Plenty of people start leading before anyone teaches them how. You do good work, people begin looking to you for answers and eventually you are responsible not only for your own performance, but for helping your organization do its best work too.

The Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership focuses on that human side of leadership and organizational improvement: coaching and motivating people, building workplace capital, communicating across differences, making values-based, ethical decisions, developing strong culture and helping organizations move through change.

Part of California Lutheran University’s Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals, this degree completion program is built for learners who have some previous college credit. You’ll learn in small classes with faculty who get to know you, value the experience you bring and support you as you earn your bachelor’s.

What You’ll Learn in the Organizational Leadership Degree

The program is grounded in the idea that leadership is a set of skills you can learn, with a foundation based on The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®. By graduation you’ll know how to:

  • Motivate teams through shared vision and leading by example
  • Recognize the strengths in the people you work with and empower them to act on those strengths
  • Engage and communicate effectively across different cultures and backgrounds
  • Use data and technology to improve the way an organization runs
  • Make values-based, ethical decisions that serve both the organization and the people in it

See the courses you’ll take as an organizational leadership student.

“The organizational leadership program has truly changed me as a leader. It combines business and psychology, and you can use it for anything in life or any company you work for.”

Jessica Krohn, BS in Organizational Leadership Alum

Who Is This Program For?

The BS in Organizational Leadership program is for people who want to finish their bachelor’s and turn their instinct into skill. They’re ready to lead others, or will become leaders in the future, and want to strengthen the human side of leadership.

Some of our students are team leads who were promoted because they were good at the work and now want to grow into the people side of the role. Others are preparing for their first leadership position and want to build skills in communication, motivation, conflict, coaching and change.

It’s also a strong fit for people in corporate roles centered on human behavior, like human resources, public relations and market research. These are fields you can enter and grow in without further licensing or an advanced degree, which makes a bachelor’s grounded in how people and organizations actually work a real advantage.

Students come from every kind of organization, including nonprofits, small businesses, large companies and fields with no obvious connection to business. The program gives them a place to study leadership directly: how people work together, how organizations change and how leaders earn trust.

What all applicants do need is a high school diploma or GED certificate and at least 24 credits of college credit from an accredited institution. Visit our admissions page for more on what’s required to apply.

Trying to decide between organizational leadership and business management? Read our guide to the difference between the two bachelor’s degrees.

Organizational Leadership Curriculum

This is a 100% online degree. Students complete a minimum of 124 credits to graduate. At least 48 of those credits will be from organizational leadership major courses. The rest can come from general education courses or credits you transfer in.

All courses are 3 credits unless otherwise noted

Required Courses (42 credits)

Research Writing for Professionals

Advanced Research Writing for Professionals

Essentials of Statistics

Organizational Behavior

Foundations of Human Resource Management

Principles and Practices of Leadership

Research Methods

Leadership and Organizational Development

Organizational Leadership Ethics

Principles of Professional Communication

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Leadership Across Cultures

People Analytics and Organizational Design

Leadership Capstone

Electives (6 credits)

Choose two from the following:

Creativity and Innovation

Coaching Individuals and Teams

Conflict and Negotiation

Career Outcomes With a BS in Organizational Leadership

Organizations of every kind need people who can lead others well. Graduates move into leadership roles across industries, often with titles that carry real responsibility for people and direction. Some example roles include:

Job Title
Median Salary

Human Resources Manager
$96K

Leadership and Organizational Development Consultant
$90K

Change Manager
$122K

Labor Relations Specialist
$95K

Training and Development Specialist
$76K

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Attend a Class Before You Apply

Get a closer look at what it’s like to be a Cal Lutheran student by sitting in on a live online class. For more information and to reserve your spot, contact an enrollment specialist at 805-521-9856 or complete our form.

Frequently Asked Questions

A degree completion program is a bachelor’s degree built for people who already have some college credit. Instead of starting over, you transfer in the courses you’ve already earned and build your degree plan from there.

For the Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership, every incoming student brings at least 24 credit hours from a previous accredited associate or undergraduate program, and many bring more credits.

The difference from a traditional bachelor’s degree is mostly who it’s for and how it’s run — not the quality of the education. A general program is built around full-time students who are usually new to college. Cal Lutheran’s degree program is built around working adults who have some college behind them and a full life around them.

We know our students have to balance their degree around jobs, families and everything else, so the program runs fully online with the option to join a weekly live session in the evening.

Student support services are built for adult learners coming back to school too: academic advisors know your situation and personalized career counseling when you need it.

For someone who started a degree years ago and always meant to finish, a completion program is the most direct way back.

Learn more about what it’s like to return to school after some time away >>

You are welcome to apply if you have:

  • Graduated from high school or possess a GED certificate
  • Completed 24 credits of transferable college credit
  • Earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.25

Visit our admissions page for more information, including an application checklist.

The program can be finished in as little as 18 months. Your personal timeline depends on a few things: how many credits you transfer in, how many of those count toward this specific degree and how many courses you take each term.

Business management focuses on how work gets done, including operations, project coordination, performance management, budgeting and decision-making. It is a good fit if you want a wide foundation in business or are preparing for supervisory roles that require you to understand how to juggle competing priorities across an organization.

Organizational leadership focuses more deeply on people. You’ll study how to motivate and coach teams, build trust, navigate conflict, set strategic goals, lead change management initiatives and make ethical decisions. It is a good fit if you are already leading others, preparing to step into a leadership role or want to better understand the human side of how organizations work.

If you want a broader business foundation, explore our BS in Business Management. If you want to focus on leading people and strengthening culture from the inside, organizational leadership may be the better fit.

You can read a more detailed comparison in our article on organizational leadership versus business management.

Yes. Students who already lead people tell us they start applying the ideas almost immediately, in how they handle a conflict or motivate someone who’s struggling. The coursework connects to real situations at work, and faculty build discussions around what students are actually dealing with. Many also find the skills carry beyond the job, into their communities and the rest of their lives.

The best way to find out is to talk with an enrollment specialist. They can review your previous coursework and tell you which credits transfer and how they apply to this degree. Call 805-521-9856 or complete our info form to request a call.

Yes, from several sources. Students can apply for federal aid such as Pell Grants and Direct Loans, and other awards can bring the cost down further.

If you transferred from a California community college, you may qualify for a Cal Grant, and graduates of a PACE program at a partner community college can receive a $100 per credit tuition reduction through PACE Promise. Many employers also offer tuition assistance, and as a Yellow Ribbon school, Cal Lutheran supports students using veterans benefits.

Our tuition and financial aid page has more information on funding options.

Here Are Your Next Steps

Request Information

To learn more about the Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals offered by the Cal Lutheran School for Professional and Continuing Studies and download a brochure, please fill out the form. You can also get in touch with an enrollment specialist directly by calling us at 805-521-9856.

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