Strategic Leadership, M.S.

Career Outlook

Immaculata graduates can readily apply their advanced leadership skills to a wide range of industries and professions. While potential career opportunities could be limitless, top job categories include:

• Corporate & Nonprofit Leadership
• Healthcare Leadership
• Government Sectors
• Higher Education Administration
• Gap Year Pre-Law
• Protective Service Leadership
• Organizational Analyst
• Human Resources Manager
• Communications / Journalism
• Doctoral Degree Preparedness
• And more

Program Highlights

Program Delivery

All courses in the program are offered online with weekly synchronous class meetings, combining the convenience of remote attendance with the benefit of live instruction with expert faculty and engagement with your peer network.

Program Structure

The Online MSL program requires 30 graduate credits that you can finish in five semesters. Each course meets in accelerated seven-week sessions, and you will take one course at a time.

Program Cost

Competitively priced at $500 per credit, totaling $15,000 for the degree.

Stackable Credentials

The program includes a leadership certificate that can be earned as a standalone credential or along the way to the MS degree, allowing you to build your resume sooner.

Interdisciplinary Leadership for a Complex World

Designed for professionals across a wide range of industries, Immaculata University’s Master of Science in Strategic Leadership offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that blends foundational sociological theory with contemporary research and student-driven inquiry. This approach fosters dynamic, relevant discussions that resonate across professional contexts.

The program’s synergistic design integrates social power theory, semiotics, cultural studies, and ethics into every course. Each course builds upon the knowledge and frameworks established in the previous one, creating a cohesive and cumulative learning experience. Students also engage with peers from other master’s-level programs who take leadership courses as part of their curriculum, enriching the classroom environment with diverse perspectives and real-world insights.

Course Overview

Curriculum (30 credits)

• GEN 502 – Methods of Research
• LDR 600 – Foundations of Leadership
• LDR 603 – Organizational Ethics
• LDR 604 – Theories of Change
• LDR 605 – Politics of Leading
• LDR 610 – Sustainability Leadership
• LDR 615 – Leading Digital Citizens
• LDR 621 – Strategic and Critical Problem Solving
• LDR 625 – Conflict Analysis and Resolution
• LDR 640 – Power and Influence
• LDR 635 – Leadership Comprehensive

Accreditation

This program contains content aligned with the curriculum requirements set forth by the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

Student Learning Outcomes

As a result of the program students will:

• Develop advanced leadership analysis skills applicable across industry, nonprofit, government, healthcare, and protective service environments by understanding how power, culture, and legitimacy shape decision-making.
• Learn to diagnose organizational and institutional problems as an organizational analyst or human resources leader, moving beyond surface-level symptoms to underlying structures of meaning, obligation, and authority.
• Strengthen research, writing, and interpretive reasoning essential for doctoral study, higher education administration, and pre-law pathways, with a strong foundation in theory-driven inquiry.
• Understand how narrative and communication function as leadership tools, preparing students in communications, journalism, and public-facing leadership roles to responsibly shape influence and public trust.
• Build ethical and reflective leadership capacity for roles in healthcare, nonprofit, and public service, where moral authority, institutional complexity, and competing values are central challenges.
• Graduate prepared to lead in conditions of uncertainty and change, equipped to adapt across sectors rather than trained for a single, narrow professional track.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants are required to:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
• Provide official undergraduate transcripts demonstrating a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale
• Submit a current resume
• Provide two letters of recommendation highlighting academic ability