Program Quick Facts
Online or On Campus
Take live, online classes or attend classes on campus.
Tailor Your Program
Choose from three elective concentration options.
Strong Spiritual Foundation
Deepen your faith in programs taught from a Christian perspective.
Become an Inspiring Change Maker
The Master of Arts in Leadership Studies will prepare you for transformational leadership in organizations, churches, and nonprofits within the global community. Learn how to integrate best practices of real-world leadership with theology, culture, ethics and spirituality. Throughout the two-year program, you will engage in a collaborative learning environment where you will be fully known by professor-mentors who are dedicated to your success.
Designed for working professionals, this program is offered in two flexible formats: on campus or online with live, scheduled classes. Both are taught by the same top-ranked faculty using the same core curriculum.
Concentrations
With a degree in MA Leadership Studies, you will be prepared to seek roles in a variety of settings, including:
- Christian Spirituality: Spirituality contributes to organizational health and effectiveness, according to recent studies. This concentration examines the meaning and historical development of Christian spirituality and the contemporary role of spiritual direction
- Hispanic Leadership: Today’s Hispanic churches are facing the challenge to make space for multi-generational identities and develop the leadership skills to embrace Hispanic communities that are increasingly becoming more bilingual, multicultural and influential. This concentration focuses on equipping pastors and emerging leaders for positional as well as non-positional leadership in Hispanic ministry settings.
- Women and Justice: This concentration prepares leaders to bring redemptive resolutions to current challenges in community life, particularly concerning women and justice issues within the family, church and society.
I wanted to grow as a leader so I could invest in other people’s lives. Vanguard [was] the place where I could grow spiritually and learn how to care for the needs of the people around me.
– Brooke Wilsman, ’21
The M.A. in Leadership Studies courses develop a theological and theoretical framework for understanding leadership, mission and culture, and ethics in order to reflect theologically on what it means to be in an authentic community and to examine the impact of mission in the community. The research course provides a practical opportunity for students to learn how to conduct inquiry through a variety of methods that will be used in coursework and in the final exit option.
Our leadership program is offered in two formats:
- On Campus: Students enroll in two 8-week classes (3 units each) one night a week throughout the semester and a 1-unit Saturday class
- Live Online: Students enroll in two 8-week classes (3 units each) one night a week throughout the semester and a 1-unit Saturday class. Students engage in a variety of online learning activities, including extensive reading and reflection, a live online format with faculty and other students, threaded discussions, and independent research.
Upon completion of the M.A. in Leadership Studies program, you will be prepared to:
- Apply leadership theory, a theological and ethical framework, and critical thinking skills in order to creatively impact their organizations and environments
- Deploy the intercultural and communication skills necessary to lead in partnership with people of other cultures and contexts
- Utilize tools of moral reasoning and decision making to ethical dilemmas in specific contexts of leadership, life and ministry
- Formulate and present a theological framework of spirituality in relation to character development and the soul care of leadership
- Contextualize leadership in any of the following elective concentrations: Christian Spirituality, Hispanic Leadership, or Women and Justice.
The two-year Master of Arts in Leadership Studies program consists of 11 required leadership courses and one capstone course, for a total of 36 units. The program includes Fall, Spring and Summer term starts.
| Sample Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| CLSG-632 Team Development and Conflict Management | 3 Credits |
| CLSG-638 Leadership/Global Issues | 3 Credits |
| CLSG-642 Soul Care of Others | 3 Credits |
| CLSG-715 Church/Contemporary Moral Issues | 3 Credits |
| RELG-788 Research Methods: Leadership Studies | 3 Credits |
At Vanguard University, you will experience personalized instruction paired with a strong spiritual foundation that fosters knowledge, cultivates character and deepens faith. Our Christian professor-mentors will prepare you to make meaningful contributions in your profession and community, equipping you to lead a Spirit-empowered life of Christ-centered leadership and service.
Accreditation
