Top 10 Online Master's in Organizational Leadership

Welcome to our ranking of the top online master’s in organizational leadership.

Are you looking to enhance your experience with a useful and flexible graduate degree? Do you want a degree that will provide you with the foundational leadership qualities necessary to successfully lead your organization? Maybe you’re looking to successfully see your organization through a time of change. Or you’re looking to improve on your company’s practices as a whole. The online master’s in organizational leadership can help you achieve these goals.

Featured Programs

The master’s in organizational leadership online focuses on leading an organization’s people through challenges the company might be facing. Those challenges include:

internal change
restructuring
policy changes
just improving the way departments and employees work together

Online master’s of organizational leadership degrees can be taken at a pace that conforms to your own needs. They allowing you to stay with your current organization while taking classes at a school across the country. One of the greatest benefits of this is that you can begin implementing your new knowledge as you acquire it. This means your company, and career, can begin to benefit immediately from your development.

At the end of the article, we’ll address issues such as what makes the master of organizational leadership different from an MBA. Is one better than the other? We’ll also provide details on the ranking methodology we used to come to our conclusions.

#1. California Baptist University

Website

Score: 28

The online master’s in organizational leadership at California Baptist can be completed in as few as 12 months. Students take courses like:

foundations of organizational leadership
conflict resolution and negotiations
organizational communication
leadership across cultures
leading organizational change

Each student will complete an organizational leadership capstone innovation project.

Tuition: $19,000
Completion Time: 12 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: #32 Regional West
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: #86

#2. Colorado Christian University

Website

Score: 25

Full-time students who assume an accelerated schedule can complete this program in as few as 14 months. Part-time students can take up to four years. The program features courses like:

human resources management
legal issues in management
constitutional foundations of organizational leadership
values aligned leadership
organizational systems and change management
relations management: negotiations and conflict resolution.

Tuition: $20,988
Completion Time: 14 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: #96 Regional West
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: #86

#3. Johns Hopkins University

Website

Score: 24

Looking to earn a master’s of organizational leadership online with a focus on education ? You can to do so from one of the most prestigious universities in the world. This 36-credit degree features courses like:

leading and managing change
crisis mitigation
project management: leading projects to successful outcomes.

Tuition: $32,400
Completion Time: 18 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: #10 National
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: N/A

#4. Creighton University

Website

Score: 24

Creighton offers the 36-credit online master’s in organizational leadership. It also has dual degree programs that pair this degree with either an MBA or a master of science in negotiation and conflict resolution. The program offers optional concentrations in either business leadership or healthcare leadership. Students can also choose to earn graduate certificates in:

healthcare ethics
healthcare management
lifestyle medicine
negotiation and conflict resolution.

Tuition: $31,320
Completion Time: 24 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: #1 Regional Midwest
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: #20

#5. Regent University

Website
Score: 24

The online master of organizational leadership at Regent can be completed in just 12 months if you choose the fast-track option. With eight start-times per year, you are never too far from starting the program. The 33-credit program features concentrations like:

global business leadership and communication
healthcare management
human resource management
not-for-profit management
organizational development coaching.

Tuition: $21,450
Completion Time: 12 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: #201 National
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: #91

#6. Union Institute and University

Website

Score: 21

Union Institute and University’s MS in organizational leadership online offers three start-dates per year. Students in take courses like:

leading complex organizations: an entrepreneurial perspective
professional ethics: organizational integrity in an age of globalization
managing talent: engaging a diverse distributed workforce
strategic analysis and operations in a global economy.

Tuition: $21,600
Completion Time: 12 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: N/A
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: #85

#7. Olivet Nazarene University

Website

Score: 17

The courses for Olivet Nazarene University’s online master’s in organizational leadership start every eight weeks. The 36-credit program features courses like:

coaching, mentoring, and resolving conflicts
financial environments of organizations
organizational culture and ethics
performance metrics
power, politics, and leadership
understanding and creating effective organizations.

Tuition: $23,760
Completion Time: 24-months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: #53 Regional Midwest
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: #71

#8. University of Colorado at Boulder

Website

Score: 16

The online master’s in organizational leadership offers five tracks in the areas of:

strategic leadership
human resources
leading innovation
organizational communication
general organizational leadership

The 30-credit program offers each course in a 7-week accelerated format, including courses like:

human resources law
strategic planning in organizations
leadership and intrapreneurship.

Tuition: $23,850
Completion Time: 19 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: #96 National
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: N/A

#9. Granite State College

Website

Score: 16

Granite State College’s online master’s in leadership degree requires 30 credits for completion. All of which must be taken at Granite State. Students take courses like:

ethical decision-making
maximizing your organization’s potential
emergence of a strategic leader
change management and communication
cultivating your leadership capabilities.

Full-Program Tuition: $17,250
Completion Time: 18 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: N/A
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: #94

#10. Northern Arizona University

Website

Score: 15

Northern Arizona University’s online master of organizational leadership degree offers concentrations in:

leadership in criminal justice administration
organizational leadership
project management

Courses offered include:

project cost estimating
project scheduling and control
management information systems
leadership and human capital
counterterrorism and intelligence.

Tuition: $17,250
Completion Time: 24 Months
U.S. News Overall Ranking: #230-301 National
U.S. News Graduate Online Business Ranking: #78

Master of organizational leadership online or MBA online: Which is better?

The ubiquitous MBA tends to focus on the mechanics of running a business. The master of organizational leadership tends to focus on getting the most out of any company’s most essential resource–its people.

The MBA graduate will identify the business-science based changes necessary to increase a company’s efficiency and effectiveness.

The master of organizational leadership, on the other hand, understands how to help the implement these changes. This is done by providing the employees with the:

support
education
interdepartmental communication channels to accomplish the company’s goals

Is one better than the other? The answer is that companies benefit from having people operating from each of these perspectives. As far as which one is better for you personally, that all depends on where your own priorities lie.

Will the MOL online be relevant to my career?

One of the great things about the master of organizational leadership is that it’s focused on the management of people in relation to other people and the organization itself. It’s more flexible in a lot of ways than other degrees. There are fundamental differences between companies and corporations and non-profit organizations.

Among non-profits there are huge differences between those built around raising and distributing funds and those providing specific services. Government organizations are different again from both companies and charities.

The business science covered in an MBA may not translate fully between these radically different organizations. But the strong leadership skills provided by an online MOL are geared toward managing the one thing all these organizations have in common: the people. The MOL online provides you with a level of flexibility that doesn’t exist in many graduate degrees.

And it’s not because its focus is broad in a jack-of-all-trades, master of none sort of way. Instead, the flexibility is derived from a strong set of skills developed to help you manage the common denominator shared by all organizations.

If I’m on a job hunt, how do I sell myself with an online master of organizational leadership?

You emphasize that what you bring to the company is the ability to get the most out of employees. People respond to leaders. They want their managers to help them be effective at their job and feel appreciated. People who like their job and feel valued provide better service to customers. If management doesn’t treat employees as valued people, the employees won’t treat the customer that way. And if they don’t see you treating your employees as valuable people, they won’t treat each other as valuable people.

If the organization you are applying to doesn’t hire you because they don’t agree with these fundamental things, then you definitely don’t want to work there anyway.

What are the benefits of part-time vs. full-time?

You can earn the degree quickly if you go full-time. Most online master of organizational leadership degrees require between 30 and 36 credits. That’s pretty easy to wrap up with a year of full-time study with no break in the summer. Needless to say, earning the degree fast will put you in a good position to take advantage of promotion opportunities.

Earning the degree part-time can take between two and four years. This may seem like a long time, but you will have more room in your life for other commitments, including:

work
friends
spouse
kids
your hobbies

Additionally, while you may not have the credential immediately, the skills you learn will be immediately applicable to your professional context. These will all improve as you learn the fundamentals of good leadership:

your performance
the way you relate to and work with your co-workers
your contributions to the company

The better you understand what your company needs from you and your co-workers, the better you will be able to deliver that. And things like that get noticed. So there is a good chance your performance and effectiveness alone will improve enough as you study to catch the eye of your company’s leadership.

And in that case, advancement might happen at a similar rate, even though your efforts in earning the degree are spread out over a longer period of time.

Ranking Methodology for Online Master’s in Organizational Leadership Degree Programs

Overall University Ranking

We accorded points to universities based on their U.S. News ranking as national or regional universities as follows.

2 points for being nationally ranked at all. Additional points as follows.

141-150= 1 Point
131-140= 2 Points
121-130= 3 Points
111-120= 4 Points
101-110= 5 Points
91-100= 6 Points
81-90= 7 Points
71-80= 8 Points
61-70= 9 Points
51-60= 10 Points
41-50= 11 Points
31-40= 12 Points
21-30= 13 Points
11-20= 14 Points
1-10= 15 Points

The point value we assign to regional rankings uses the same formula, but each result is divided by two.

Best Online Graduate Business Programs Ranking

It’s important to note that this ranking category is meant to rank online graduate business programs besides MBA programs. This category is a measure of the quality of a school’s online business programs. Points were assigned as follows.

Completion Time

Programs that allow students to complete their degree quickly tend to have a lot of flexibility. Having the option to choose to complete the degree at a faster pace represents significant value. We awarded points for completion time as follows.

24 months= 0 Points
Between 18 and 24 Months= 5 Points
Between 12 and 18 Months= 10 Points

Affordability

Online programs are inherently flexible and so measuring tuition costs on a per-year basis doesn’t make a lot of sense. Some degrees might be completed in one year. Others might take two or more. So we decided to award points based on the full tuition of the program. Cheaper programs are awarded more points in $5,000 increments from our ceiling of $40,000.

Under $40,000= 1 Point
Under $35,000= 2 Points
Under $30,000= 3 Points
Under $25,000= 4 Points
Under $20,000= 5 Points
Under $15,000= 6 Points
Under $10,000= 7 Points

By GCD Staff
August 2019

This concludes our ranking of the top 10 online master’s in organizational leadership.

Find Your Degree!