Master of Science in Organization Development

Administrative Office - San Francisco

(415) 422-2592

Program Director: Richard W. Stackman, Ph.D.

Senior Associate Director: Bonnie F. Shaw, M.A.

Assistant: Frank Gigliotti

The Master of Science in Organization Development (MSOD) program will prepare you to assume a leadership role in the transformation of organizations. Targeting organizational strategies, structures, cultures, processes, and interpersonal relations, organization development is the planned process of change for enhanced organizational effectiveness.

The MSOD curriculum is designed for working professionals-who serve as managers, supervisors, directors, project managers, administrators, and internal and external consultants-seeking to build expertise in addressing contemporary organizational challenges, leading organizational change initiatives, and increasing organizational effectiveness and resiliency. Students complete the program in 27 months.

The program meets the standards recommended by the Division of Organization Development and Change of the Academy of Management. In accordance with the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, the program emphasizes academic rigor and ethical practice, and it follows a scholar-practitioner model in which students learn relevant theory, gain interdisciplinary knowledge, and develop practical skills in organizational assessment, diagnosis, and intervention.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Develop master's-level competence in applying theory to practice creatively in diagnosing, designing, implementing, and evaluating organizational change interventions at the individual, group, and organization levels.
• Apply, integrate, synthesize, and evaluate established and emerging theories and concepts from the fields of organizational behavior, organization theory, change leadership, group dynamics, and communication.
• Employ a balanced view of organizations to direct systematic techniques for gathering, interpreting, analyzing, and disseminating data related to organizational change initiatives.
• Embrace the humanistic foundations of organization development by upholding uncompromising ethics and developing as an authentic (self-as-instrument) agent of change.
• Utilize knowledge associated with business fundamentals to demonstrate the impact of organization development for change that builds organizational development for change that builds organizational capacity and resiliency.

Program Requirements

Students are required to complete 36 units (9 courses). Students demonstrate their understanding of theory and practice through the completion of a culminating project, which requires application of theory and diagnostic tools to an actual organization. The MSOD curriculum includes all degree requirements.

• OD - 600 Organization Dynamics and Contexts
• OD - 601 Change and Organization Development
• OD - 645 Organizational Metrics and Outcomes
• OD - 646 Group Process, Communication, and Facilitation
• OD - 611 Applied OD Research and Statistics
• OD - 680 Leadership for Organization Development
• OD - 633 Foundations of OD Practice
• OD - 634 OD Interventions
• OD - 682 Culminating Project in OD

Please see Organization Development Course Descriptions.

Degree Requirements

• Students advance to candidacy by achieving a grade point average of 3.0 or higher in the first 12 units of the program.
• Students must complete all degree coursework with a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA

Please see .