Complete at least 24 credits in the MS in Leadership, or MS in Digital Transformation Leadership program
Lead with Vision and Positive Change
Position yourself as a leader who can drive transformative and positive change within your organization by combining the strategic insights of a Master’s in Organizational Leadership with the specialized knowledge of a Graduate Certificate in Positive Organization Development. This program equips you with the leadership skills and philosophies needed to champion positive organizational development, ensuring your ability to foster a thriving and resilient workplace culture. You’ll learn to apply systems thinking and appreciative inquiry to address challenges and create sustainable, positive outcomes.
Plan for a Brighter Future
- Strategic Leadership: Develop essential skills in strategic transformation and strengths-based leadership to guide organizations through complex challenges.
- Positive Organizational Development Expertise: Gain a deep understanding of the philosophies, theories, and practices of positive organizational development to drive meaningful change.
- Ethical Leadership: Lead with integrity, fostering an organizational culture that prioritizes positive change and ethical practices.
- Systems Thinking: Approach organizational challenges with a systems-thinking mindset, creating holistic solutions that benefit the entire organization.
- Appreciative Inquiry: Learn to apply appreciative inquiry to identify and build upon organizational strengths, driving innovation and resilience.
- Holistic Approach: Combine leadership and positive organizational development competencies to become a key player in transforming your organization into a thriving, positive environment.
Note: All programs, undergraduate and graduate, must be submitted individually to the Department of Veterans Affairs for review and approval before students can utilize their G.I. Benefits to pay for them. This program is currently awaiting approval. To learn more about the process, visit the VA School Program Approval page on the VA website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your admission counselor or email us at onlineadmissions@champlain.edu
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Academic Excellence and Recognition
Regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education
Designated as a Military Friendly School for our commitment to the military community
Ranked among the best by Tech Guide for game design and computer science
Named the among the best schools with accelerated bachelor's degrees by Intelligent.com
How Can an MS in Organizational Leadership with a Graduate Certificate in Positive Organization Development Help Your Career?
The combination of leadership and positive organizational development skills positions you for roles where you can have a significant impact on organizational culture and effectiveness. This dual focus prepares you for leadership positions that require both strategic oversight and the ability to foster a positive, resilient workplace, such as organizational development manager, human resources director, or change management consultant.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of development managers is expected to grow 6% from 2022 to 2032. Graduates of this program are well-equipped to lead initiatives that drive positive change and build thriving organizational environments, potentially earning a median salary of $125,040.*
*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024
Top Jobs for MS in Organizational Leadership Graduates with Positive Organization Development Expertise
- Organizational Development Manager
- Human Resources Director
- Change Management Consultant
- Organizational Culture Consultant
- Leadership Development Manager
- Talent Development Specialist
Program Details
Learn more about Champlain's 100% online Master's in organizational leadership degree program.
Champlain's online organizational leadership courses encompass the top skills needed by today's leaders.
Explore concepts and frameworks for how to lead effectively in today's ever-changing world. Using an integrative reflective practice approach, students examine their own approach to leadership and create an initial plan for their own leadership development, as well as the leadership development opportunities for their organization.
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.
Explore organizational dynamics from a holistic viewpoint and how leading ethically and socially responsibly results in enhanced performance at the individual, group and organizational levels. Special focus will be given to exploring one's own ethical orientation, issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as how leading with a higher purpose can result in both accelerated organizational and broader social impact.
Students use a framework to explore the dynamics of human interaction within and between organizations. Throughout the course, they will use a perspective that a key function of management is to negotiate for resources and use that perspective to develop collaborative relationships with employees, vendors, suppliers, and interested communities.
Explore how to strategically lead continual organizational evolution and apply new business models needed for success in today's ever-changing world. Attention will be given to leading sustainable growth with an intraprenurial mindset, managing disruption, the implications of the digital transformation on organizations, and the power of leading with a purpose.
Explore how to uncover creative insights and innovative solutions for today's organizational challenges. Learn about the systematic process of design thinking from a human-centred approach, including how to cultivate creativity in others and create a culture of innovation.
This course culminates in an applied leadership capstone project to support the translation, application and synthesis of core concepts from previous courses to a final capstone project, through action research and reflection. The project will reflect a real-life situation and will include a description of the situation, stakeholder mapping, identification of key leadership opportunities and challenges, and conceptual basis for recommendations derived from data collection as well as prior learnings and content from the Leadership Program.
Prerequisites
Positive Organization Development (POD) is the intentional approach to change that emphasizes what elevates and inspires individuals and organizations. Whereas traditional approaches to change have focused on identifying and improving breakdowns and deficits within organizations, POD seeks to uncover positive deviance and assets and accelerate successes within a system. While not ignoring problems, students will explore how to create optimal organizational states by drawing upon the theory and science of Appreciative Inquiry, positive organizational scholarship, positive psychology, and sustainable enterprises.
Students will explore the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a specific philosophy and specific action-research framework for creating positive organizational change. Case studies will examine how AI has been applied in different sectors to create positive whole-system change. Students will be introduced to the practical tools and resources for engaging groups and organizations in AI, as well as applying the principles of AI to their own life.
Prerequisites
Take POD-500 or permission by program director
Employee wellbeing in organizations has been shown to impact not only individuals' mental health, but also their collaboration, engagement, productivity. Creating and sustaining a culture that supports the wellbeing of employees in today's continually disrupted and distributed workplace takes intentional design and commitment. This course is designed to provide students with not only the science behind wellbeing, but also practical tools and approaches for empowering organizations to cultivate an enduring culture of wellbeing.
Prerequisites
Take POD-500 or permission of Program Director.
Graduates of the MS in Organizational Leadership will develop the following competencies:
- Adaptive Leadership in a Complex Work Environment. Leverage advanced leadership theory, practice, and innovation to lead an organization’s strategic transformation.
- Ethical and Purpose-Driven Leadership. Lead with ethics first and a commitment to social responsibility.
- Communication, Relationship Building, and Team Cultivation. Communicate effectively, negotiate fairly, and build meaningful relationships to cultivate high-performing teams and foster inclusive organizational cultures.
- Innovation, Design Thinking, and Action-Oriented Leadership. Apply design thinking and innovation principles to lead the construction and implementation of strategic transformational organization change.
Graduates of the positive organization development online graduate certificate program will demonstrate the following industry-specific skills, knowledge, and competencies:
- Apply theories and methodologies of strength-based organization change including Appreciative Inquiry, positive psychology and positive organizational behavior to generate value within organizational systems.
- Develop strategic initiatives designed to create and sustain cultures of wellbeing within organizations.
- Design and implement Appreciative Inquiry-based interventions to create generative change from interpersonal to whole-system level within organizations.
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
Save Up To $200 Per Course
Save up to $200 per course when you take two courses per term in spring and summer 2025.
Talk to your advisor about this opportunity to accelerate your program where you could save money on tuition.
If you enroll in two courses during any term within the Spring or Summer semesters, you will receive a special tuition rate on your second course. This discount is for graduate students in good standing, enrolled in a degree program.
- For the standard tuition rate receive $200 off your second course of the term
- For the truEd/partnership rates receive $150 off your second course of the term
Important Note: This special tuition rate is based on course availability. If a second course isn’t available in your degree program for a given term, the rate cannot be applied.
This offer applies to each of the four terms during the 2025 Spring and Summer semesters—Spring 1, Spring 2, Summer 1, and Summer 2, up to four times during these semesters. This special tuition rate does not extend to any additional courses, such as a third course in a term.
The special tuition rate will be applied to the next semester as a credit after the entire semester is complete. If you do not plan to return for the next term, graduate from your program, or have other extenuating circumstances, the credit may be issued as a refund. This special tuition rate is available if you complete two courses in a term and have paid your tuition. For example, if you register for two courses but drop one, the rate will not be applied.
Upcoming Information Sessions
Meet the Program Director
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.
Why Champlain
Career Growth
"I had been wanting to take a management position in my organization, so the master's in executive leadership was a great fit for my goals. I was able to apply what I learned to my work, and it helped me shine. As soon as I finished the program, I was promoted!"
Jiri Cruz
Master's Degree in Executive Leadership
Management & Program Analyst
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