MA Leadership & Organization Development (LIOS Residential)

Seattle Residential Masters (LIOS) in Leadership & Organization Development

Increase your leadership effectiveness, your ability to facilitate change, and your own emotional intelligence through our residential Master of Arts degree program in Organizational Systems, with a specialization in Leadership & Organization Development (LOD). Academically and personally rigorous, the LOD program is designed to build confidence and resilience by encouraging you to practice your learning inside and outside of class in the crucible of lived experience. This legacy LIOS program is available only at our Seattle campus.

As a graduate, you may establish your own successful practice as a consultant, trainer, or executive coach; serve as an organization development practitioner within organizations; or establish yourself as a leader or senior manager in a variety of fields. The LOD degree is widely sought after by both consulting firms and businesses.

Professional Success through “Signature Presence” and Theoretical/Practical Expertise

The LOD program is informed by the premise that the “signature presence” of a change agent, combined with theoretical and practical expertise, is an educational strategy for success. It may also further your career as a leader or manager in any type of organizational system, whether in the for-profit, non-profit, or public sectors.

Educational Theory

The LOD curriculum emphasizes three overlapping components of learning theory [1], in common with our residential program in counseling: applied behavioral science, systems theory, and cutting-edge models of leadership and organizational development. During the first year, the emphasis is on self-development and inner reflection within the context of becoming an organizational leader/change agent. In the second-year, Marketplace portion of the curriculum, students act as leaders of organizations and create actual marketable products and services.

Graduate Projects

Students engage in two projects that provide hands-on experience with managing change through the consulting process. Working as a member of a consulting team and then later as an individual consultant, students engage with real clients to create a healthier, more vital, and better functioning system.