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Gain the skills you need to make a difference in your community with an organizational leadership major or minor from Wright State. These programs are multidisciplinary, focused on the people side of organizations and managing others. An education in organizational leadership can provide you with a broad perspective to prepare for complex social, cultural, and professional issues sure to be encountered. There are many great reasons to choose this degree program.
Organizations have an increasing demand for those who have mastery in:
Learn more about the organizational leadership program and field through The Wright Leader Podcast.
Contact Information
Dan Noel, Ph.D., Program Director
dan.noel@wright.edu
Graduates from the organizational leadership program have secured careers that include some of the following:
65 percent of our 2018-2019 organizational leadership graduates were employed in Ohio within a year of graduation. Eleven percent were pursuing advanced degrees a year after graduating. Top employers include Kettering Health Network, Miami Valley Hospital, Caresource Management Group, Speedway LLC, PNC Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Reynolds and Reynolds, Nationwide Mutual Insurance, Wright State University, and Sinclair Community College. (ODJFS Data Match, 2019).
Which organizational leadership experiential learning opportunity is best for me?
Community-Based Learning
Community-Based Internships
Undergraduate Teaching Assistantship
View Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership program information, degree requirements, and graduation planning strategies in the Academic Catalog.
Related Links
The Organizational Leadership Departmental Honors Scholar designation is awarded through the University Honors program. If you have achieved excellence in their academic program, you will have the opportunity to expand and enhance your knowledge and/or skills in leadership. Engage in a guided research project or paper under the guidance of a faculty honors advisor.
Eligibility
Two semesters are needed to complete the Honors Project and you must apply the semester prior to starting the project. For example, to complete an Honors Project in the Fall and Spring semesters of your senior year, you would need to apply by March 1 of your junior year—six months prior to the start of the project.
You must contact the honors coordinator during the semester prior to the anticipated project, typically prior to the last semester of your junior year. The honors project must be completed in the course of two consecutive semesters any time prior to graduation.
Selection Criteria
If you are a Wright State undergraduate student enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership degree program, and in your final year of undergraduate studies, you can enroll in up to 9 hours of “overlap” courses that count toward both your bachelor’s and master’s degree.You must be exceptionally well-prepared to be admitted to the combined program.
These are the combined master’s degrees available for organizational leadership students:
When admitted to combined programs, you must complete all requirements for both programs. You can apply three graduate-level M.Ed. Instructional Design and Learning Technologies courses toward both degree requirements.
You will have both a graduate and an undergraduate transcript. Any courses taken for both degrees will appear on both transcripts. This allows for the calculation of separate GPAs. All relevant rules about GPAs and continued eligibility, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, use these calculations.
At the end of your junior year, you should apply to the Wright State Graduate School. The admission requirements for the combined program are more rigorous than the master’s degree.
Admission requirements for the combined degree include:
Contact the Wright State Office of Financial Aid for questions. Here is tuition and financial aid information about the combined degree program.
You may withdraw from the combined program and continue as a traditional undergraduate student at any time. If you withdraw, you are not able to transfer completed graduate credits to a future graduate degree.
You will be dismissed from the combined program and continue as a traditional undergraduate student if:
If you have questions about the combined degree, contact
Either:
Or:
Apply to the university. You will be admitted as a pre-major until you meet the criteria for acceptance into the major.
Submit Major/Minor Change Request form online in WINGS Express. (Select the "Registration and Records" menu and then the "Major/Minor Change Request" option.)
Either:
Or:
This certainly depends on how many credits you have when you enter the program and how many credits per semester you can take. Students should seek the advice of a CEHS Student Services advisor to learn more about their own timeline.
Anything that does not fit into General Education, the Integrated Leadership Focus or Organizational Leadership Focus will go into Open Electives. If a student needs a lot of Open Electives, the overriding advice is to seek out courses that:
Students receive notice that informs the student how to access their program of study via the Internet. This is what the O.L. student should use when determining what to schedule. When to schedule is up to the student. The O.L. student can talk with the CEHS Student Services advisor to determine sequencing or to find out when to take certain courses.
Student Services Advisors are available by appointment Monday through Friday.
Student Services Advisors maintain their own appointment calendars. To schedule an appointment, please email your assigned advisor and provide the following information:
During peak advising times (i.e. registration for classes, graduation, etc.) appointments times will fill quickly. Please plan ahead and schedule your appointment well in advance.
Contact the Leadership Studies department at 937-775-2516 to request register permission.
This course provides you with the opportunity to directly engage a non-profit community group and assist with addressing organizational or leadership issues. Challenges for this partner will be identified and researched through course reading, reflective writing, and the development of a final project. A minimum of 24 service hours is required.
The first few weeks of OL4020 are designed to help you understand the fundamentals of service-learning as well as create a profile to match with specific partnering organizations. Once you have a profile, you are responsible for identifying and securing a service opportunity with a local non-profit. The director of community-based learning must approve service plans prior to you beginning service hours.
The internship course is designed to give you the opportunity to gain experiential learning through the professional undertakings and/or observations of leadership in organizations. You and other student interns will interact with employees and clients of the host organization in a manner that will permit you to witness and experience theory in practice. Internships offer a valuable learning experience for both personal and professional growth that will ultimately enhance your marketability as you graduate from the program.
Recent interns were asked, “What skills, abilities or special knowledge do you believe you developed over the course of your internship?” A sample of responses include the following:
“I stepped out of my comfort zone and learned sales techniques. I am also able to say that I have done something that contributed to my learning on how to be an effective leader of a team in the future.” – Brittany Redd (sales organization)
“I feel as though I have become a more professional person and enhanced my communication and overall people skills from this internship.” – Chester Raleigh
“Even as a senior in college, this internship has shown me how to better manage my time and priorities. I've gained a lot of knowledge about Wright State University and how to be an educator in higher education. Because of my internship as a Peer Mentor, I feel like I can adapt quicker and think faster on my feet when things in the classroom change. At the beginning of my internship, I had so much passion for working in higher education and now that it's almost over, that passion has tripled itself. Working with students as an academic adviser or working in student affairs at a university is where I'm meant to be.” — Shannon Miller
“I had expected that interning at my current employer would have challenges, but I was able to learn from being able to observe a different department and my site supervisor.” — Amy Dempe (interning with a current employer, in a different role)
“I have developed a strong working knowledge of the MRX record-keeping software, as well as a familiarity with the Montessori materials we used in class on a daily basis. I have also gained experience working with QuickBooks and have a greater understanding of the licensing process for a small private school. This was thoroughly enjoyable and engaging, and I met all of my learning objectives!” — Edward Ricart
“(I developed) the ability to stay calm under pressure. I figured out what aspect of leadership I want to pursue. I hope to work one-on-one with children in a behavioral development role. The organization where I interned is a positive, fun, passionate, and innovative organization! Everyone was willing to teach me and work with me. I felt very supported and I learned so much.” — Jordan Beall
“My internship far exceeded my expectations. I would even be willing to go out on a limb and say that mine was like none other. I was just one of the team with my own goals, conducting my own meetings with high-level managers and directors. My site supervisor has always allowed me to speak up in meetings and share my thoughts. I was treated as an equal and given the freedom to express my thoughts and views. I have now developed a story I can tell through my internship from start to finish as to what I did and what I can offer another company.” — Justin Mals (Healthcare organization)
The Organizational Leadership Teaching Assistant Program provides an experiential learning opportunity if you are interested in teaching and/or training. Completion of this course fulfills the experiential requirement for the organizational leadership program in lieu of Community-Based Learning or the Internship. Teaching assistants in the organizational leadership program are unpaid, but may earn 3 credit hours for enrollment in OL 4030: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant. TAs will be matched with courses only at the Dayton campus.
Eligibility
Selection Process
View the TA Application (PDF) for more information.
Finding the right college means finding the right fit. See all that the College of Health, Education, and Human Services has to offer by visiting campus.