Organizational Development, M.S.

Required Courses (21 hours)

Students are required to take the following courses:

• OD 625 - Action Research (3)
• OD 629 - Multicultural Organizational Development (3)
• OD 630 - Applications of Psychology in Organizations (3)
• OD 640 - Organizational Development & Planned Change (3)
• OD 660 - Organizational Analysis & Strategy (3)
• OD 691 - Consulting Skills (3)
• OD 695 - Applied Research Project (2-3)

Organizational Development Concentrations (9 hours)

Students must choose one of the following concentrations or 9-hours of non-required OD courses to finalize their degree.

Change Management Concentration

Choose three of the following:

• MG 620 - Change Dynamics (3)
• MG 621 - Change Leader (3)
• MG 623 - Evidence Based Decisions (3)
• MG 624 - Diversity & Inclusion in Change Management (3)

Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Concentration

Choose three of the following:

• OD 631 - Diversity Awareness (3)
• OD 632 - Diversity Planning & Goal Setting (3)
• OD 633 - Developing Inclusion Training (3)
• OD 634 - Practices for Diverse Recruitment & Retention (3)

Executive Leadership Concentration

Choose three of the following:

• OD 650 - Strategic Communication (3)
• OD 655 - Innovation & Creativity (3)
• OD 675 - Team Development & Facilitation (3)
• OD 678 - Conflict Management Systems (3)

Leadership Coaching Concentration

Choose three of the following:

• OD 642 - Introduction to Leadership Coaching (3)
• OD 643 - Personal Coaching: Self as Coach (3)
• OD 644 - Leadership Coaching Skills (3)
• OD 645 - Leadership Coaching as an OD Intervention (3)

Psychology Concentration

• OD 650 - Strategic Communication (3)
• OD 675 - Team Development & Facilitation (3)

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• Choose one of the following:

• PY 613 - Ethical Leadership & Decision Making (3)
• PY 614 - Workplace Multiculturalism (3)
• PY 616 - Motivation in the Workplace (3)

Strategic Human Resources Concentration

Choose three of the following:

• OD 662 - Strategic HR Management (3)
• OD 664 - Workforce Planning & Employment (3)
• OD 667 - Total Rewards & Risk Management (3)
• OD 668 - Employee & Labor Relations (3)
• OD 679 - Training & Development (3)

Workplace Instructional Design Concentration

Choose three of the following:

• ID 600 - Introduction to Instructional Design & Technology (3)
• ID 611 - Trends in Instructional Design & Technology (3)
• ID 621 - Applied Instructional Design (3)
• ID 631 - Organizational Learning (3)

Organizational Development Policies

Admissions Requirements

The admission requirements for the Organizational Development degree can be found on the Admissions  page. Students must also meet the following:

• Have a grade point average of 2.75 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate or graduate level coursework.  Students with a GPA less than 2.75 or at least 2.50 will be admitted provisionally. Students admitted provisionally to the Organizational Development program must achieve a 3.0 GPA on the first nine credits in their program of study. 
• The admissions committee will consider all applications to evaluate any additional prerequisite courses needed.
• Submit official transcript/s of the bachelor’s degree as well as any graduate level coursework.

Degree Requirements

The Masters of Science degree in Organizational Development degree requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate coursework that students must complete within seven years, maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 in order to graduate.

Student Status within the Graduate Program

Student in Good Standing

• Has successfully met all entrance requirements.
• Has maintained an overall GPA of 3.0 or better with no grade below “C” (only two courses with “C” grades are allowed; students may retake a class with a grade below a “C” once).

Probationary Status

• If the student is missing the statistics course requirement, the student must take a stats course within the first two semesters in the program.
• A student may change status from “Student in Good Standing” to “Student on Probation” if any of the following criteria are met: overall GPA falls below 3.0 or student receives a grade of “C” or lower in any course.
• Students on probation due to GPA have six credit hours to return their GPA to 3.0 or above to regain “Good Standing”. Failure to raise the GPA may lead to dismissal from the program.

Applied Research or Internship Project

The members of the graduate faculty of the Organizational Development program at Avila University believe that students graduating with a Master of Science degree should have a sound grasp of psychological theory and the methodologies that provide the foundation for effective organization interventions. Our graduate students are given an option regarding how they would like to articulate a theory-to-action in their capstone experience. Students may choose to write a thesis, which could address either a theoretical or applied research issue, or they may invest in an applied internship project at an organization of their choice. The course instructor must approve all projects prior to enrollment in the course.

Professional Conduct

Students in the program are expected to conduct themselves as professionals-in-training both inside and outside the classroom. We encourage and expect students to treat others (including classmates and instructors) with sensitivity and dignity. Impairment, incompetence, ethical misconduct, and/or problematic behavior may be identified and addressed in a variety of ways and by a variety of persons, including but not limited to students, faculty, supervisors, clients, and/or members of the community. If student behaviors or attitudes are egregious, he or she may be dismissed immediately. If student behaviors or attitudes are less dire, they will be addressed in a confidential meeting with the student’s faculty advisor and/or Dean of the College of Professional Schools who will make a plan for remediation in an articulated time frame. At the end of the stated period, during which time the students would be placed on probation, he or she could return to Student in Good Standing status, continue on probation, or be dismissed depending upon the ability to successfully complete the corrective action. Students may appeal this process at any time.

Outcomes

In addition to the general degree requirements stated earlier in this university catalog, Master of Science degree in Organizational Development students will be expected to meet the following educational outcomes:

1. Apply OD interventions at individual, group, and organizational levels to influence change in organizations. 
2. Demonstrate an understanding of how to use each phase of the Action Research Model. 
3. Utilize OD principles, theories, and concepts in organization design and transformation. 
4. Influence organizations to high performance by applying appropriate interventions. 
5. Incorporate OD principles and values when working with clients. 

Assessment

Summative outcomes for the Master of Science degree in Organizational Development (OD) are assessed in the Applied Research Project capstone course (OD 695 ) in which students apply the concepts, theories, and research from earlier classes in the program to a real-life project with an organization or business. Students present the results of their projects to the clients from that organization in both oral and written format. The clients for the project will assess the project based upon the above criteria. In addition, professionals in the management field and faculty in the program will assess the written portion of the final reports. The summative assessment occurs yearly.