2025-2026 Graduate Catalog

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Master of Arts in Leadership (MAL) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) Dual Degree

Overview

Requirements

The dual MAL/MBA program will fulfill the requirements for both a Master of Arts in Leadership and Master of Business Administration degrees through strategically selected elective credits. Students will complete 54 credits via this dual degree plan, as opposed to 66 credits if taking both degrees individually.

The MAL degree consists of:

  • Completing 9 core courses (27 credit hours)
  • Completing 3 track courses (9 credit hours, 6 credits of which overlap with an elective MBA micro-credential area)

The MBA degree consists of:

  • Completing 6 core courses (18 credit hours)
  • Completing 2 micro-credential areas (12 credit hours)
    • One MBA micro-credential (Organizational Leadership) is met through required courses from the MAL core (6 credit hours)
    • The second MBA micro-credential is an elective option with a leadership focus (6 credit hours, which overlap with MAL track courses)

MAL Core Courses

LDRS 500Foundations of Leadership

3
LDRS 504Leadership Communication, Conflict Resolution and Negotiation

3
LDRS 511Initiating Critical Inquiry

3
LDRS 512Organizational Systems and Change Management

3
LDRS 513Ethical Discernment for Leaders

3
LDRS 515Leading in a Global Context

3
LDRS 516Organizational Culture: Mission, People, and Purpose

3
LDRS 633Followership: Coaching & Mentoring

3
LDRS 699Leadership Project/Practicum

3
Total Credit Hours:27

LDRS 500 and LDRS 513 fulfill the MBA Organizational Leadership micro-credential.

MBA Core Courses

BUSN 510Human Resource Management

3
BUSN 640Innovation Ecosystems

3
BUSN 645Applied Corporate Finance

3
ECON 650Economic Analysis

3
BUSN 505Advanced Business Research Methods

3
BUSN 699Capstone: Strategy Formulation and Implementation

3
Total Credit Hours:18

Choose one track:

Total Credit Hours:9

Healthcare Management

LDRS 50921st Century Health Care Systems and Policy

3
LDRS 621Leading in Interprofessional Healthcare Teams

3
LDRS 622Change and Innovation in Healthcare

3

Sports Management

LDRS 510Sports Marketing, Promotion and Communication

3
LDRS 631Sports Fundraising and Financial Concepts

3
LDRS 632Current Trends in Sports Leadership

3

Total Credit Hours: 54

Admission

Applicants must have:

  • 3.0 GPA from a nationally accredited university
  • Transcript from a nationally accredited university
  • Personal essay
  • 2 letters of reference

Plan of Study

Outcomes

MAL Outcomes

  • Theoretical Application: Students will apply theoretical insights and solutions to real-world leadership and organizational problems.
  • Research-based Application: Students will analyze, develop, and implement research-based applications for leadership and organizations.
  • Ethical Discernment: Students will analyze, evaluate, and apply ethical discernment to real-world leadership and organizational problems.
  • Professional Development: Students will develop professional plans for leadership growth and learning for themselves and their organizations.


MBA Outcomes

  • Students analyze the organization as a whole and describe and explain the systems concept.
  • Students apply quality tools to solve a specific quality problem.
  • Students analyze an organization on strategic management as it pertains to the long-term success of the organization.
  • Students utilize innovative thinking and problem-solving to analyze an organization.