Enhance your credentials and prepare to become a next-level leader with our master’s in leadership program.
Become an Impactful Leader With Your Master’s in Leadership From Walden
Are you passionate about empowering people and organizations to succeed? Walden’s MS in Leadership program can help you take your leadership skills to the next level. Find out who you are as a leader and build on your strengths. Learn to resolve conflict and create a company culture that brings out the best in your workforce.
A master’s degree in leadership prepares students to manage and motivate others and find innovative answers to novel problems and challenges.
Learn to Empower Others
Discover your personal leadership style and use it to inspire individuals and teams toward a shared vision. Grow as a mentor.
Master Conflict Resolution
Learn how to effectively mediate and resolve interpersonal and team conflict and maintain a harmonious, productive workplace.
Program Details
Minimum Degree Requirements
- 45 qtr. credits
- Core courses (40 qtr. cr.)
- Integrative capstone (5 qtr. cr.)
View the COMPLETE CURRICULUM PLAN.
Time to completion will vary by student, depending on individual progress and credits transferred, if applicable. For a personalized estimate of the number of your transfer credits that Walden would accept, call an Enrollment Specialist at 844-487-5394.
Questions about the courses you will take?
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.
The progress you make now pays you back. You’ll receive your final courses tuition-free, depending on your program.
We believe you can achieve your goals—and we’re here to support you along your journey.
Request information to learn more about scholarships and financial aid.
*Tuition and fees are subject to change. See Tuition and Fees section and Scholarship Details for more information.
| Curriculum Component | Requirements | Cost | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | 45 quarter credit hours | $555 per quarter hour | $24,975 |
| Technology Fee | Per quarter | $170 | $850 |
| $25,825** | |||
| BELIEVE & ACHIEVE SCHOLARSHIP YOUR TUITION |
-$5,550 $20,275* |
||
*Represents minimum time to completion and Believe & Achieve Scholarship. Your actual total program time and costs may vary. Believe & Achieve Scholarship savings based on current tuition. See Scholarship Details for more information.
**Tuition reflects the minimum time to completion. Time to completion varies by student, depending on individual progress and credits transferred, if applicable. Tuition and time to complete may be reduced if transfer credits are accepted, or if you receive grants, scholarships, or other tuition reductions. Walden may accept up to 20 transfer credits. For a personalized estimate of the number of your transfer credits that Walden would accept, call an Enrollment Specialist at 844-487-5394.
Tuition and fees are subject to change. Books and materials are not included and may cost up to an additional $1,000 and $1,400.
Program Outcomes
A 21st Century Leadership Program for Today’s Workplace
As a student in our master’s in leadership program, you’ll put current business theory into practice with scenario-based studies that reflect real workplace challenges. Develop your expertise in conflict resolution, building organizational culture, and communicating with other managers and leaders. Reach your full potential as a leader by discovering how to inspire others to reach their own.
Career Outlook
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in management occupations is projected to grow 8% from 2021 to 2031, about as fast as the average of all occupations, and will result in about 883,900 new jobs.1 Employment growth is expected to be driven by the formation of new organizations and expansion of existing ones.
An MS in Leadership can prepare you to pursue career options such as:2
- Business / management analyst
- Management consultant
- Organizational development consultant
- Quality control analyst
- Corporate trainer
An MS in Leadership can prepare you to work in settings such as:
- Product warehousing /distributor
- Consulting
- Corporate headquarters
- Manufacturing
Career options may require additional experience, training, or other factors beyond the successful completion of this degree program.
Learning Outcomes
As a graduate of Walden's MS in Leadership program, you 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 to continue a lifelong evaluation of personal leadership values, strengths, and goals.
- Appraise techniques leaders use to facilitate effective collaboration necessary to lead others toward a common goal.
- Evaluate appropriate social change leadership strategies.
Meet Your Academic Team
Testimonials
FAQ About Walden’s Online MS in Leadership
Online education offers an accessible way for working professionals to pursue a degree and apply that learning immediately in their career. When you decide to earn your master’s in leadership online, you can complete your coursework wherever is convenient for you. 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 an online learning platform that connects you with expert faculty, resources, and the support you need to be successful throughout your program. Plus, when you earn your degree from Walden, you’ll be learning alongside a diverse group of students, potentially from all over the world. You’ll benefit from an enriched learning experience and be exposed to varied leadership perspectives.
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. 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.
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.
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.
1Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Management Occupations. National long-term projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions, do not guarantee actual job growth, and are subject to change.
2Source: O*Net Online. Summary Report for SOC Code 13-1111.00, Management Analysts.
At the graduate level, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and MS in Accounting are the only programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). The MS in Leadership is not accredited by the ACBSP. Please visit our accreditation page to see the list of Walden accreditations.