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
