Master of Science in Organization Development

Administrative Office - San Francisco

(415) 422-2592

Program Director: Richard Stackman, Ph.D.

Assistant: Frank Gigliotti

Targeting organizational strategies, structures, cultures, processes, and interpersonal relations, organization development is the planned process of change for enhanced organizational effectiveness. The Master of Science in Organization Development (MSOD) program educates business professionals who serve as managers, supervisors, directors, project managers, administrators, and internal and external consultants. The MSOD program is geared toward professionals seeking to build expertise in addressing contemporary organizational challenges, leading organizational change initiatives, and increasing organizational effectiveness and resiliency.

The program, which is designed to be completed in 27 months, meets the standards recommended by the Division of Organizational 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 Mission

The mission of the M.S.O.D. program at the University of San Francisco is to prepare master's students in the greater San Francisco Bay Area to become skilled practitioners of organization development. The program follows a scholar-practitioner model in which students learn relevant theory, gain interdisciplinary knowledge, and develop practical skills in organizational diagnosis, intervention, and evaluation. In accordance with the Jesuit Catholic tradition, we emphasize academic rigor and ethical practice.

Program Objectives

The MSOD program helps students achieve the following objectives:

• Develop master's level competence in the design, facilitation, and implementation of organizational change
• Understand and apply concepts from the fields of organizational behavior, change leadership, group dynamics, and organization theory
• Communicate the impact of OD in a business context
• Use systematic techniques to gather and interpret organizational data
• Use theory to guide practice in diagnosing, designing, and implementing successful organizational change

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 Organizational Behavior, Diagnosis, and Change
• OD - 601 Organizational Analysis, Diagnosis, and Change
• OD - 611 Applied Organization Development Research and Statistics
• OD - 645 Fundamentals of Business Practice
• OD - 646 Group Process, Communication, and Facilitation
• OD - 680 Leadership for Organization Development
• OD - 633 Foundations of Organization Development Practice
• OD - 634 Organization Development Interventions
• OD - 682 Culminating Project in Organization Development

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 Graduate Student Regulations.