The Master of Arts in Organization Development and Performance program prepares students to begin or enhance their careers as internal or external consultants to clients who want to improve their organizations through the performance of people. The program emphasizes the application of theory and research to real-world problems and opportunities. Students learn to diagnose needs; recommend, design, develop, and implement interventions; and assess organizational processes and outcomes, using performance-based approaches and strategies.
Students pursuing the M.A. in Organization Development and Performance degree will choose one of two tracks: the Organization Development track or the Human Performance Systems track.
The Organization Development (OD) track provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations, either as an internal or external practitioner. The curriculum emphasizes effective strategies, models, and approaches within the framework of theories and research of Organization Development. In particular, the curriculum develops students' competencies in each of the following phases of the OD process:
The Human Performance Systems (HPS) track prepares students for a career in the evolving field of human performance improvement and technology. This practical, skill-building program enables students to:
Note: The School of Business Administration strongly recommends that candidates have at least two years of work experience before applying.
The degree requires 36 graduate credits–21 credits of track requirements and an additional 15 credit hours of electives. All courses are 3 credits. If a student can demonstrate a depth of prior experience and/or education in a required content area, electives may be substituted for required courses. Students may transfer up to 12 relevant graduate credits from other accredited, graduate-level programs. No transfer credit is given for internship experience at the graduate level.
OD Track
HPS 505 Research and Evaluation
HRM 590 Practicum
MGT 504 Management of Organizational Behavior
MGT 515 Principles and Practices of Group Performance
OD 521 Organization Diagnosis and Change
OD 522 Organization Development Intervention and Implementation
OD 523 Organization Development Issues and Trends
Electives (15 credit hours)
Suggested Electives
Any graduate-level course may be used as an elective if it is aligned with the student's career goals and is approved by the student's academic advisor.
OD 524 Consulting Skills
OD 526 Advanced Facilitation Skills
FIN 500 Introduction to Financial Management
HPS 501 Training Adults: Behavior Modeling
HPS 502 Performance Analysis
HPS 503 Instructional Design and Development
HPS 504 Delivery Systems Design
HRM 530 Foundations of Human Resource Management
HRM 533 Strategic Human Resource Management Planning
MGT 502 Entrepreneurship, Creativity, and Organization
MGT 503 Organizational Communication
MGT 506 Customer Relationship Management
MGT 507 Leadership Theory and Development Practices
MGT 551 Negotiation Skills and Strategies
MGT 560 Ethical Issues in Business and Society
MSC 501 Business Statistics
MSC 545 Project Management
HPS Track
HRM 530 Foundations of Human Resource Management
HPS 502 Performance Analysis
HPS 503 Instructional Design and Development
HPS 505 Research and Evaluation
HPS 506 Performance Improvement Strategies or OD 522 Organization Development Intervention and Implementation
OD 524 Consulting Skills
HRM 590 Practicum
Electives (15 credit hours)
Suggested Electives
Any graduate-level course may be used as an elective if it is aligned with the student's career goals and is approved by the student's academic advisor.
HPS 501 Training Adults: Behavior Modeling
HPS 504 Delivery System Design
HPS 508 International Human Resource Issues
HPS 509 Advanced Instructional Design and Development
HPS 512 Organizational Career Management
HPS 540 Project
FIN 500 Introduction to Financial Management
HRM 531 Labor Relations
HRM 533 Strategic Human Resource Management Planning
HRM 534 Compensation
HRM 536 Employee Benefits
HRM 537 Human Resource Information Systems
HRM 538 Human Resource Selection and Appraisal
LA 535 Personnel Law
MGT 502 Entrepreneurship, Creativity, and Organization
MGT 503 Organizational Communication
MGT 504 Management of Organizational Behavior
MGT 506 Customer Relationship Management
MGT 507 Leadership Theory and Development Practices
MGT 510 Functional Processes for Re-engineering Organizations
MGT 515 Principles and Practices of Group Performance
MGT 551 Negotiation Skills and Strategies
MGT 560 Ethical Issues in Business and Society
MSC 501 Business Statistics
MSC 545 Project Management
OD 521 Organization Diagnosis and Change
OD 523 Organization Development Issues and Trends
OD 526 Advanced Facilitation Skills