Female student outdoors smiling and looking powerful

Leadership Online Master's Degree Program

can be completed in as little as

6 terms*

*2 terms per semester; each term is 8 weeks

Tuition

$595/credit

$1,785 3-credit course

Active Duty Military

truED Preferred Tuition

Credit Hours Required

30

Summer 1 Application Deadline

April 25

Upcoming Start Dates

Summer 1: May 6

Summer 2: July 1

Explore Leadership

Transform your career as a strategic leader through progressive management techniques. Champlain's online master's degree in leadership combines a variety of powerful approaches to leadership, change and learning (including strengths-based change, distributed leadership, and integrated reflective practice) to help you build adaptive strategies, innovation, success-oriented culture, caring and respectful relationships, and positive social impact within an organization. 

 

Build Your Career Future

In today's workplaces - across all industries and sectors - leaders with strategic, organizational, and tactical leadership abilities, cultural and ethical knowledge, and a focus on creativity, innovation, and success are in high demand. Through this program, you'll build an individualized approach to leadership, in addition to advanced soft skills such as communication and critical thinking. You'll be able to apply your skills to the workplace from day one, and will build the foundation needed to advance in your career as a strategic leader.

Take the next step

Academic Excellence and Recognition

New England Commission of Higher Education Logo

Regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education

US News & World Report Best Online Bachelor's Degree Programs

Ranked among the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs by U.S. News & World Report

Military Friendly Badge

Designated as a Military Friendly School for our commitment to the military community

Intelligent.com ranks Champlain College Online among best schools with accelerated bachelor's degrees

Named the among the best schools with accelerated bachelor's degrees by Intelligent.com

Prepare For What's Next By Building Your Leadership Skills

As baby boomers begin to retire, organizations are actively seeking individuals with the skills to lead at the middle, senior, and executive management levels. With a valuable combination of strategic leadership skills, subject matter expertise, and critical soft skills, graduates of Champlain's master's in leadership program will be prepared to step into leadership roles in organizations of all sizes, across all sectors.

Master's degrees are in high demand and employment in master’s-level occupations is projected to grow by 15% from 2019 to 2029. A master's degree also pays off: the median salary for professionals with a master's degree is $78,210.*

*Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2020; job titles: Payscale, 2020

What Can I Do WIth A Master's in Leadership?

  • C-Level Executive
  • HR Manager
  • Program Manager
  • Operations Manager
  • Training and Development Manager
Online Executive Leadership graduate in front having a discussion with colleague

Program Details

Learn more about Champlain's 100% online master's in leadership program, designed for working professionals.

Champlain's online leadership courses encompass the top skills needed by today's business leaders.

Leadership Courses (30 Credits):

Explore the formal and informal communication strategies that help leaders influence beyond their formal authority. Topics will include how to have generative conversations, communication tactics for engaging stakeholders, cross cultural communications, managing conflict, building impactful narratives that engage and inspire, and the impact of technology on communication in today's organizations.

Explore how to strategically lead continual organizational evolution and apply new business models needed for success in today's ever-changing world. Attention will be given to leading sustainable growth with an intraprenurial mindset, managing disruption, the implications of the digital transformation on organizations, and the power of leading with a purpose.

Explore how to uncover creative insights and innovative solutions for today's organizational challenges. Learn about the systematic process of design thinking from a human-centred approach, including how to cultivate creativity in others and create a culture of innovation.

Explore current theories and models of organizational change. Learn how to lead an organization through a generative process of self-reflection, redesign, and change that results in sustained effectiveness, organizational learning, and higher performance. Tools such as the balanced scorecard as well as other qualitative and quantitative metrics will be explored.

Examine how to cultivate meaningful relationships across an organizational system, from co-workers, to team members, to broader stakeholders. Attention will be given to how to leverage both formal and informal relationships to create positive impact. Topics include perceptions, motivation, emotional intelligence, building teams, and conflict management.

Explore how to accelerate organizational change by focusing on and leveraging the core strengths of individuals and the collective system. Learn how to challenge the traditional deficit mindset that pervades organizations, and how to use evidence-based appreciative practices to cultivate shared leadership across a system.

Explore concepts and frameworks for how to lead effectively in today's ever-changing world. Using an integrative reflective practice approach, students examine their own approach to leadership and create an initial plan for their own leadership development, as well as the leadership development opportunities for their organization.

Explore organizational dynamics from a holistic viewpoint and how leading ethically and socially responsibly results in enhanced performance at the individual, group and organizational levels. Special focus will be given to exploring one's own ethical orientation, issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as how leading with a higher purpose can result in both accelerated organizational and broader social impact.

An introduction to a special topic, theme, or issue related to leadership. The subject will vary from semester to semester, depending on current trends and emerging best practices from the field.

This course culminates in an applied leadership capstone project to support the translation, application and synthesis of core concepts from previous courses to a final capstone project, through action research and reflection. The project will reflect a real-life situation and will include a description of the situation, stakeholder mapping, identification of key leadership opportunities and challenges, and conceptual basis for recommendations derived from data collection as well as prior learnings and content from the Leadership Program.

In addition to developing advanced communication and analytical skills, and a strategic mindset, graduates of the leadership master's online program will demonstrate a mastery of the following industry-specific competencies:

  • Develop and expand both individual and collective leadership competencies
  • Understand, apply, and integrate key leadership areas, such as distributed leadership, strengths-based leadership, innovative strategy, relational and collaborative cultures, ethical leadership, adaptive learning, and communication
  • Apply leadership skills through integrated and reflective practices
  • Assess and respond adaptively to system dynamics both within and beyond the organization

Champlain College Online's leadership faculty, led by Faculty Lead Lindsey Godwin, PhD, are expert practitioners in the field. Their industry expertise ensures that our master's in leadership curriculum is aligned with the needs of employers, and reflects the skills today’s leaders need for success. Classes led by our seasoned experts will give you real-world insight into the field and create a rich community of career-focused learning.

Alumni of the Champlain College Online master's in leadership program work in corporations, small businesses, government organizations, and non-profits nationwide, including:

  • AT&T
  • Booz Allen Hamilton
  • City of Burlington
  • Comcast
  • Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center 
  • Dealer.com
  • Department of the Army
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
  • GE Healthcare
  • GlobalFoundries
  • Kaiser Permanente 
  • National Life Group
  • Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
  • Rockport Police Department 
  • University of Vermont 
  • U.S. Marshals Service
  • U.S. Treasury
  • UTC Aerosystems 
  • Vermont Air National Guard

Titles our alumni hold include:

  • Alignment Coach
  • Assistant Chief
  • Associate Director of Admissions
  • Capital Improvement Program Manager
  • Department Administrator
  • Deputy US Marshal
  • General Manager
  • Logistics Readiness Squadron Chief Enlisted Manager
  • Mission Support Specialist 
  • Operational Supervisor 
  • Program Analyst 
  • Program Specialist 
  • Quality Inspector
  • Sales Effectiveness Manager
  • Site Director
  • Special Agent 
  • Strategic Planner
  • Supervisory Intelligence Analyst 
  • Training Specialist 
  • Unit Leader 
  • Vice President 

Increasing your career mobility is at the center of everything we do. As an online master's degree student, you get free access to the Fast Start Formula Career Bundle for getting noticed and getting hired, taught by Jen Morris, a leading executive career coach that partners with us to support our students in their job search journeys. 

Tuition & Costs

Graduate Tuition Fall '23 - Summer '24

$595 per credit
$1,785* per course
$450** PER CREDIT FOR ALUMNI WHO EARNED A DEGREE FROM CHAMPLAIN, ON-CAMPUS or online
$450 per credit military service members (family members see truED tuition)
$150 One-time graduation fee

*Based on a 3-credit course; cost will vary if course is a different number of credits

** Starting Summer 2024, not retroactive

See the graduate cost of attendance and fees here

 


 

What To Expect at Champlain Online

Expect Convenience

Go to school wherever and whenever is best for you, on the device of your choice.

Expect A Career Focus

Relevant and immediately applicable coursework gets you ready for your next career move

Expect Support

Your dedicated academic advisor provides the support you need to meet your academic goals

Expect Superior Faculty

Learn from practitioner faculty working in the field, with real-world experience and knowledge.

Why Champlain

Jiri Cruz, Master's in Executive Leadership from Champlain College Online

Career Growth

"I had been wanting to take a management position in my organization, so the master's in executive leadership was a great fit for my goals. I was able to apply what I learned to my work, and it helped me shine. As soon as I finished the program, I was promoted!"

Jiri Cruz Master's Degree in Executive Leadership
Management & Program Analyst

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Get Your MS Leadership Guide

Learn what you can expect from our online master's in leadership program.

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