Management, M.A.

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Managing and leading are universal skills regardless of the industry. Change is constant, and knowing how to navigate that change are attributes employers look for in their future leaders. The Avila University Master of Arts in Management degree offers students interested in being change agents a curriculum designed to develop their breadth of knowledge, their capacity to lead, and an opportunity to practice the craft of managing and leading. The curriculum builds on varying functions of the business environment with a distinct focus on the human factor. The 30-hour program is designed to blend management and leadership theories, communication practices, ethical aspects of leading, and a cross-functional understanding of how organizations work. Course topics include ethics, financial decision-making, communications, planned change, human resources, leadership, and influence. All students will participate in an applied research/capstone project and develop a learning portfolio.

Required Courses (21 hours)

Students are required to take the following courses and choose one of the concentrations:

Change Management Concentration (9 hours)

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Concentration (9 hours)

Interdisciplinary Concentrations (9 hours)

Students may choose any 9 credit hours from the following graduate Business concentrations to finalize their degree.

Executive Leadership
Marketing
Project Management
Strategic Human Resources
Change Management
Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging
Workforce Instructional Design

Marketing Concentration (9 hours)

Workplace Instructional Design Concentration (9 hours)

Master of Arts Degree in Management Policies

Admissions Requirements

The admission requirements for the Management 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 Master of Arts degree in Management requires 30 credit hours of graduate coursework that students must complete within seven years, maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in order to graduate.

Student Status within the Management 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

Newly admitted Management students may be classified as “probationary” if any portion of their entrance requirements is less than satisfactory. The probationary student must maintain a 3.0 GPA for the first six credit hours of graduate coursework in order to remain 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 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 Management program at Avila University believe that students graduating with a Master of Arts 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

The Master of Arts degree in Management students will be expected to meet the following educational outcomes:

Integrate management theory and practice to meet organizational goals.
Effectively communicate and collaborate with others.
Develop skills of leadership.
Present and implement solutions to address business problems.
Distinguish ethical aspects of managerial decisions.
Identify and secure resources necessary to solve business problems.

Assessment

Summative outcomes for the Master of Arts degree in Management are assessed in the Applied Research capstone course (MG 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 in the area. 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. Formative outcomes are assessed in individual courses. After three years, faculty review both formative and summative data results for MA degree in Management outcomes at once.

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