Organizational Development and Change (MA)

This program is offered by the George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology. It is available online and at the St. Louis main campus.

Program Description

The purpose of the MA in organizational development and change is to provide graduates with the organizational development theories, competencies, evaluation methods and development opportunities to effectively lead change as a manager, internal change leader or external consultant. 

Learning Outcomes

• Students will possess an advanced understanding of the field of organizational development and change and be able to apply the principles and methods to complex organizational situations.
• Students will demonstrate evidence of competency development in all of the major skill sets of of organizational development and change. 
• Students will create and possess a personal and professional development plan to guide ongoing achievement in the field of organizational development and change.

Program Curriculum

The 36 credit hours required for the master of arts (MA) must include the following courses for a major in organizational development and change:

• ORDV 5000 Practicing Organizational Development (3 hours)
• ORDV 5100 Change Leader Self-Mastery (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5200 Organizational Development Consulting Practices (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5300 Data-Driven Approaches to Organizational Developments (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5400 Designing, Building, and Leading Effective Teams (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5450 Managing Communication During Change (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5600 Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5700 Designing and Facilitating Organizational Development Interventions (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5800 Achieving Breakthrough Results (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5900 Organizational Development in Emerging Situations (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 5950 Organizational Development in a Global Context (3 hours)
  
• ORDV 6000 Capstone Project in Organizational Development (3 hours)
  

Admission

See the Admission section of this catalog for general admission requirements. Students interested in applying must submit their application online at www.webster.edu/apply. Transcripts should be sent from your institution electronically to transcripts@webster.edu. If this service is not available, send transcripts to:

Office of Admission
Webster University
470 E. Lockwood Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63119 

Additional Requirements

Applicants to the organizational development and change (MA) must have completed a business or business-related undergraduate degree meeting the following criteria:

• University/college is regionally accredited
• The business school must have a business-related accreditation (e.g. AACSB, ACBSP, IACBE, etc.)

Applicants who do not meet these qualifications must do one of the following:

• Successfully complete BUSN 5000.
  • Note: BUSN 5000 will count as an elective in the program. This option is only available for students who are required to take BUSN 5000.
• Complete all of the following undergraduate courses (or their equivalents) with a grade of C- or better (17 credit hours total, not including individual course prerequisites:
  • MNGT 2100 Management Theory and Practices
  • ACCT 2010 Financial Accounting
  • BUSN 2750 Introduction to Statistics
  • ECON 2000 Survey of Economics
  • MNGT 2500 Marketing
  • BUSN 3500 Business and Global Issues
  • BUSN 4500 Ethical Issues in Business

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are admitted to their graduate program upon completion of all admission requirements. Students are advanced to candidacy status after successfully completing 12 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. In specialized programs, courses required as prerequisites to the program do not count toward the 12 credit hours required for advancement.