Curriculum
Writing for Scholar-Practitioners focuses on scholarly and academic writing and reading, both of which are skills students develop throughout this program in working toward the dissertation project. The course focuses on the fundamentals of scholarly and academic writing at the doctoral level. The course is not designed to teach students how to write, but it is designed to re-familiarize students with academic writing, and to familiarize students with doctoral writing and program requirements and expectations.
This experientially-focused course examines the leadership process using team and group dynamics as a context. Students will investigate contemporary issues related to team building, interpersonal and group relations, and learn to utilize effective problem-solving and decision-making skills. Special emphasis is placed on effectively initiating collaborative approaches with internal and external stakeholders.
This course covers both the philosophy of science and the fundamentals of research. In terms of the philosophy of science, this includes the ontological and epistemological foundations of science, and content surrounding indigenous science and methodology. Regarding the fundamentals of research, content covered includes the underpinnings of research, differentiating between qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research, and covering the different philosophical streams and periods related to methodology. This course prepares students for more advanced methodology courses.
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the foundations and evolution of the field of organization development and change. The course also explores systems theory and other OD theories and concepts to better understand the dynamics of change at various organizational levels, as well as the contributions of the field to the practice of organization development and change in local and global contexts. Students will explore key aspects of the OD consulting process and OD interventions and have an opportunity to apply their knowledge through various experiential learning activities and assignments.
This course emphasizes leadership development and practice. A review of leadership theories and their applications to business is accomplished through experiential learning and sharing the stories of each student. This requires students to critically analyze leadership theories with a strong emphasis placed on contemporary leadership perspectives. Students will be required to connect leadership theories and practices to leadership situations that are relevant to their work experiences and contemporary issues of social justice and injustice.
This experientially-focused course introduces Use-of-Self (UoS) and Self-as-Instrument Theory, a core competency across all OD competency frameworks, and its practical applications methods. The course examines the roots of UoS, including T-Groups, and explores the underlying practices related to or necessary for effective UoS practice, including emotional intelligence, self-awareness, situational awareness, mindfulness, relational intelligence, and presence, among others. Students will be engaged experientially in applying UoS methods and techniques for a variety of organizational contexts, including facilitation,consulting, leading, coaching, and research in organizations.
This course engages students in a systematic study of organizations through an ethics and socio-cultural lens. Students are challenged to develop frameworks for ethical thinking with regards to workplace interactions and processes, with a strong emphasis on ethical challenges, including those related to multicultural issues and other organizational forms associated with workplace socio-demographics, diversity, and cultural dynamics. Emphasis is placed on the importance of morality in the workplace and in society. Students are required to investigate current research regarding issues of morality, ethics, and social responsibility in the design, governance, and operations of organizations.
This course challenges students to embrace a systems view of leadership and change at the organizational level. Students compare, contrast, and critique assessment models and designs utilized to effect change in the organization. Students are required to apply their own models of organizational change, strategy, and organizational capacity building to their work experiences.
This course expands student knowledge specific to quantitative methodologies within the social and behavioral sciences. Students are required to thoroughly understand the differences between methods and effectively identify the appropriate methodology that fits a given research project. Survey techniques, univariate and bi-variate descriptive statistical concepts are emphasized.
As a follow-on to ODC 740 (Quantitative Methods), this course is a natural continuation, focusing on the direct application of quantitative methodologies and statistical tests for organizational research. The course is instructed through the combination of organization science scenarios and statistics software technology to engage students in quantitative research decision-making based on the content learned, and interpretation of single and combined quantitative approaches. Application of advanced quantitative methods for organization research, such as Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), are also introduced in this course.
Organization development and change is rooted in the social,behavioral, and organizational sciences, and this course provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of organizational behavior and Industrial-organizational psychology/work psychology, including the application of psychological theory relative to business, human resources development, and industrial work. The course also explores how these theories overlap with systems theory and other ODC theories and concepts to better understand the dynamics of change across organizational levels and contexts, including in organizational policy, talent acquisition, learning and development, organizational learning theory, occupational health psychology, work demand, and workplace relationships, among other topics. Students will explore these key concepts through various experiential learning activities and assignments.
This course expands student knowledge specific to qualitative methodologies within the social and behavioral sciences. Students will come to thoroughly understand the differences between methods and effectively identify the appropriate methodology that fits a given research project. Interviewing, case study and grounded theory approaches are emphasized.
As a follow-on to ODC 750 (Qualitative Methods), this course is a natural continuation, focusing on the direct application of the six traditional qualitative inquiry approaches, and the combination & triangulation of qualitative methodologies. Using organization science scenarios, students engage in analytical processes to advance their knowledge and understanding of coding, interpretive analyses, and bias abatement, among other techniques. The application of qualitative inquiry in intervention research is covered and applied, exploring action research, design-based research, appreciative inquiry, and other intervention research methods. A broader exploration of advanced and nontraditional qualitative methods, including storytelling, qualitative meta-analysis, and cognitive ethnography are also introduced.
This course brings together the core concepts of change science and theory, engaging formal and informal processes of leading and managing change. The course addresses change on numerous levels, including individual, group, organizational, community, national, and global, and within multiple contexts, including organizational, behavioral, political, and social. The content engages theories and practices of change, change processes, change roles, change structures, and existing change models from interpersonal, interdisciplinary, inter-professional, international, and intercultural lenses.
This advanced topics course explores the relationship of conflict with change in organization development, design, and consulting practice. Organizational, psychological, sociological, and human development theory are examined and applied. Additionally, traditional, novel, and peripheral organization development philosophies and organization science methodologies that aid in the practice and research of organization development, design, effectiveness, and change are covered in the course to complement and expand the collective body of knowledge and learning regarding practice in the field.
This seminar focuses on the integration of your learning throughout the program, which will proceed throughout your dissertation research. This course focuses on that integration process through review of previous dissertations, exploration of advanced research methodology topics, discussion of the dissertation process with the faculty and other guests, and the completion of a multi-stage Dissertation Prospectus that will serve as an initial draft of your dissertation proposal. The prospectus will also be presented at a scholarly conference.
Students in this final course will work independently within a prescribed framework to complete their dissertation. Students will be required to seek out and receive approval of a dissertation committee that will begin to work with the student to draft her or his dissertation proposal. Students will be required to select a topic, draft research questions, construct an appropriate literature review, and conduct/analyze research utilizing research methodologies learned throughout time in the program. Two critical benchmarks must be met in this course: the first entails successfully completing a proposal, while the second necessitates passing the dissertation defense.