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Organizational Leadership
If you aspire to hold a leadership role in education, corporate, government or community organizations, the Organizational Leadership specialization may be for you. In this specialization, you will develop the knowledge and tools to forge alliances, build confidence, resolve conflict, promote ethics and inspire a shared vision. As an Organizational Leadership graduate, you will be prepared to pursue a variety of positions in higher education, K-12 education, corporate training and development organizations, not for profit organizations, or in government training and development. This specialization can also prepare you to pursue doctoral studies in Organizational Leadership at NCU.
General Degree Requirements
The EdS Program may be completed in 33 credits. An Academic Advisor or Enrollment Specialist evaluates each student individually and works with the student to create an academically sound Learning Plan based on prior academics and their professional goals.
Completion Period for Doctoral Degrees
Northcentral University allows 5 years to complete the EdS degree.
Certification and Licensing
The School of Education serves educational leaders by providing online graduate studies in education to reach worldwide populations. The EdS program is designed to reach national and international markets and does not purport to provide licensure or certification in any particular state or country.
Education Specialist (EdS) Degree Requirements
Individuals with a previously completed master’s degree will meet the basis of admission to the Education Specialist Program. The programs includes foundations, scholarly writing and specialization courses, as well as a final capstone. Students must pass all courses with a Grade Point Average of 3.00 (B) or higher.
Course Length
All courses are 8 weeks in length.
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
EDU7002-8 | Educational Research Methodology | The purpose of this course is to enable students to gain a holistic understanding of the research process and examine the most common research designs used in educational research. In this course, students are prepared to make thoughtful and wise choices about their dissertation research project or capstone project through the exploration of different research design options. |
Specialization Course 1 | ||
EDU7003-8 | Statistics I | This course provides an introductory exploration of statistics for the graduate student. It includes instruction on the calculation, use, and interpretation of descriptive statistics, and introduces inferential statistical analysis. The emphasis of this course is on providing a working knowledge of basic statistical concepts to help the student understand statistical methodology as used in education, and also more generally, developing a working knowledge of statistical usage in everyday life. |
Specialization Course 2 | ||
Specialization Course 3 | ||
Specialization Course 4 | ||
Specialization Course 5 | ||
Specialization Course 6 |
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
EDU7101-8 | Foundations for Graduate Study in Education (This course will be taken as the first course) | This course is an orientation to Northcentral University and to the essential skills needed to pursue a doctoral degree in Education. Doctoral level skills, such as academic integrity, time management, effective use of the Northcentral Library, comprehending complex scholarly texts and research articles, and APA form and style in professional communication are also introduced. Students will complete the course with a better understanding of personal goals, strengths, and challenges, and a roadmap to navigate their way to completion of their educational aspirations. |
EDU7001-8 | Advanced Scholarly Writing | The purpose of this course is to build advanced skills identifying and obtaining high quality sources through online library searches. In addition, the course addresses advanced writing and APA formatting skills, and it prepares students to be critically reflective consumers of research reports. |
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
OL7001 / OL7001-8 | Conflict Resolution and Mediation | Dealing with conflict is an inevitable part of any leader's role in any type of organization. Timely and relevant, this course examines conflict management processes and skills with emphasis on interaction patterns, interpersonal relationships, and communication skills. Students will examine the nature of conflict - its origins, sources, and types - as well as the concepts and skills of proactive intervention, conflict resolution and utilizing various conflict resolution strategies in organizational settings. Issues dealing with diversity and ethical issues in multiple contexts, fostering creativity in problem solving and process design, and strategy and skills for successful mediation will be examined. Theory, structure, and practice of collaborative negotiation and mediated negotiations and application of the skills used to prevent and resolve conflict are emphasized. |
OL7002 / OL7002-8 | Building Organizational Capacity | There are numerous definitions for the phrase "capacity building" within educational and leadership literature. For the purpose of this Doctoral level course, the term "building organizational capacity" will be used to describe a parallel universe, where both the students’ capacity and the organization's capacity must be developed to achieve organizational goals. Students will analyze their own organization to assess internal and external capacity, reviewing all tangible and intangible portions of the organization to understand their individual and collective impact on achieving maximum effectiveness and productivity. Simultaneously, students will also critically evaluate their own role within the organization as it relates to building capacity. |
OL7003 / OL7003-8 | Leadership for Excellence | This Doctoral level course will benefit students who understand that striving for leadership excellence is a life journey. It is predicated upon studying, practicing, and developing leadership skills and competencies. This process involves an intensive examination of personal and organizational leadership abilities and capacities. Students will deepen their philosophy of leadership which serves as the foundation for applying the knowledge and skill sets acquired through their specialization and degree program. The development and implementation of leadership concepts, applications, and frameworks to drive leadership performance for excellence are highlighted. The continued and increasingly successful application of the knowledge, tools, skill sets, and perspectives that have been learned will also be emphasized. |
OL7004 / OL7004-8 | Theory and Practice of Organizational Leadership | Leadership theory spans academic disciplines and draws as much from artistry of relationships as it does from writings and reflections of leadership as an applied science. Students of leadership gain as much from the experiences of others, as they do from studies of attributes of successful leaders and organizations. Through coursework, course readings, case analyses and personal reflection, students will examine in-depth leadership theories and their applications in current organizational settings. This course incorporates the student's experiences and observations regarding leadership from their personal and professional experiences and current work setting. |
OL7005 / OL7005-8 | Ethical Leadership | Leadership is not an event, but is a process that takes time. In this course, students gain a deep understanding of the complexity of such moral dilemmas through critical analysis and application of ethical principles. Both hypothetical and real ethical scenarios and decisions will be critically considered and discussed with the focus on the student building practical decision making skills in the organizational environment and the understanding the criteria by which the soundness of those decisions are to be judged. Interpersonal dynamics operating within an organizational structure and the systemic nature of such structures is examined. Students examine their own ethical profile, and how it impacts their communication with individuals and groups. This process includes oral, print and electronic communications. |
OL7007 / OL7007-8 | Leader as Coach | As organizations are increasingly required to be innovative, leaders are called upon to use a broader repertoire of skills to maximize internal human potential. Coaching skills and the theories from which they derive draw upon such interdisciplinary fields as organizational development, humanistic psychology and dialogue and systems theory. Through coursework, course readings, case analyses, field experience and personal reflection, Doctoral students will examine in-depth coaching principles and theories along with their applications in leadership roles. This course incorporates the student's experiences and observations regarding leadership from both personal and professional environments. |
OL7008 / OL7008-8 | Executive Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations | This course provides leaders in not for profit organizations with an understanding of the pivotal role they play in the organization and how to approach, manage and lead strategic decision-making, including strategic planning, board development and governance, ethics, and community relations. |
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
ED7053-8 | Education Specialist Capstone Project | ED7053 is the culmination of the EdS program. In this course students will have the opportunity to demonstrate the synthesis of knowledge in the Education Specialist program through the design of a real-world problem solving project. The project should be based on research and/ or fieldwork and must demonstrate an approach to addressing the problem through application of theory. Additionally, within this course students will complete a reflective self-assessment of their learning throughout the program. |
At Northcentral University, we pride ourselves in being completely transparent when it comes to tuition and fees. We have adopted an all-inclusive tuition model that gives you the cost of your Education Specialist (EdS) tuition and fees in one flat program rate*. The only additional cost above your EdS program rate is books. Learn more about the EdS costs below:
- Per credit cost: $820
- Per 3 credit course cost: $2,461
- Program cost: $27,071
- Average book cost per course: $150
- Application Fee: $0
- Technology Fee: $0
- Registration Fee: $0
Click here to learn more about payment and financing options.
*Program rates are subject to change and generally increase at the start of each calendar year.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about our students, it’s that they are motivated and ambitious—but they are also busy! At Northcentral University, we’ve designed our education experience to work with you, not against you, so you can achieve your academic goals without sacrificing the quality, flexibility and support you need to be successful.
- Regionally Accredited
- No Physical Residency Requirements
- One-to-One Teaching
- 100% Doctoral Faculty
- Flexibility of Online Learning
- University Resources
To learn more, request information or call 1-866-776-0331 or start a live chat to speak with an enrollment advisor today. We offer new courses every Monday of the year so you can get started when it’s best for you.
