https://education.pacific.edu/education/graduate-programs
Programs Offered
Master of Arts in Leadership
Admissions Requirement
- A cumulative GPA of 2.65 or better in all postsecondary coursework or the last 60 units of college or post-baccalaureate work
- A Bachelor's degree from an accredited university
- A complete application portfolio to Graduate Admissions: personal statement(s), following program guidelines, official transcripts from all college-level coursework including official verification of the awarding of degrees, resume, and 1-2 completed references forms
- Faculty interview, if required.
- Evidence of qualities and character in keeping with the philosophy and standards of this University and Benerd College
Credentialing and Licensing
Credential programs may be combined with the master’s degree or the doctorate in education. The MA in Education, Teaching concentration, or Special Education concentration, offers programs for earning a Multiple Subject, Single Subject (in selected content areas), and Education Specialist (Mild to Moderate Support Needs and Extensive Support Needs) credentials. The Counseling Psychology Concentration includes an optional track (beyond the 32 unit minimum) to become eligible for the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC).
Pacific Undergraduate to Master's Pathway
Pacific undergraduates who have a GPA of 3.0 can apply up to 6 units of coursework in the Master of Arts in Leadership as part of a pathway degree program. Successful completion of coursework will double count toward the undergraduate degree and graduate degree requirements; credits will not be applied to the graduate transcript until the requirements of the undergraduate degree are met.
Students in the undergraduate Organizational Leadership or Healthcare Administration and Leadership programs can transfer their leadership capstone into the master’s program. Students in other majors can complete up to two LEAD courses as an undergraduate, as part of elective coursework. See the “Program” tab for more information.
Master of Arts in Leadership
The Master of Arts (MA) in Leadership requires a minimum of 32 units, with a Pacific cumulative grade point average of 3.0. With the approval of their advisor and the Master of Arts in Leadership program lead students can take up to 6 units in the Master of Arts in Leadership, including LEAD 200 (cross-listed with ORGL 199) as an undergraduate or prior to master's enrollment as part of Pacific Pathways and transfer the units into this program. Approved courses can be counted toward both the master's and the bachelor's degree.
Students can transfer up to 9 post-baccalaureate units into the MA in Leadership. Transferrable coursework must meet the following criteria:
- Courses must qualify for graduate or first-professional credit, with no distinction made between a completed or uncompleted degree
- A grade of B or better (or its equivalent)
- Completed less than 7 years ago
- Determined by the program lead and approved by the Dean/Dean Designee, and the Registrar
Unit Requirement: 32
1. Leadership Core
| LEAD 200 | Exercising Leadership | 3 |
2. Inquiry Core
| LEAD 210 | Leadership and Inquiry | 3 |
3. Capstone
| Students will be required to complete a capstone experience, which includes an integrative portfolio and field experience. This experience is completed as part of one of the LEAD 296 courses (3 units). | ||
4. Remaining Units
Of the required 32 units, 23 units must be from Benerd College. Cohorts will participate in
the following course requirements:
| LEAD 261 | Design Thinking for Social Impact | 3 |
| LEAD 260 | How to Change the World | 3 |
| LEAD 220 | Creativity and Ideation | 3 |
| LEAD 210 | Leadership and Inquiry | 3 |
| LEAD 200 | Exercising Leadership | 3 |
| LEAD 256 | Change in Complex Systems | 3 |
| LEAD 221 | Facilitation of Projects and Initiatives | 3 |
| LEAD 252 | Coaching for Organizational Contexts | 2 |
| LEAD 201 | The Ethical Leader | 3 |
| LEAD 296L | Integrative Capstone in Innovative Leadership | 2-4 |
| LEAD 262 | Understanding Social Impact & Change | 3 |
Leadership Courses
LEAD 200. Exercising Leadership. 3 Units.
Provides knowledge and skills to lead, motivate, and coordinate diverse individuals toward attaining shared goals. Includes study of leadership in organizational and community-based contexts, with an emphasis on development of personal leadership competencies.
LEAD 201. The Ethical Leader. 3 Units.
Enables students to understand ethics, leadership, and leadership ethics and how they relate to our personal and professional lives. This course attempts to raise awareness surrounding these legal, moral and ethical challenges, create a sensitivity to the implications of leadership decisions so you can make the most effective decision possible, equip you with tools and strategies for managing your own and others' ethical behavior, and encourage you to critically evaluate the decisions of others.
LEAD 202. Leadership Fundamentals. 3 Units.
Learn and apply functions, responsibilities and relationships of being a leader. Student progress through a series of modules aimed at developing leadership competence, self-reflection, and expertise in specific applications of leadership.
LEAD 210. Leadership and Inquiry. 3 Units.
Engages students in cycles of inquiry to gain deeper understanding of the issues that impact their organization and how that informs their leadership identity. Through these inquiry cycles, students reflect on how actions and decisions influence an organization and its people. Students use these reflective practices to build self-awareness about their on-going leadership growth and development.
LEAD 215. Evaluation for Organizational Effectiveness. 3 Units.
Provides knowledge, skills, and experience to facilitate collaborative, data-informed evaluation. Focused on increasing the effectiveness of programs, groups, and organizations.
LEAD 220. Creativity and Ideation. 3 Units.
Engages students in creativity and ideation. Students develop creativity skills and ideation processes to create ideas that will be launched later in the program.
LEAD 221. Facilitation of Projects and Initiatives. 3 Units.
Provides knowledge and skills related to group facilitation with focus on facilitating projects and initiatives of all types. Emphasis will be on facilitative leadership, tools, techniques, processes, and knowledge for helping teams succeed.
LEAD 229. Human Resource Functions. 3 Units.
Addresses the administration of strategic human resources (HR) with a focus on talent management and development. Topics include competencies for human resources, tactical and strategic approaches to human resources, organizational roles, motivation theory and practice, integrated talent management, generations in the workplace, the coach approach to performance management, and succession management.
LEAD 251. Human-Centered Learning Design. 3 Units.
This course provides understanding and application in the design, development, and evaluation of learning experiences in various sectors, with a particular emphasis on creating innovative and immersive learning experiences.
LEAD 252. Coaching for Organizational Contexts. 2 Units.
Development of skills and knowledge to partner with others in their professional development, with the aim of helping people reach their goals and enhance performance through exploration of ideas and dialogue. Focus on theory, research and applied techniques to facilitate an evidence-based coaching process.
LEAD 255. Design Thinking. 3 Units.
Provides knowledge, skills, and application to facilitate human-centered inquiry and design processes for organizational problem solving.
LEAD 256. Change in Complex Systems. 3 Units.
Immerses students in innovation and change methodologies while working with clients in transforming teams, groups, and organizations.
LEAD 258. Organizational Consulting. 3 Units.
Provides knowledge and skills necessary to facilitate and support the implementation of change in teams, groups, and organizations. Emphasis on both theoretical and practical aspects of consulting skills, particularly the consultant-client helping relationship.
LEAD 259. Organizational Learning. 3 Units.
Utilization of principles and theory to understand how organizations learn, how they change their levels of organizational knowledge, and how they foster cultures of growth and renewal. Focus on theory and practice-based processes for creating, retaining, and transferring knowledge within an organization, as well understanding organizations within a systems context.
LEAD 260. How to Change the World. 3 Units.
Examines ideas and concepts around society, socialization and what it means to be social change agents. Focuses on the development, continuity and changes in social institutions, culture and society and their impact on how we fit into society, how we view ourselves as individuals and how we create change.
LEAD 261. Design Thinking for Social Impact. 3 Units.
Design thinking is an iterative problem-solving process of discovery, ideation, and prototyping. The process can be used to address all kinds of creative challenges. This course will focus on equipping students with design thinking skills, as they apply to leadership and social impact issues.
LEAD 262. Understanding Social Impact & Change. 3 Units.
Provides a foundation of the concepts, themes, vocabulary, and theories related to social impact and social change. Gives students opportunities to explore various community and professional practices to expand awareness of social impact issues and the role of power, privilege, and identity in their understanding.
LEAD 263. Global Social Change. 3 Units.
Explores issues related to globalization, the changing relationships related to culture and societies, and the impact on us individuals. Examines power, privilege, activism, resistance, and global social justice movements to deepen our understanding of social relations at local, national, and international levels.
LEAD 265. Reflective Practice for Leadership & Social Impact. 3 Units.
Engages students in reflective practice to understand the impact their identity has on their leadership skills. Students will develop critical perspectives related to leadership and social impact.
LEAD 295. Special Topics in Leadership. 1-4 Units.
n/a.
LEAD 296L. Integrative Capstone in Innovative Leadership. 2-4 Units.
Provides the culminating experience of the program, including leadership-related fieldwork project to apply innovation skills through integration of research, theory, and practice.
LEAD 296S. Integrative Capstone for Social Impact. 2-4 Units.
Provides the culminating experience of the program, including a leadership-related fieldwork project to apply skills and demonstrate an understanding of social impact through the integration of research, theory, and practice.
LEAD 297. Graduate Research in Leadership. 2-4 Units.
n/a.
Program Purpose: To Develop Creative, Caring, Transformative Leaders
- Lead in an ethical and socially responsible manner.
- Utilize inquiry-based approaches to fostering change in one’s community, organization, and beyond.
- Identify, understand, and utilize cultural differences and perspectives of all interest holders to enact sustainable change across systems.
- Develop and integrate a critically reflective lens to lead the development of people, performance, and organizations.
