AU Organization Development

Questions?

  • AU MSOD
    202-885-6206
    Fax: 202-885-1070
    ODprograms@american.edu
    Watkins, Room 111

Mailing Address
  • Degree of Change

    The Degree
    of Change

    The AU Master of Science
    in Organization Development,
    the leading degree of its kind,
    is rooted in academic rigor and
    energized by experiential learning.

  • Global Learning

    Advanced International Organization Development

    This certificate provides mid-career professionals the skills and international experience needed to facilitate and guide change in organizations around the world.

  • Student

    The Cohort
    Experience

    Learning in a cohort offers the advantage
    of experiencing a group work and develop over time.

  • Scholar-Practitioner

    Scholar-Practitioner Tradition

    MSOD faculty, pre-eminent scholars and practitioner like program founder Edie Seashore, mentor the next generation.

  • OD in Action

    OD in Action

    AU MSOD alumni lead change in Fortune 500 companies
    and non-profit and social justice organizations
    in the U.S. and around the world.

AUNTL Director Katherine Farquhar

Are you ready to join more than 1400 professionals who have earned a Master of Science in Organization Development from American University? The AU MSOD prepares you as a professional agent of change. We build on a scholar-practitioner tradition of organization development and change management. With the strengths of a program built through a 30-year partnership between AU and the NTL Institute behind you, you are readied by experiential, cohort-based graduate education to support organizations and individuals through the continuous changes needed in a fast-moving, complex world.


OUR FACULTY

Our outstanding faculty make AU an excellent choice for your professional degree. Internationally-known scholar-practitioners, AU professors are leaders in the OD field. Experts in learning by doing, they bring the fruits of their global practice into the classroom. They instruct, coach, and mentor our students to fuse theory and application into top-tier OD practice.


OUR CURRICULUM

In cohorts of 15-20 members, our students complete the MSOD curriculum in approximately two years. Most of the courses meet on campus for two 3-day class weekends, roughly a month apart. There is an intensive Residency in each year: the 6-day Use of Self Residency in Year 1, and the 10-day International Residency in Year 2. In Year 1, students learn foundational elements of OD. In Year 2, students put theory into practice. They work in teams with local client systems during the International Residency, complete an individual field Practicum, and pass a comprehensive exam that demonstrates their “voice” as OD practitioners. Every cohort has two hours of Learning Community Time in each class weekend to deepen learning about human and systems dynamics within the group.


THE RESULTS

Our graduates are experts in OD and systems change. They are consultants, managers, and professionals in multinational corporations, consulting firms, nonprofits, international nongovernmental organizations, government agencies, and private practice. They are distinguished in the field by their professional “use of self” and in their commitment to advancing OD. Their knowledge and skills encompass action research, process consultation, group and team dynamics, diversity and cultural competence, diagnosis and change at all levels of client systems, international experience, development of client system leadership and effectiveness, and the ethical and committed practice of OD.


Thank you for your interest. We look forward to hearing from you.


Katherine Farquhar, Ph.D.
Director, AU MS in Organization Development

Application Deadline and Info Sessions

Cohort 66 Application Deadline:
July 16, 2012
Rolling Admissions

Information sessions for Cohort 66, starting in October 2012, will be held from March through June.  Check back regularly for an updated schedule of sessions in your area.

For questions and more information, contact Rebecca Lehner, Recruitment Specialist, at 202-885-6494.

Info Session RSVP


Segal-Seashore Fellowship

Congratulations to our 2012
Segal-Seashore Fellowship Awardees!
This year's fellows are:

Omolola Adele-Oso, Cohort 63
Tip Fallon, Cohort 63
Kathleen Rozner, Cohort 64
Keisha Sitney, Cohort 62

learn more


FACULTY PROFILE

Robert Marshak

Dr. Robert Marshak has taught organization dynamics and change leadership in SPA since 1977. He received the OD Network’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and is the author of over 50 publications on consulting and change.

Learn More