Degree Requirements
This 123-credit (minimum) degree program provides students with flexibility by offering accelerated hybrid classes at Penn State Berks in conjunction with traditional on-campus classes, as well as online and distance learning.
The program draws on many of the liberal arts disciplines to illuminate the work and employment issues that all leaders face in the twenty-first century. All students are expected to develop proficiency in research methodology, critical analysis, communication, and the application of theory. Students can expect to learn and practice skills that focus on understanding how organizations function, both formally and informally, and how individuals function within organizations.
Requirements for the major: 61-62 credits
Prescribed courses: 24 credits
- LHR 312: Employment Relations to Research Methods in Labor and Employment Relations (3 credits)
- OLEAD 100: Introduction to Leadership (3 credits)
- OLEAD 201: Organizational Theory and Functions for Leaders (3 credits)
- OLEAD 210: Evidence-Based Leadership (3 credits)
- OLEAD 464: Communication Skills for Leaders in Groups & Organizations (3 credits)
- OLEAD 465: Collective Decision Making (3 credits)
- PSYCH 100: Introductory Psychology (3 credits)
- PSYCH 484: Work Attitudes and Motivation (3 credits)
Additional courses: 15 credits
Choose one course from each of the following areas:
- Critical thinking
- IST 110: Information, People and Technology (3 credits)
- PHIL 10: Critical Thinking (3 credits)
- Diversity and inclusion
- LHR 136: Race, Gender and Employment (3 credits)
- OLEAD 220: Emotional, Social and Cultural Intelligences and the Implications for Leadership (3 credits)
- Organizational behavior
- LHR 202: Understanding Employee Behavior (3 credits)
- PSYCH 281: Introduction to Industrial-Organizational Psychology (3 credits)
- Conflict management
- CAS 404: Conflict Resolution & Negotiation (3 credits)
- LHR 437: Workplace Dispute Resolution (3 credits)
- Ethics
- LER 460: Human Resources Ethics (3 credits)
- PHIL 119: Ethical Leadership (3 credits)
Supporting Courses and Related Areas (select 18–19 credits) Select 18–19 credits from the following 400-level courses. Courses that are used in the Additional Courses category may not be double-counted to satisfy this requirement. Students should consult with an adviser when selecting courses. The courses listed here are offered at Penn State Berks in the organizational leadership degree program. You may choose additional supporting courses in areas of interest outside of the major listed below to personalize your academic experience.
- OLEAD 409: Leadership Development: A Life-Long Learning Perspective (3 credits)
- OLEAD 410: Leadership in a Global Context (3 credits)
- OLEAD 411: Women and Leadership ( 3 credits)
- OLEAD 495: OLEAD Internship (3 credits)
- OLEAD 496: Independent Study (3 credits)
Or any 400-level course from: ACCTG, AFAM, AFR, AGBM, AMST, ANTH, ASIA, BA, BBH, BLAW, CAS, CEDEV, COMM, CRIM, CRIMJ, ECON, EDUC, ENTR, FIN, FR, GER, HIST, HDFS, HLS, HPA, IB, IST, IT, LA, LAS, LAWSC, LHR, MATH, MGMT, MIS, MKTG, OLEAD, PHIL, PLSC, PSYCH, PUBPL, RUS, SCM, SOC, SPAN, STAT, WMNST
General education: 45 credits
Includes:
- first-year seminar
- intercultural and international competence
- writing across the curriculum
