Developing the Skills & Qualities to Succeed in Relational Leadership

The Master of Arts in Leadership program at Albertus Magnus College views leadership as a relational process that is inclusive of people and diverse points of view, is purposeful and builds commitment towards a shared vision, empowers those involved, and is rooted in ethical reasoning and cultural and self-awareness. The 33-credit hour graduate program is designed to help you build skills in critical leadership areas.  The Master of Arts in Leadership program is not only a Masters degree program, but is also a leadership development program, helping students to develop the skills they need to be the best leader and team member they can be.

The Master of Arts in Leadership Program

Learn, Develop, Practice, Reflect, Succeed

Grounded in the best tradition of the liberal arts, or “arts that liberate”, and professional disciplines, the Masters in Arts in Leadership Program integrates concepts from philosophy, religion, organizational psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology, organizational theory and development, strategic management, political science, and human resource management-- to provide participants with a strong base for effective leadership in a diverse and pluralistic society.

Program Mission

The mission of the Masters in Leadership Program at Albertus Magnus College is to provide an educational experience that offers its participants ample opportunity to learn about and to practice leadership in a nurturing and intellectually invigorating environment. Participants in the program are encouraged to reflect on and develop a type of leadership that is rooted in service to others and built on a vision of reciprocal trust and ethical behavior.

Guiding Philosophies

• Leadership is more than “what you need to know” and “what you need to do” – it is also about “who you are” in the context of the organization
• Learning happens in a community where relationships are built on trust and respect for differences
• Mastery of the power of language is essential to leadership
• Leaders make choices and take responsibility for their own learning and actions
• Learning can and should be fun

Goals of the Master of Arts in Leadership Program

Participant Outcomes

Participants in the Masters in Leadership Program at Albertus Magnus College should be able to develop as visionary leaders who strengthen their organizations and communities by creating and nurturing cultures of reciprocal trust, ethical behavior, empowerment of colleagues, and service. The program balances theory and practice in focused seminars and practicums aimed at developing the participant’s potential for communication, team leadership, building community, and the projection of vision rooted in ethical values.

Participant Skill Development & Benefits for Organizations

The Master of Arts in Leadership program has been designed specifically to develop a set of skill and attribute-sets in its participants that are critical for helping organizations imagine their future on the one hand, and implement and bring sound decisions into effective, connected action on the other. In both for-profit, and not-for-profit settings, the need to have what Jim Collins in Good-to-Great calls “Level-5 leaders” is more important than ever. Such effective leadership has less to do with what decisions are made, than with the capacity to have decisions put into effective action by motivated team members who are supported by leaders rather than directed by them.

The Master of Arts in Leadership Program at Albertus Magnus College recognizes the skills and attributes which are needed to excel on both a personal and professional level in today’s dynamic society. The Program aims at developing the skills noted below which were recognized as being neglected by many graduate programs. Most MBA Programs, for example, concentrate on helping develop the knowledge and skills categories in white, but do not spend any significant time in helping develop many of the skills and attributes in green, those targeted by the Master of Arts in Leadership Program.

The generalized skills and attributes identified in the table above have been integrated into specific learning outcomes that the program addresses for each participant, as outlined below.

Upon completion of the Masters in Leadership Program, its participants should be better able to:

Exercise and Improve High-level Ontological, Integrative, and Creative Skills

• Reflect (reflect-in-action), show awareness of self and others, be attentive and demonstrate mindfulness
• Demonstrate passion, examine vulnerabilities
• Acknowledge and express convictions, beliefs, core values, act with authenticity
• Synthesize, integrate, connect (purpose and action) and conceptualize ideas and forge relationships, identify context, understand motives
• Analyze and describe the research content and context of books, articles, monographs, web-sources, etc., that are related to leadership, in terms of their use of qualitative or quantitative methods
• Imagine, create, envision
• Conduct appropriate original qualitative research in an individual and team context
• Foresee personal and organizational futures

Exercise and Improve Interpersonal Communication Skills within a Leader-Follower Context

• Listen well, discuss, persuade, and explain
• Speak clearly and compellingly
• Make requests, offers, and declarations
• Share stories of organizational successes, failures, and transformations
• Write with passion and clarity about personal and organizational goals and futures

Exercise and Improve Interpersonal Community-Building Skills

• Trust others and build trust
• Respond to others, empathize
• Resolve conflict, reconcile differences, dialogue, compromise
• Be a steward, hold in trust, commit, foster community
• Be effective team members

Exercise and Improve Service Skills

• Serve others
• Influence and mentor others
• Practice Leadership in Action

Degree Requirements

In order to receive the Masters degree, participants in the Master of Arts in Leadership Program must successfully complete all 33 credit hours, including a Capstone Project, and also complete a cumulative reflective leadership journal that will be created throughout the program. All academic regulations as stated in the program catalog must be met.

Contact Us

School of Evening & Graduate Programs
Albertus Magnus College
700 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511
203-773-8505

Program Credentials

The Master of Arts in Leadership Program was launched in June 2005 and is fully accredited by the State of Connecticut’s Board of Governors for Higher Education to grant the degree of Master of Arts in Leadership.

Recent Capstone Presentations