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MS in Leadership
Request InformationBecome a more aware and ethical leader and move ahead in your field with a master’s in leadership.
Next start dates
- Course-Based Courses with a set schedule January 11, 2021
Transfer Credits
- Up to 15 Credits
Explore our Online MS in Leadership
The need for strong leadership across all sectors has never been greater, and the nature of leadership in the 21st century is changing.
Organizations are demanding authentic leaders who can generate trust, empower others, and find innovative answers to today’s problems and challenges.
When you earn a master’s in leadership online at Walden, you can gain the knowledge required to become a globally competent and ethical leader. This master’s degree in leadership is designed to help leaders build the necessary knowledge base and skills to meet the ever-evolving challenges of a complex world. The content and activities encompassed in the leadership degree program help prepare leaders to seek and find innovative answers to novel problems and challenges, deploy effective strategies to facilitate change and manage conflict, and inspire individuals to work together toward a shared vision for a better future. Moreover, Walden’s online master’s in leadership program helps prepare students to create positive change through effective leadership.
With four optional specializations, you can deepen your leadership and human resource management skills or design your own specialization to meet your professional goals.
Embedded Graduate-Level Certificate
Receive a graduate-level certificate after successfully completing the first four courses in the program, giving you a valuable credential while you work toward completing your MS in Leadership.
Program Savings
Speak with an Enrollment Specialist to learn about our current tuition savings.
Get Started NowGeneral Program
Evaluate your own leadership style as you develop the communication, problem-solving, and management skills to build effective teams and organizations.
Executive Leadership
Gain some of the critical skills that executives need to be successful in complex organizations.
Integrated Communication Skills for Leaders
Examine how to effectively use data and information to strengthen their position or provide sound evidence in support of their argument as they communicate their vision.
Leader Development
Gain strategies to help ensure that organizations thrive by effectively drawing on their human capital, which controls knowledge capital.
Self-Designed
Customize your studies by choosing nine credits from any of the MS in Leadership specialization courses.
Admission Requirements
Program Admission Considerations: A bachelor's degree or higher.
General Admission Requirements: Completed online application and transcripts. Please note that the materials you are required to submit may vary depending on the academic program to which you apply. More information for international applicants.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be prepared to:
- Apply leadership principles utilized to foster positive transformation of individuals and organizations.
- Effectively utilize communication strategies appropriate to intended audience.
- Assess relationship-building strategies used by leaders.
- Evaluate holistic problem solving strategies that leaders use in complex environments.
- Utilize effective self-reflection skills in order to continue a lifelong evaluation of personal leadership values, strengths, and goals.
- Appraise techniques leaders facilitate effective collaboration necessary to lead others toward a common goal.
- Evaluate appropriate social change leadership strategies.
Testimonials
If I can do it, so can you. I was almost 47 years old when I earned my master’s degree.
Michele Levandusky MS in Leadership Graduate
Leadership is something that I have wanted to pursue for a long time, but I did not really have the courage to do it until I found Walden.
Adrienne Adkins-Provost MS in Leadership Graduate
When I embarked on this journey in 2013, I was afraid. But making the decision to attend Walden was the best decision I could have made.
Scottie Adams MS in Leadership Graduate
Resource Articles
Transformational Leadership: How to Take Your Team to the Top
Resource Articles
Leadership Development: 5 Best Practices for Learning a New Skill
FAQ About Walden’s Online MS in Leardership Program
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Online education offers an accessible way for working professionals like you to pursue a degree and apply that learning immediately in your career. When you decide to earn your master’s in leadership from an online university, you can complete your coursework right from home. Plus, online master’s programs let you choose when in the day you attend class, providing you with the level of flexibility you need to complete your program while you continue to work full time. Walden’s MS in Leadership program is delivered through a convenient online learning platform that connects you with expert faculty, resources, and the support you need to be successful throughout your program and beyond. Plus, when you earn your degree from Walden, you’ll potentially be learning alongside students from all over the world, which can enhance your experience and expose you to varied leadership perspectives.
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Leadership development requires learning and practice. And while some companies offer leadership training, many of the best leaders go a step further and earn a business management degree from a top business school. While there are many types of business degrees available, one of the most valuable for up-and-coming leaders is an MS in Leadership. When you earn a master’s in leadership, you can build the knowledge base and skills you need to meet the ever-evolving challenges of a complex world.
And becoming a better leader doesn’t require you to put your job on hold. Thanks to online learning, you can earn your MS degree from the convenience of your home—all you need is internet access. You choose what time to attend class, so your work and school schedules won’t conflict.
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The most common leadership styles are:
- Transformational
Often considered the gold standard of leadership styles, transformational leadership focuses on inspiring your team members and providing them with the coaching they need to excel without a lot of supervision or micromanaging. These are particularly good qualities for a leader in any field that relies on innovation. - Transactional
Transactional leaders are all about incentives and disincentives. If your people perform well, you reward them (with bonuses, better offices, awards, etc.). If they perform poorly, you punish them (with the withholding of bonuses, demotions, privilege revocations, etc.). While many leaders, especially in the sales world, are transactional, this leadership style tends to be ineffective in less competitive settings. - Democratic
Leaders who are democratic prefer to lead by consensus. They often listen carefully to the ideas of team members and use that input when making decisions. If you have a talented team, a democratic leadership style can help ensure you don’t miss the best ideas.
- Transformational
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Here is a sampling of what Walden’s online master’s in leadership program has to offer:
- Dynamic Leadership
In this introductory master’s in leadership course, you’ll closely examine your current strengths and weaknesses, values, decision-making processes, and approaches to dealing with difficult problems. And you’ll explore leadership in turbulent times by examining how effective leaders think as well as how various management styles impact situations and relationships within an organization. - Building Organizational Culture: Leaders as Architects
Leaders must thrive within an organization’s culture. This MS in Leadership course will teach you how to recognize organizational culture, then harness it for positive change and organization-wide success. You’ll learn how to make conceptual sense of various cultural landscapes and determine how to best lead and build effective communities. - Communication for Leaders and Managers
Your ability to lead is closely tied to your ability to communicate. In this MS in Leadership core course, you’ll examine interpersonal and intercultural intersections and study the influence of cultural diversity on interpersonal communication. By examining theory, you’ll develop an approach to practice and hone individual strategies for communicating successfully in diverse interpersonal situations.
- Dynamic Leadership
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MS in Leadership programs often offer a variety of focus areas so that students can align their program with their interests and career goals. At Walden, students can choose the General Program or one of the following specializations:
- Executive Leadership
- Integrated Communication Skills for Leaders
- Leader Development
- Self-Designed
Questions about our MS in Leadership?
Fill out the form and we will contact you to provide information about furthering your education.
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