Complete at least 24 credits in the MS in Leadership, or MS in Digital Transformation Leadership program
Construct Effective Leadership Skills with Project Management Expertise
Learn to drive both organizational success and project efficiency by combining the strategic insights of a Master’s in Organizational Leadership with the specialized knowledge of a Graduate Certificate in Project Management. This program equips you with the leadership skills and project management expertise necessary to strategize, oversee, and execute projects successfully. You’ll learn to apply both agile and traditional methodologies, ensuring that you can lead projects to completion while meeting high-quality standards.
Lead Your Career Into the Future
- Strategic Leadership: Develop essential skills in strategic transformation and strengths-based leadership to guide organizations through complex challenges.
- Project Management Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of project management methodologies, including agile and traditional approaches, to enhance project success rates.
- Ethical Leadership: Lead with integrity while navigating the complexities of managing projects and teams in dynamic environments.
- Budgeting and Resource Integration: Learn to effectively manage project budgets and integrate resources for optimal cost management and value optimization.
- Practical Application: Apply project management theories to real-world business dilemmas, showcasing your ability to lead projects that deliver tangible results.
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?
Leadership and project management skills position you for roles where you can have a significant impact on both organizational strategy and project execution. This program prepares you for leadership positions that require both strategic oversight and project management expertise, such as project manager, operations director, or program manager.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of project management specialists is projected to grow 6% from 2022 to 2032. In May 2023, the median annual wage for project management specialists was $98,580.*
*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024
Top Jobs for MS in Organizational Leadership Graduates with Project Management Expertise
- Project Manager
- Operations Director
- Strategic Transformation Consultant
- Organizational Development Manager
- Leadership Development Manager
- Management Consultant
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
This course is designed to introduce a systematic process for planning, organizing and controlling projects. The course will present a practical methodology for completing projects more quickly with fewer problems. Student work will consist of readings, research, class special-topic presentations, group activities, a project management journal, and participation in a real world IT business project. Students will be encouraged to apply project-management techniques to solve existing real-world technology-related business problems.
In this course, students study Agile project management methodologies, in the context of software development, as a way of achieving Software Engineering quality goals. Students will learn what projects lend themselves to an agile approach, and how the agile approach relates to traditional project management, while learning the tools and techniques of Agile.
Prerequisites
Complete SDEV-520
In this course, students will explore project uses of accounting and financial information and the development and use of project cost accounts. An introduction to common cost engineering principles, financial systems, and conventions will enable students to develop and evaluate project budgets. In addition, students will learn techniques to integrate resources, schedules, and cost estimates throughout the life of the project to predict and manage cost performance.
Prerequisites
MBA 506, or evidence of comparable study at another accredited institution
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 online graduate certificate in project management will learn the following:
- Apply traditional project management methodologies to plan, organize, control, and complete projects while ensuring quality goals.
- Articulate strategic solutions to real-world business problems using Agile project management techniques.
- Evaluate financial information and cost accounts in project settings, develop and scrutinize project budgets, and integrate resources, schedules, and cost estimates to anticipate and manage cost performance efficiently.
Champlain College Online's business faculty, led by Department Chair Dr. Albert Orbinati, are expert practitioners in the field. Their industry expertise ensures that our business management curriculum is aligned with the needs of employers, and reflects the skills today’s business professionals need for success. Classes led by our seasoned experts will give you real-world insight into the business world, and create a rich community of career-focused learning.
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
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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