Course Listing

• MLC 640 Leadership Theories and Research

  This course explores the field of leadership through classic readings and research on such topics as the history of leadership, leader disposition, motivation, charismatic leadership, transformational leadership, and servant leadership. Emphasis will be placed on critiquing contemporary leadership research that addresses current leadership challenges for individuals, groups, and organizations.

• MLC 641 Developing Leader Effectiveness

  Are leaders born or made? For the purposes of this course, the answer is “yes” – leaders are born and made. To this end, this course presents research and techniques that can be used to leverage one’s own inherent leadership capabilities. Individuals will learn to lead through developing readiness and self-awareness. Leadership development topics such as overcoming personal hardships, self-assessment and awareness, and giving and receiving feedback will be discussed in terms of formal leader development programs.

• MLC 642 Leadership and Team Dynamics

  This course presents theories and models for practicing effective leadership at the team level by identifying stages of teams development and roles in a team structure, how to avoid group think, avoid barriers to the team communication, and determine the source of team conflict barriers. Topics such as group formation, cohesion and development, structure and power will be examined. Emphasis will be placed on evaluating the effects of individual and organizational influences on team processes and performance.

• MLC 643 Social Psychology of Leadership

  This course examines several major social-psychological theories and experiments that have informed the study of leadership. Classic experiments on obedience, conformity, social influence, and impression management will be critiqued to analyze how situations influence leader and follower behavior. Students will also learn how attributions, social perception, attitudes, personality, and social behavior affect leader- follower interactions.

• MLC 644 Leadership and Organizational Performance

  Leaders are often viewed as the driving forces of performance in organizations. Throughout this course, students will review the various roles of leaders and how effective leadership impacts performance at different levels of the organization. Students will conduct an assessment and critique of leadership and organizational performance metrics.

• MLC 660 Strategic Leadership

  This course analyzes principles of strategy for leading organizations. Students will conduct an assessment and analysis of existing strategic initiatives, leadership development issues, and strategic positioning of the organization. Emphasis is placed on alignment of strategic resources with organizational goals.

• MLC 661 Leading Change in Organizations

  Purposeful change is part of an organization's overall strategic plan. In this course, students analyze the roles of leaders in relation to implementing and facilitating changes within their organizations with a focus on motivating individuals through mentoring and coaching.

• MLC 680 Applied Leadership Project

  This is the culminating course in the MLC program. Students will design, implement, and present an applied project or thesis that focuses on a real-life issue in leadership. Prerequisite – 27 credit hours completed in the MLC program.