The job-embedded 36-credit Masters of Arts in Leadership helps individuals in organizations develop a leadership mindset and the complex skill sets needed for leaders in communities and high-performance organizations engaged in today’s fast-changing contexts of change. The participant’s program can be adapted to varying personal, organizational, and/or regional contexts.
The overall goal of the MA Leadership program is to develop leaders with a strong sense of personal mission, the ability to work in teams, and experience in leading change that can provide better services and professional solutions in varied local, regional and global situations.
The job-embedded design is created with an official Andrews University partner organization to attract a cohort of professionals who want to work together to develop competencies useful for their organization or region. Competencies are developed and documented in a digital or hardcopy portfolio, and presented to a faculty panel.
Program Delivery
This program is offered both as an interactive online asynchronous program and also as a job-embedded design wich includes face-to-face delivery. The online courses typically follow fixed enrollment with semester start and end dates. Participants interact with each other and the instructors throughout the courses. They are also part of a learning group which meets regularly for mutual support and accountability, and to engage in significant sharing and evaluation of learning related to competency development. The program also requires on-campus attendance of a two-week orientation during the summer of their first year of coursework (LEAD 630 and LEAD600). In subsequent years, the online participants attend the on-campus annual Leadership Conference and Roundtable (LEAD 600, typically 3 days). Additionally, participants will have the option of attending other planned learning events designed to support them in specific areas of their program (e.g., research boot camps, innovation workshops, writing retreats, etc.) organized in connection with the Annual Conference. Students are invited to come to the Berrien Springs campus for graduation.
Participants in the job-embedded option usually work in a cohort model with face-to-face or online learning sessions. They work to develop and demonstrate 5-10 leadership competencies. They are required to:
- Create a Leadership and Learning Plan (LLP).
- Attend all the required program modules.
- Participate regularly and actively in a Learning Group.
- Maintain employment throughout the program.
- Complete the development and presentation of a portfolio based on the participant’s LLP, documenting satisfactory completion of the required competencies.
Off-Campus Locations
See approved off-campus location(s) for current programming. To discuss new partnerships, contact the Department of Leadership (leader@andrews.edu or 269-471- 6580).
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