Master of Arts in Counseling

M.A. Organizational Leadership

Are you ready to make a difference? The Townsend Institute's Program in Organizational Leadership at Concordia University provides intentional and engaging coursework to grow your leadership toolbox. Guided by Dr. John Townsend, the Institute Fellows, and our hand-picked faculty, students extend their effectiveness in leadership by gaining task-based skills such as aligning strategy to mission, vision, and values and executing systems. In addition, you will extend your influence through people-based skills such as motivating and inspiring a team, clarifying roles and engaging in difficult conversations while maintaining positive alliances.

Students enrolled in the Townsend Institute now have the option to earn either a Master's Degree or a Graduate Certificate. Graduate certificate programs are offered in Counseling, Executive Coaching, and Organizational Leadership.

Hear students describe the power of learning at the Townsend Institute

How you’ll make an impact as a leader:

The Townsend Institute experience invites you to study directly with Dr. John Townsend and master teachers who have decades of experience in leadership and know how to bring transformation, performance, and productivity to teams and organizations. The Townsend Institute has earned a reputation for its relational approach to begin with character growth as a building block for high motivation and performance. Through the Townsend Institute’s online program in Organizational Leadership you will:

Gain the skills needed to create high-performing teams.
Cultivate a culture that accelerates performance.
Create clarity and alignment to mission, strategy, and vision across an organization.
Learn how to lead both strategically and relationally.
Learn how to work with and direct difficult people.
Train in the art of managing your energy versus your time.

Request Information

Personally learn from Dr. John Townsend.

Dr. John Townsend on the Townsend Institute at Concordia University Irvine

Students enrolled in our Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership will:

Begin with a 4-day Kick-off Conference with your community of fellow students where Dr. Townsend will conduct a series of trainings to jump-start your Master’s program.
Connect with your cohort in a guided-process group experience to earn your first three credits, where you will learn to unpack key moments in your life story and grow your character.
Join a 3-hour virtual classroom bi-monthly where Dr. Townsend and one of the Institute Fellows personally give a training. The last hour is all Q&A for students.
Engage with Dr. Townsend’s exclusive training videos and podcasts created for each course.
Gain access to white papers written by Dr. Townsend for topic areas that draw on his decades of experience in leadership development and consulting.

Apply Now

The Townsend Institute had such an immediate, positive impact on my character development, and my interactions with others, my manager asked what I was doing differently. I shared it was the Townsend Institute. My manager was so impressed with the results of this program that I was reimbursed for the entire cost!

- Cheryl

Start on your terms.

Term	Start Date
Fall	August 5, 2019

Not Ready for a Master's? See our Organizational Leadership certificate.

Masters students can choose to begin in the Fall or Spring semester. The entire program will take between 1 year and 20 months for a total of 33 credits. Students will take one or two 7-week courses at a time. Learning activities will involve approximately 10 to 14 hours of the student’s time investment each week. Students working full time are suggested to take only one course at a time.

Info Night

Live Stream Session with Dr. John Townsend

There are no info nights scheduled at this time. Please call (800) 229-1200 if you would like to talk to a counselor.

Prospective student attending an info night

Missed the last Info Night? Watch the full recording of our Live Session.

Hear first-hand from Dr. John Townsend and begin to understand the uniqueness of the Townsend Institute's approach to leadership, counseling, coaching, and the learning process. You will get a glimpse of how these programs are highly relational, biblically-informed, neuroscience-based, practical skills-oriented, and lead to transformative personal growth.

You will also hear about our distinctive 4-day Kick-off Conference, what classes are like, how you meet over 50 Institute Fellows, and how the 300 videos from Dr. Townsend are integrated into every class. A live Q&A session is included!

As an added bonus, the $50 application fee will be waived for all who attend the Info Night.

For help registering for this event, please contact Sarah Martini at gradadmissionsevents@cui.edu or call 714-795-0124.

Transformation through relational education.

To earn your Master’s in Organizational Leadership degree, you’ll be taking 33 units of classes and selecting which 6 units of electives are the best fit for you. You will be supported through virtual classroom sessions with your professors and classmates, and through experientially-focused assignments that connect you with fellow students. For our Executive Coaching & Consultation or Organizational Leadership Certificate programs click on the title to learn more.

For more information about academic policies and resources, view the MA Organizational Leadership handbook

Core Courses
27 Units

ORGL 600: Personal Development Skills Process Group
3

Students will participate in a process group training experience led by a trained faculty facilitator. They will grow in the critical relational skills that are necessary to lead well, have stimulating interactive times and receive targeted feedback. Students will have a confidential place for personal character development.

ORGL 601: Organizational Leadership and Character Development
3

Students will gain an historical overview of leadership theory development and effective leadership characteristics. The Townsend Character-Growth Model and its seven developmental character structures will be a focus for student learning. A beginning integrative framework between Christian theology and leadership research and theory will be established.

ORGL 602: Building Healthy Culture and Performance
3

The various aspects of organizational structure will be explored. Students will learn how leaders create a healthy culture that drives individual, team and organizational performance. Various drivers and obstacles to performance will be discussed along with strategies to enhance performance.

ORGL 603: Leadership Styles, Neuroscience and Emotional Intelligence
3

Students will gain an overview of the different styles of leading a team or organization. The latest research from neuroscience will be explored and applied to leadership. Students will understand the concept of emotional intelligence and its different relational and self-management skills.

ORGL 604: Leading Change and Motivation
3

The major drivers or inhibitors of motivation and organizational change will be explored. Students will learn the leadership competencies to provide rapid, profound and sustainable change. This course will also focus on how to assess and make structural changes in the organization’s culture that make change easier.

ORGL 605: Team Building, Conflict Management and Managing Difficult People
3

Students will learn the key elements of a high performing team and how to build each element. An 8-step process for managing conflict will be presented. Students will develop the skills to manage team members who have a challenging character structure and contentious relationships.

ORGL 606: Leadership and Transformation
3

Students will learn the different affective, cognitive and behavioral strategies that lead to transformational change in a coaching relationship. Emphasis will be placed on creating affective experiences that lead to character growth. Students will also learn to design leadership programs for organizations.

ORGL 607: Decision Making, Creativity and Problem Solving
3

Students will learn various decision-making strategies and the common pitfalls to good decisions. The critical role that creativity plays in leadership will be explored. Using a variety of methods, students will gain experience in creativity and problem-solving.

ORGL 608: Capstone Seminar in Organizational Leadership
3

The course is focused on student scholarship. Students will write a scholarly article or do research to be presented at the Townsend Institute’s annual conference. Students will have direct communication with Dr. Townsend on ideas for their project and during the writing process. Research and scholarly writing skills will be taught. The Institute’s Faculty will help students in taking the next steps in their career.

Select two elective courses from the options below

ORGL 610: Leadership and Organizational Assessment
3

This course will review the various assessment instruments for individual leaders, teams and entire organizations such as: Emotional Competency Inventory; Kolb Learning Style Inventory; Inventory of Leadership Styles; Organizational Climate Survey). Students will learn how to communicate findings to leaders to empower them.

ORGL 611: Systems and Project Management
3

Leadership requires the capacity to get things done on a scalable level, from large projects to designing systems that integrate resources in the proper channels. This involves thinking strategically, accumulating resources, bringing the right talent into the right teams, and driving the process.

EXCC 613: Developing the Executive Coaching Relationship
3

Students will learn the skills to create a coaching relationship that establishes trust, understanding, acceptance and active exploration of the underlying issues driving performance. These interpersonal skills include attunement, immediacy, confrontation, powerful questioning and observation of themes. The course includes assessing the clients character structure and strengths, designing actions, planning and goal setting and managing progress and accountability.

EXCC 617: Advanced Consultation Skills
3

Students will be exposed to a suite of consulting skills broadly applicable across business functions, across and valuable in corporate strategy assignments, business development and entrepreneurship. Students will have industry, hands-on practice and real-time feedback. They will have opportunities to exercise and hone the skills they are learning.

A deep bench of experience.

When you make a choice to invest in your future by continuing your education, you want to be sure your time is well spent. That’s where the Townsend Institute at Concordia University, Irvine offers a distinct advantage. Here, you will learn from a group of extraordinarily talented author-teachers with extensive knowledge on who we are as human beings created in the image of God. We choose faculty with real-world experience and Fellows who bring deep understanding through the subjects they write on, and their ongoing research. They not only offer their expertise, but their availability to answer your questions as you work through the course material. Along with your cohort, you will journey together through a transformational experience in the MAOL program.

Meet Our Faculty

Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership Tuition

Tuition/Fee	Cost
Application Fee	$50
Graduation Fee	Graduation Fee
Tuition	$545/unit

*Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice

The Townsend Institute’s MAOL program includes a 4-day Intensive at Concordia University Irvine at the start of the semester where you will connect with your cohort in a guided-process group experience to earn your first three credits. Students will incur travel* expenses to attend this required live session.

*travel costs depend on market fluctuations of currency rates and actual costs

Learn More about Financial Aid

Apply Now

Applications for our Master’s program are accepted on a rolling basis, but we encourage you to have all documentation in early because there is a limit on space. If you have any questions about the admissions process or need any assistance, please don't hesitate to connect with us.

Application Requirements

An application with nonrefundable application fee of $50
One official transcript from a regionally accredited college or university that shows your confirmed bachelor’s degree. Official college transcripts must be sent in a sealed envelope.
Must have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.
Written essay (2 pages, 500 words) addressing the following items:
- Personal, professional, and educational goals
- In your experience, what is the best way that a person grows or changes? You can add an example of a characteristic about yourself that you wanted to change and how you went about changing it.
- What interested you in applying to the Townsend Institute as opposed to other programs?
Minimum of 1 professional reference required. Personal reference optional.
A current professional resume

Apply Online

Paper Application

Get Started Today

Have questions about the Townsend Institute’s online master's degree in Organizational Leadership? Not sure how to get started? Fill out the form below, and one of our admissions counselors will get in touch with you.