MA OCL draft
Master of arts
- Online multimodal program designed for maximum flexibility
- Live, interactive group classes and individual independent learning
- In-person, face-to-face classes on campus in Kalamazoo
- Prior learning assessments to earn college credit
Program description
The Master of Arts in Organizational Change Leadership (OCL) is designed to address one of the most critical and sought after competencies required of leaders and managers in today’s organizations— the ability to lead effective change.
Designed for a diverse assemblage of individuals working in a variety of organizations and industry sectors, this fully online competency-grounded program combines research, theory and practice to build capacities to effectively lead and develop individuals, groups, and organizations in an age of globalization. With a Western Michigan University degree in organizational change leadership, you will join other forward-thinking professionals who are setting new standards of excellence in change leadership. Connect with a group of professionals working in a variety of organizations who are studying and practicing methods that make the change process run smoother, smarter, faster and more efficiently.
Why organizational change leadership at Western Michigan University?
If you want to be a catalyst of change in your workplace and advance your career or to take the next in launching your own consulting practice, OCL is for you.
- All courses are designed for full-time working professionals and are offered fully online. Students meet online for synchronous live interactive sessions with their colleagues and instructors two times per month per class at 6pm EST, with remaining coursework completed asynchronously online.
- We equip you with tools and best practices for leading and developing individuals, groups and organizations in an age of globalization.
- We train you to conduct organizational consulting engagements using established diagnostic models and current theory and research.
- We educate you in the knowledge areas of organizational change, organizational leadership, organizational culture, organizational learning, group dynamics and globalization.
- Upon completion of the program, you will be able to execute the role of the research-based practitioner—one who applies theory and research to organizational challenges using rigorous data collection and analysis protocols.
Our Vision: To be known for our global emphasis in developing ethical professionals who lead effective change to increase the capacities of their employees and organizations.
Our Mission: To develop forward-thinking practitioners who have the ability to apply both scholarly and practice-based knowledge to lead effective change in diverse contexts, including domestic and cross-cultural settings. Designed for career-centered individuals, our program emphasizes the development of change leadership skills that can be immediately applied to the workplace. We ground our teaching in the most current research, theory and practice, and we recruit top professionals and academicians from around the world to engage with our students.
"We focus on the development of marketable skills—skills wanted by employers in a vast array of industries." Dr. David SzablaGet the student story
Contact information
Dr. David B. Szabla – Associate Professor
Scholarship information
Robert O. Brinkerhoff Endowed Scholarship for organizational change leadership
- Must be pursuing a master's degree in organizational change leadership and be a full-time graduate student.
- Recipient must have a minimum 3.0 GPA at the time of application.
- Special consideration given to single parents and adult students with experience living or working in diverse environments.
- Scholarship is renewable for a period of up to one year provided student remains a full-time or part-time graduate student in organizational learning and performance and has satisfactory academic progress.