UD Launches New Master of Leadership Program

Braniff Graduate School Unites Liberal Arts, Business Education for Aspiring Leaders

With education’s ever-increasing focus on science and technology, organizations, schools and businesses are beginning to experience a “soft-skills” deficit at a time when interpersonal communication, creative problem-solving and adaptability have never been more important. That’s why the University of Dallas has announced it will offer a new Master of Leadership degree through its Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts in collaboration with the Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business. The program, which launches August 2017, will help executives, teachers and aspiring leaders gain both the soft and the strategic skills needed to guide with integrity and innovate with vision.

“Although data analytics has its place, leaders succeed because of their human understanding, their integrity, insight and ability to inspire,” said Associate Professor of English Brett Bourbon, who serves as the program’s director.  “The Master of Leadership foregrounds the human dimension of leadership, giving leaders and future leaders the strategic understanding to integrate business skills with a deep comprehension of the human person.”

A unique combination of liberal arts and business education, the 30-credit-hour Master of Leadership will consist of courses like “Storytelling as a Mode of Thinking,” “The Craft of Leadership” and “Managing Complex Organizations” and is designed for professionals who work in organizations ranging from private industry to public enterprise, start-ups, schools and nonprofits.

“The Master of Leadership program combines the best aspects of UD — its dedication to both the liberal arts tradition and real-world business education,” said Joshua Parens, dean of the Braniff Graduate School. “Liberal arts enthusiasts will learn how to apply their broad education in innovative ways, while business professionals will gain insight through studying the great leaders who shaped our nation’s history.”

Students will learn from professors, executives and consultants who will combine case study-analysis, organizational studies, behavioral science and the liberal arts in the classroom for a distinctive and powerful graduate leadership education. The program can be completed through a combination of online and on-campus courses. For more information, visit udallas.edu/leadership.