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Program Description
The degree draws on many of the disciplines of the liberal arts, as well as business and science, to illuminate the issues that all leaders face regarding work and employment issues in the 21st Century, as well as in other aspects of organizational life more generally. Students select courses in crime, law, and justice, political science, sociology, labor and employment relations, communication arts and sciences, management, and psychology. The goal is to provide a broad education that introduces methods of analysis used in the disciplines of the liberal arts and prepares students to understand the complex social, cultural, and organizational issues that they will confront in leadership positions in the modern world.
What is Organizational Leadership?
A rapidly growing global environment creates demand for professionals who are schooled in leadership. Employers prefer individuals who exhibit strengths in problem solving, teamwork, critical thinking, decision-making, listening, and conflict management. Courses in psychology, sociology, communication, philosophy, management, and labor and employment relations can prepare you for a change in career or help you to advance into leadership positions. The Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership includes a curriculum immersed in the social sciences, humanities, and language, in addition to prescribed organizational leadership courses. It can help you explore the role of leadership from a relationship-based perspective.
You Might Like This Program If...
You are interested in an online program that offers convenience to study around your schedule with world-class faculty, to expand your employment opportunities or obtain a degree for professional advancement. An education in organizational leadership can provide you with a broad perspective to prepare for today's complex social, cultural, and professional issues that you are likely to encounter in positions of leadership. The unique student OLEAD club offers professional development opportunities and community building.
Direct Admission to the Major
Incoming first-year students who meet the program admission requirements are admitted directly into the major. Admission restrictions may apply for change-of-major and/or change-of-campus students.
For more information about the admission process for this major, please send a request to the college, campus, or program contact (listed in the Contact tab).
Degree Requirements
For the Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership, a minimum of 123 credits is required:
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| General Education | 45 |
| Electives | 21-24 |
| Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements | 24 |
| Requirements for the Major | 36-37 |
0-6 of the 45 credits for General Education are included in the Requirements for the Major. This includes: 0-6 credits of GS; 0-3 credits of GH.
0-12 of the 24 credits for Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements are included in Electives if foreign language proficiency is demonstrated by examination.
General Education
Connecting career and curiosity, the General Education curriculum provides the opportunity for students to acquire transferable skills necessary to be successful in the future and to thrive while living in interconnected contexts. General Education aids students in developing intellectual curiosity, a strengthened ability to think, and a deeper sense of aesthetic appreciation. These are requirements for all baccalaureate students and are often partially incorporated into the requirements of a program. For additional information, see the General Education Requirements section of the Bulletin and consult your academic adviser.
The keystone symbol 
appears next to the title of any course that is designated as a General Education course. Program requirements may also satisfy General Education requirements and vary for each program.
Foundations (grade of C or better is required.)
- Quantification (GQ): 6 credits
- Writing and Speaking (GWS): 9 credits
Knowledge Domains
- Arts (GA): 6 credits
- Health and Wellness (GHW): 3 credits
- Humanities (GH): 6 credits
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS): 6 credits
- Natural Sciences (GN): 9 credits
Integrative Studies (may also complete a Knowledge Domain requirement)
- Inter-Domain or Approved Linked Courses: 6 credits
University Degree Requirements
First Year Engagement
All students enrolled in a college or the Division of Undergraduate Studies at University Park, and the World Campus are required to take 1 to 3 credits of the First-Year Seminar, as specified by their college First-Year Engagement Plan.
Other Penn State colleges and campuses may require the First-Year Seminar; colleges and campuses that do not require a First-Year Seminar provide students with a first-year engagement experience.
First-year baccalaureate students entering Penn State should consult their academic adviser for these requirements.
Cultures Requirement
6 credits are required and may satisfy other requirements
- United States Cultures: 3 credits
- International Cultures: 3 credits
Writing Across the Curriculum
3 credits required from the college of graduation and likely prescribed as part of major requirements.
Total Minimum Credits
A minimum of 120 degree credits must be earned for a baccalaureate degree. The requirements for some programs may exceed 120 credits. Students should consult with their college or department adviser for information on specific credit requirements.
Quality of Work
Candidates must complete the degree requirements for their major and earn at least a 2.00 grade-point average for all courses completed within their degree program.
Limitations on Source and Time for Credit Acquisition
The college dean or campus chancellor and program faculty may require up to 24 credits of course work in the major to be taken at the location or in the college or program where the degree is earned. Credit used toward degree programs may need to be earned from a particular source or within time constraints (see Senate Policy 83-80). For more information, check the Suggested Academic Plan for your intended program.
B.A. Degree Requirements
Foreign Language (0-12 credits): Student must attain 12th credit level of proficiency in one foreign language. See the Placement Policy for Penn State Foreign Language Courses.
B.A. Fields (9 credits): Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arts, Foreign Languages, Natural Sciences, Quantification (may not be taken in the area of the student's primary major; foreign language credits in this category must be in a second foreign language or beyond the 12th credit level of proficiency in the first language)
Other Cultures (0-3 credits): Select 3 credits from approved list. Students may count courses in this category in order to meet other major, minor, elective, or General Education requirements, except for the General Education US/IL requirement.
Requirements for the Major
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the major. To graduate, a student enrolled in the major must earn at least a C grade in each course designated by the major as a C-required course, as specified by Senate Policy 82-44.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| OLEAD 100 | Introduction to Leadership | 3 |
| OLEAD 409 | Leadership Development: A Life-Long Learning Perspective | 3 |
| OLEAD 464 | Communication Skills for Leaders in Groups and Organizations | 3 |
| OLEAD 465 | Collective Decision Making | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select one course from each area: | 12-13 | |
| a) Conflict Management | ||
| Conflict Resolution and Negotiation | ||
or LER 437 | ||
| b) Research Methods | ||
LER 312 | ||
or SOC 207 | Research Methods in Sociology | |
| c) Motivation | ||
| Leadership and Motivation | ||
or PSYCH 484 | Work Attitudes and Motivation | |
| d) Ethics | ||
LER 460 | ||
or PHIL 119 | Ethical Leadership | |
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas | ||
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select 12 credits of the following with at least 6 credits at the 400-level: 1 | 12 | |
| Conflict Resolution and Negotiation | ||
| Organizational Communication Theory and Research | ||
| Studies in Public Address | ||
| Introduction to Criminal Justice | ||
| Introduction to Law | ||
| Seminar, Criminal Justice Agency Administration | ||
LER 100 | ||
| Race, Gender, and Employment | ||
LER 201 | ||
LER 312 | ||
LER 400 | ||
| Advanced Collective Bargaining and Contract Administration | ||
LER 435 | ||
LER 437 | ||
LER 458Y | ||
LER 460 | ||
| Leadership and Motivation | ||
| Ethics | ||
| Ethical Leadership | ||
| American Politics: Principles, Processes and Powers | ||
| Policy Making and Evaluation | ||
| Work Attitudes and Motivation | ||
| Leadership in Work Settings | ||
| Research Methods in Sociology | ||
| Social Influence and Small Groups | ||
| Work and Occupations | ||
| Gender, Occupations, and Professions | ||
| 1 | Courses that are used in the Additional Courses category may not be double-counted to satisfy this requirement. |
Program Learning Objectives
- Roles and Functions of Leadership: Understand the roles and the major functions of leadership in contemporary organizations;
- Leadership Foundations: Articulate the theoretical and empirical foundations for different approaches to the exercise of leadership;
- Strategy: Detect, accurately frame, and select appropriate strategies for overcoming obstacles to effective organizational performance that leaders face;
- Organizational Tasks and Relationship Management: Exhibit intellectual and behavioral competencies useful in the successful execution of critical organizational tasks and the management of relationships;
- Organizational Structure: Recognize the internal structures of organizations and their impact on members’ performance;
- Social Processes: Appreciate the social processes operative in the exercise of influence, as well as how to improve them;
- Upward Mobility: Draw on their knowledge of leadership in transitioning from lower-level to higher-level positions of responsibility and authority in organizations;
- Global Perspective: Bring a global perspective to the exercise of leadership;
- Ethics: Grasp the importance of enacting leadership responsibly and in an ethically defensible manner.
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university’s academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
University Park
Liberal Arts Academic Advising
814-865-2545
Use the Liberal Arts Majors and Minors web page to see the contact information for the specific adviser(s) of this program
World Campus
Undergraduate Academic Advising
301 Outreach Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-863-3283
advising@outreach.psu.edu
Career Paths
A Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership can prepare you to work in a range of relationship-focused careers in which you can showcase your ability to manage and nurture business and professional relationships through motivational strategies, conflict management, and other forms of interpersonal and social influence. The degree will benefit any career in which leadership skills are necessary for the advancement of the overall business climate through interpersonal interactions.
Careers
The degree is perfect for collaborative work environments in manufacturing, service industries, government, communications, charitable and nonprofit organizations, and multinational organizations. Graduates of Penn State’s School of Labor and Employment Relations, of which the OLEAD program is a part, have found employment in such companies as Google, Earnst and Young, GE, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Samsung Electronics, PriceWaterHouseCoopers Consulting, government agencies such as the U. S. Department of Labor, and in labor unions such as the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, and the Service Employees International Union.
Opportunities for Graduate Studies
Penn State World Campus offers a Master of Professional Studies in Human Resources and Employment Relations (HRER) in which the curriculum balances advanced theory with practical knowledge. After receiving strong fundamental knowledge, the program focuses on the complex personal, legal and organizational issues inherent in the relationship between employers, employees, unions, and government. As in the undergraduate OLEAD program, students in the M.P.S. in HRER program have the opportunity to study with highly regarded faculty from Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts, one of the premier institutions in the world to study and work in the liberal arts disciplines.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES
Professional Resources
Contact
University Park
SCHOOL OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
506 Keller Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-5425
lerpsu@psu.edu
World Campus
SCHOOL OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
506 Keller Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-5425
pxm205@psu.edu