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M.S. Management and Leadership

MASTER OF SCIENCE Management and Leadership

Executive careers begin with a strong understanding of management and team development. Continue your success story with a management and leadership master's degree. Run an efficient organization, inspire employee engagement.

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WGU's College of Business programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.

Overview
A master's in management focused on promoting workplace growth, creativity, and innovation.

Being a manager who confidently leads organizations and motivates people—the kind companies want to hire and employees want to work for—takes skill and practice. If you have your sights set on an influential management role in business, government, startups, or nonprofits, earning your master's in management and leadership is a great place to start.

WGU's Master of Science in Management and Leadership is designed to prepare you for your next big career move. You'll develop the comprehensive managerial and leadership skills you need to execute organizational change, drive strategic initiatives, and develop high-performance teams—the qualifications today's employers are actively looking for in candidates to fill the top levels of leadership.

85% of graduates finish in

9–24 mos.

WGU lets you move more quickly through material you already know and advance as soon as you're ready. The result: You may finish faster.
See how it works

Tuition per 6-month term is

$3,750

Tuition charged per term—rather than per credit—helps students control the ultimate cost of their degrees. Finish faster, pay less!
See how time is money

Graduates who recommend WGU:

97%

The vast majority of alumni say WGU delivered on its promises. In fact, over 50% of students found WGU thanks to a friend's recommendation.
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Tuition as of January 1, 2018.

Climb the ladder to success. Earn your business leadership degree online.

Business. Government. Nonprofit. Startup. With the right knowledge and experience, you can drive your career toward executive-level organizational leadership in any direction you choose. Once you’ve learned how to promote growth, creativity, and innovation in an increasingly complex work environment, you will be sought after as a manager, director, vice president, or even a member of the c-suite.

Learn about our grads' careers
Curriculum offering a mix of business acumen, organizational management, and people leadership.

WGU's master’s in management and leadership is an affordable, online program geared to the career goals of experienced business professionals ready to pursue an executive-level leadership position. You will build finely tuned skills in strategic planning and problem solving—preparing you for opportunities to manage an organization and lead its employees toward greater success.

Download Program Guide

To ensure WGU graduates acquire the knowledge and skills sought by employers, our Master’s in Management and Leadership was developed with significant input from experts and business leaders who serve on our Business Program Council.
Key Subject Areas

Your program consists of courses focused on business function, leadership, and management, including:

Managing Organizations and Leading People

Managing Human Capital

Management Communication

Business Acumen

Becoming an Effective Leader

Leading Teams

Ethical Leadership

Data-Driven Decision Making

Change Management and Innovation

Strategic Management

Management and Leadership Capstone

See all courses
Areas of Study

The competencies you gain through this program will span these crucial topical areas:

Management

Leadership

Business acumen

Strategy

See all courses
The WGU Difference

We reimagined the path to a degree. How it works for you:

It’s doable.
Efficient, flexible, individualized, and supportive, WGU puts you in the driver’s seat—allowing you to advance as quickly as you're able.

It’s surprisingly affordable.
Low, flat-rate tuition and the opportunity to speed up your program allow you to control the cost of your education.

It’s worth it.
Employers love WGU graduates. And grads report greater satisfaction, career advancement, and income growth after earning a WGU degree.

See how we do it
A supported, personalized experience.

WGU is unlike any university you’ve experienced before—in the best possible way! Take a look at what we mean:

Faculty Learning Assessment Capstone Alumni Support

Faculty

SUPPORTING YOU:

An entire team of faculty members has one goal in mind: your success. Your Program Mentor is your individually assigned faculty member, providing program guidance and instruction from the day you start to the day you graduate. In addition, Course Instructors provide subject-matter instruction and support, typically one-on-one, exactly when you need it.

Learning

Establish YOUR ROADMAP: A personalized learning plan.

Your program is made up of a series of courses, each a personalized journey toward subject mastery. A preassessment provides insight into what you already know. You’ll then learn what you still need to learn, using online learning resources—available 24/7—along with one-on-one or cohort-based faculty instruction.

Assessment

Learn it, PROVE IT: Show you know your stuff.

WGU measures learning, not time, so each course in your program culminates in an assessment—a test, paper, project, or presentation that allows you to prove what you know. As soon as you’re ready, you take the assessment—including the ability to take proctored exams from the comfort of your own home— via webcam, any time of day!

Capstone

Apply it to the REAL WORLD: You’ll solve a problem.

Throughout your program, you will focus on acquiring and proving specific competencies. At program’s end, you’ll complete a final capstone project that allows you to show off everything you’ve learned by proposing a solution to an relevant issue in your industry. Your mentor can help you select your capstone topic.

Alumni Support

Once you're a WGU Night Owl, you're ALWAYS a Night Owl.

Continued support after you graduate includes many opportunities for professional development and enrichment, career support, and networking. WGU Night Owls may be independent learners, but they also become highly engaged in our active alumni community through apps, groups, and in-person events.

The accreditation you need, plus industry respect and recognition.

One important measure of a degree’s value is the reputation of the university where it was earned. When employers, industry leaders, and academic experts hold your alma mater in high esteem, you reap the benefits of that respect. WGU is a pioneer in reinventing higher education for the 21st century, and our quality has been recognized.

Accredited

In addition to WGU's regional accreditation through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, WGU's College of Business programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

Respected

“I’m impressed by the results in places like Western Governors University. Its low-cost online programs rely on competency-based progression, not class time or credit hours. It uses external assessments to evaluate student proficiency.”
Bill Gates
“Why American Colleges Have to Change”

Recognized

Value is a combination of low cost and high quality. University Research & Review has named WGU a Best Value School several years running—a strong measure of return on investment!

Accredited

Respected

Recognized

Our programs check all the boxes. If this degree is your goal, get started toward becoming a student today—programs start the first of each month.

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Cost & Time
When we say affordable, we mean it.

$3,750

Tuition per 6-month term

+

+$145

Flat fee for e-books and learning resources, saving you hundreds per term

=

=$3,895

TOTAL PER TERM

+$65

One-time application fee

Apply FREE this week
Control the cost of your program: Our tuition links cost to time.

By charging per term rather than per credit—and empowering students to accelerate through material they know well or learn quickly—WGU helps students control the ultimate cost of their degrees.
Flat-rate tuition of $3,895 per term links cost to time.

By charging per 6-month term rather than per credit hour—and empowering students to accelerate through material they know well or can learn quickly—WGU helps students control the ultimate cost of their degrees.

Adjust the time and see your costs change

Your time

2 yrs

Your cost

1 yr
1.5 yrs
2 yrs
2.5 yrs
3 yrs

1 yr
1.5 yrs
2 yrs
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There's help if you need it.

Financial aid is available.

WGU is approved for federal financial aid and U.S. veterans benefits.

View more about financial aid.

WGU students borrow less than half the national average.

Our goal: You graduate with little or no debt.

The average student loan debt of WGU graduates in 2016 (among those who borrowed) was less than half the national average. WGU’s three-pronged approach to keeping your debt low and your return on investment quick: One, provide useful information and advice on responsible borrowing before enrollment. Two, keep tuition low while you're enrolled. And three, offer degree programs that lead to better-paying jobs after graduation.

Read about our Responsible Borrowing Initiative.

Degree Cost Comparison*

For-profit online university

Other nonprofit online university

WGU

Earn your M.S. Management & Leadership for about half what you'd pay elsewhere.

Low tuition and the ability to accelerate your studies make WGU a more affordable option to earn your degree. Our M.S. Leadership and Management program offer a rigorous curriculum with competitive post-graduation results, but at as little as half the cost—or even less—than most online or traditional schools.

*Estimates based on July 2017 WGU and comparable universities' tuition data. Learn more about WGU's tuition and how it compares.

Transparent fees and no hidden costs.

The cost of attending college often includes much more than tuition and fees. WGU is designed to be different, and that translates to cost savings everywhere from books to babysitting.

Other universities bury you in unexpected costs. Not WGU.

Click to explore the extra costs:

Tuition Books

Parking Gas

Library / resource fees Babysitter every week for
nighttime classes

WGU

Other online college

Traditional
4 year school

This demonstration shows how various costs—including official fees and incidental costs of attending school—can add up in different learning environments. It's meant as an illustration only.

Scholarships make our already low tuition even more affordable.

Many scholarship opportunities are available. Here are just a few you may be eligible to apply for:

$2,000

Back to School Scholarship

$2,000

WGU Alumni Master's Scholarship

$2,000

Women in Leadership Scholarship

The affordable, flexible programs offered at WGU put high-quality education within your reach. Start working toward your future.

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Courses & Competencies

A career-focused curriculum that ensures you’ve mastered the things employers want you to know.

Program consists of:
11 Courses
Total courses in program
Download Program Guide

At WGU, we design our curriculum to be timely, relevant, and practical—all to ensure your degree is proof you really know your stuff.

Every course focuses on a set of clearly defined competencies that you must prove you’ve learned—through tests, papers, projects, or other assessments. Demonstrating mastery is how you pass a course, so learning what it takes to be outstanding in your career is at the heart of WGU’s M.S. Management and Leadership curriculum.

That means what you learn is often directly applicable the next day at work—and it means what you’re doing at work frequently informs the work you’re doing in your courses. It’s all about real-world applicability so every moment spent studying is time well spent.

Courses in this program.

This program comprises the following courses. You will typically complete them one at a time as you make your way through your program, working with your Program Mentor each term to build your personalized Degree Plan. You’ll work through each course as quickly as you can study and learn the material. As soon as you’re ready, you’ll pass the assessment, complete the course, and move on. This means you can finish as many courses as you're able in a term at no additional cost.

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Management

Managing Organizations and Leading People

This course covers principles of effective management and leadership that maximize organizational performance. The following topics are included: the role and functions of a manager, analysis of personal leadership styles, approaches to self-awareness and self-assessment, and application of foundational leadership and management skills.

Managing Human Capital

This course focuses on strategies and tools that managers use to maximize employee contribution and create organizational excellence. You will learn talent management strategies to motivate and develop employees as well as best practices to manage performance for added value.

Management Communication

This course prepares you for the communication challenges in organizations. Topics examined include: theories and strategies of communication, persuasion, conflict management and ethics that enhance communication to various audiences.

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Business Acumen

Business Acumen

The Business Acumen course introduces you to the operation of the business enterprise and the role of management in directing the activities of the business. You will examine the roles of management in the context of business functions such as marketing, operations, accounting, and finance.

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Leadership

Becoming an Effective Leader

This course explores major theories and approaches to leadership, leadership style evaluation, and personal leadership development while focusing on motivation, development, and achievement of others. You will learn how to influence followers, manage organizational culture, and enhance your effectiveness as a leader.

Leading Teams

This course helps you establish team objectives, align the team purpose with organizational goals, build credibility and trust, and develop the talents of individuals to enhance team performance.

Ethical Leadership

This course examines the ethical issues and dilemmas managers face. This course provides a framework for analysis of management-related ethical issues and decision-making action required for satisfactory resolution of these issues.

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Strategy

Data-Driven Decision Making

This course presents critical problem-solving methodologies, including field research and data collection methods that enhance organizational performance. Topics include quantitative analysis, statistical and quality tools. You will improve your ability to use data to make informed decisions.

Change Management and Innovation

This course provides an overview of change theories and innovation practices. This course will emphasize the role of leadership in influencing and managing change in response to challenges and opportunities facing organizations.

Strategic Management

This course focuses on models and practices of strategic management including developing and implementing both short and long term strategy and evaluating performance to achieve strategic goals and objectives.

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Capstone

Management and Leadership Capstone

This course is the culminating assessment of the MSML curriculum and requires you to synthesize core knowledge from across the degree program and apply research skills in order to improve an organization. You will be asked to work with a real-world organization to address a management or leadership challenge.

Plan to work hard: Program requirements and expectations.

The M.S. Leadership and Management is an all-online program that you will complete by studying and working independently with support and instruction from WGU faculty. You will be expected to complete at least 8 competency units (WGU's equivalent of the credit hour) each 6-month term. (Each course is typically 3 or 4 units).

The first person you speak with at WGU will be your Enrollment Counselor, an expert in your program who can explain all the requirements and expectations in more detail. You can also read more about each course in the Program Guide.

Request info from an Enrollment Counselor.

Download the Program Guide.

Special requirements for this program:

Capstone project: WGU’s online M.S. Management and Leadership includes a capstone project that challenges you to work with a real-world organization to address a problem and propose a solution, using the knowledge and skills gained throughout the course of your studies.

We offer degrees for in-demand careers that provide the knowledge and skills you need to succeed. Give your résumé the boost it needs!

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A results-focused master's degree in management and leadership developed by experts.

Program councils—teams of industry and academic experts—drive the creation of our programs, providing input on the competencies a successful graduate needs to have mastered.
How You'll Learn
Working adults have different needs when it comes to going back to school.

Professional responsibilities. Family obligations. Personal commitments. At WGU, we understand schedules are tight and often unpredictable for busy professionals. That’s why we offer a flexible, personalized approach to how education should be. No interruptions to your work or family obligations. No rigid class schedules. No barriers to earning your degree on your own terms. Just a solid, career-focused master's degree that meshes seamlessly with your current lifestyle.

“WGU's model is founded on flexibility, affordability, and quality. None of the three is sacrificed. In fact, they all work together. I would say to anyone seeking a relevant degree in today's modern, hectic world that WGU is the perfect model.” Phyllis Campbell,
Chairman, Pacific Northwest, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Designed for working adults.

At WGU, you’re not committed to attend class at a certain time, complete homework on a given schedule, or log “attendance” hours. You’ll earn your degree by proving what you’ve learned—either from studying WGU's online learning resources or by applying what you already know from work and life experience. How quickly you progress is largely up to you.

Once you’ve mastered the concepts in your coursework, you’ll prove your competency through tests, papers, projects, or other assessments. You’ll build solid professional credentials specifically designed to help you prepare for a career in mid to upper-level management positions in healthcare organizations, hospitals, medical offices, and government agencies.

Competency-Based Education (CBE)

How it helps you

Efficient

Save time and money by focusing your efforts where they matter the most.

How much do you already know? How fast can you learn? Today’s adult students come from different professional backgrounds with varying levels of knowledge and experience. Competency-based education empowers you to take the most efficient path to complete your studies.

Flexible

Learn on your own terms.

What works best for you? No two students—or their schedules—are the same. Whether you’re at your best in the early morning or more energized when you get home from work, your study schedule can be personalized to accommodate your lifestyle and responsibilities.

Results

Know you’re learning real-world skills.

Will employers recognize your management credentials? Today's companies look for management professionals who have the knowledge, skills, and experience to improve organizational performance. WGU’s online Master of Science in Management and Leadership degree consists of balanced areas of study relevant to the needs and demands of a competitive marketplace, competency-based assessments, and a capstone project to showcase your executive-level problem-solving abilities.

Finish courses by proving what you know, as soon as you’re ready.

With competency-based education at WGU, success is measured by actual learning, not class time. You advance by demonstrating that you've mastered the course subject matter—whether you learned it through your study at WGU or picked up that knowledge through years of work experience.

Your progress through a course is driven by you.

How quickly you learn

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The time you devote to studying

+

How much previous knowledge you bring
See it in action.

Play the game to see how a competency-based course works at WGU.
competency, noun

Demonstrated knowledge, skill, or ability required to advance in a degree program.

At WGU, course competencies are defined by an expert council, including employers.

For this course, there are 3 areas you need to prove competency in.

Start

First, let's take a pre‑assessment.

Determine what you already know from previous work and education experience, and where you need to focus your studies. Prove your competency in 3 areas in this exercise.

Start Pre-Assessment

Competency 1: Retrieving results...
Competency 2: Retrieving results...
Competency 3: Retrieving results...

Start Course

Second, study course materials.

Click on the free learning resources created by education experts that will help you master the competencies.

E-textbook

Web-based Tutorials

Online Classes

Simulations

Learning Communities

Course Mentors

Ready? Take Assessment

Result:

Try Again

Measuring:

Skills

Knowledge

X
Your experience pays at WGU.

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Career Outlook
Make an executive decision about your career: Earn your management and leadership master’s degree.

Confident leadership is required in every industry, and strategic management is needed at every successful organization. If you're ready to take the next big step in your management career, WGU's Master of Science in Management and Leadership can teach you how to make the kinds of smart decisions about employees, business plans, company policies, budgets, and resources that today's recruiters are looking for.

8%

Employment of top executives is projected to grow 8% from 2016-2026.
—U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
WGU M.S. Management & Leadership alumni are leading diverse teams and organizations.

Our 700-plus M.S. Management and Leadership alumni have great jobs and satisfying careers:
Top Jobs

President

Vice president

Branch chief

Director of operations

Executive director
Top Industries

Private companies

Healthcare organizations

Nonprofit organizations

Government

Colleges and universities
Top Employers

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Adventist Health

HCA

Scholastic

State of Nevada
Career data for leadership roles.

Get salary info, job outlook data, work environment description, and more.

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WGU is a university committed to producing successful grads.

The ultimate test of your degree's value is whether it helps you become an outstanding employee and advance your career. Our happy grads—and their happy employers—confirm that WGU is the path to that kind of degree.
Happy employers

Happy grads

They're Prepared.

Employers said that WGU graduates were prepared for their jobs.

They Perform.

Employers rated WGU graduates' job performance as very good or excellent.

They Wow.

Employers said their WGU graduates have exceeded their expectations.

They're Confident.

Graduates said the majority of their coursework was related to their jobs.

They're Working.

Graduates are working full-time.

They're Satisfied.

Graduates said their degrees were worth the cost of their education.

Source: 2016 Harris Poll survey of 301 employers; 2016 Harris Poll Online survey of 1,403 new college graduates nationwide compared with survey of 1,207 WGU graduates; WGU--Gallup 2016 Report
Close the gap between you and your dreams.

Start enrolling in your M.S. Management and Leadership degree program at Western Governors University today.

ADMISSIONS
Admissions
Your master’s degree is attainable—start by applying today.

Next Start Date

Nov 1

Start the 1st of any month—as soon as you complete enrollment!
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Get your Enrollment Checklist
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Get your questions answered and take the next step: Talk to an Enrollment Counselor.

866-225-5948
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Your Enrollment Counselor is there to help you make an informed decision.
The first step toward change can be the hardest—we get it. Your "welcoming committee" at WGU is made up of Enrollment Counselors, Admissions Specialists, and faculty members. Your initial interactions at WGU will be guided by an Enrollment Counselor who specializes in the programs you're interested in.

Your Enrollment Counselor is ready with as much help as you may need:

Get your cost and admissions criteria questions answered.

Assess WGU's fit with your career goals.

Get started toward enrollment!

Contact an Enrollment Counselor.
Admission requirements unique to this degree.
To be considered for this program, you must:

Submit a transcript verifying receipt of your bachelor’s degree from a recognized, accredited institution.

Submit a résumé demonstrating at least three years of significant experience in business, industry, or at a nonprofit organization.

View general admission requirements
Making an informed admission decision.

WGU seeks to admit individuals who have the capacity and determination to complete a rigorous WGU degree program … and graduate. The admission process is designed to help you and the university reach an informed decision about your likelihood of success.

At WGU we want you to graduate, not just enroll. Consequently, not every applicant is admitted because not every individual is a good fit for WGU’s programs and competency-based, online academic model.
Programs begin the 1st of any month.

New students can begin their first term at the beginning of any month. So you can start when you’re ready, rather than rushing (or waiting) for fall or spring enrollment. There's no need to wait!

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“WGU allowed me to continue doing the things I love, spending time with my family, and traveling for my job. Another major plus was that the competency-based system enabled me to focus my time in the areas I needed to learn to further my career.” Shonna Wessels
M.S. Management and Leadership

WGU is school on your terms.

School can fit into your life—start working toward your better future now.

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