes on successes and failures.
- Inclusive Process Advisor. Orients groups and group work toward the achievement of shared goals by facilitating inclusive group processes that ensure all voices are heard.
- Self-Aware Change Leader. Makes well grounded, intentional choices about the use of self as an instrument to effect change.
- Strategic Systems Change Leader. Comfortably works within a whole system and advises on inclusive strategies for organizational change, transformation and alignment.
In addition to the above learning outcomes, with the leadership graduate certificate students will also demonstrate the following industry-specific skills, knowledge, and competencies:
- Apply diverse communication strategies, articulate technology's role in communication, and craft narratives to manage conflicts and engage stakeholders.
- Navigate and leverage organizational relationships by identifying interpersonal dynamics, evaluating their leadership roles within teams, and adopting behaviors that enhance both personal and group interactions
- Apply a strengths-based and collective approach to leadership, utilizing tools to identify and magnify organizational strengths, and design transformative processes that foster distributed leadership and drive change.
Champlain College Online's organizational development and human relations faculty, led by department chair Albert Orbinati, are expert practitioners in the field. Their industry expertise ensures that our curriculum is aligned with the needs of employers, and reflects the skills today’s human resources professionals need for success. Classes led by our seasoned experts will give you real-world insight into the field and create a rich community of career-focused learning.
Alumni of the Champlain College Online leadership graduate certificate program work in corporations, small businesses, government organizations, and nonprofits nationwide, including:
- Belcam, Inc.
- Cox Automotive
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Jay Peak, Inc.
- Naval Facilities Engineering Command
- Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Titles our alumni hold include:
- Business Owner
- Executive Officer
- Patrol Agent
- Section Chief, Program Analysis & Reporting
- Senior Production & Materials Planner
- Senior Software Engineer
Increasing your career mobility is at the center of everything we do. As an online master's degree student, you get free access to the Fast Start Formula Career Bundle for getting noticed and getting hired, taught by Jen Morris, a leading executive career coach that partners with us to support our students in their job search journeys.
Tuition & Costs
Graduate Tuition Fall '23 - Summer '25
$595
per credit
$1,785*
per course
$450**
PER CREDIT FOR ALUMNI WHO EARNED A DEGREE FROM CHAMPLAIN, ON-CAMPUS or online
$450
per credit military service members (family members see truED tuition)
$150
One-time graduation fee
*Based on a 3-credit course; cost will vary if course is a different number of credits
** Starting Summer 2024, not retroactive
See the graduate cost of attendance and fees here
Meet the Department Chair
Albert Orbinati, PhD
Department Chair and Assistant Professor, CCO Business Programs
Oversees
- Business (A.S., B.S., M.S., Certificates)
- Human Resource Management (B.S., Certificates)
- Leadership (M.S.)
- Management Information Systems (B.S.)
- Organization Development & Human Relations (M.S.)
About
Albert Orbinati, PhD, is Assistant Professor and Department Chair for the undergraduate and graduate business programs at Champlain College Online.
Prior to Champlain, Dr. Orbinati's roles have included Assistant Vice President of Online Learning and Continuing Education at Medaille University in Buffalo, NY; Dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Education at Russell Sage College in Albany, NY; and Director of Online and Non-Traditional Programs at Utica University in Utica, NY. In addition to his career in higher education, Albert is a member of the U.S. military, and currently holds the rank of Major in the Vermont Air National Guard.
Dr. Orbinati holds a B.A. in Urban Planning from Binghamton University, an M.A. in Adult Education from Central Michigan University, an M.B.A from Champlain College, and a Ph.D. in Adult Education from Capella University.
From the Blog
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Learn what you can expect from our online master's in organization development & human relations with the leadership graduate certificate.
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