Organizational Leadership, Bachelor of Science (545)
Program Coordinator
Gary W. Houchens, gary.houchens@wku.edu, (270) 745-4999
The Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership provides an academic foundation for the professional and career-focused study of leadership principles and skills. It is specifically designed to advance the professional objectives of students who desire to complete a baccalaureate degree for career advancement and expanded job opportunities. The combination of leadership, management, and global and social-cultural perspectives provides graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide effective leadership at various levels and in a variety of occupational settings.
This degree program requires a minimum of 48 semester hours: 24 hours in the leadership core plus 24 hours in identified electives. Students must meet all University requirements for admission, continuance in the program, and graduation. Students admitted to the Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership must have previously earned an associate’s degree from a regionally-accredited program or have attained junior status.
Program Requirements (48 hours)
A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.
Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| LEAD 200 | Introduction to Leadership Studies | 3 |
| or LEAD 300 | Leadership Theory and Application | |
| LEAD 325 | Leading Change | 3 |
| LEAD 330 | Leadership Ethics and Decision-Making | 3 |
| LEAD 395 | Contemporary Leadership Issues | 3 |
| LEAD 400 | Practicum in Leadership | 3 |
| LEAD 440 | Leading Teams | 3 |
| LEAD 450 | Leadership in Global Contexts | 3 |
| LEAD 465 | Leadership Coaching | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Select 24 hours from the following: | 24 | |
| Introductory Accounting—Financial | ||
| Introductory Accounting-Managerial | ||
| Project Management | ||
| Technology Management / Supervision / Team Building | ||
| Introduction to Business and Entrepreneurship | ||
| Process and Effects of Mass Communication | ||
| Business Communication | ||
| Organization and Management | ||
| Principles of Marketing | ||
| Management of Human Resources | ||
| Effective Listening | ||
| Leadership Communication | ||
| Advanced Intercultural Communication | ||
| Statistics | ||
| Business Writing | ||
| Innovation Management | ||
| Entrepreneurship | ||
| International Entrepreneurship | ||
| Small Business Management | ||
| Principles of Finance | ||
| Health Care Organization and Management | ||
| Human Resources Management for Healthcare Managers | ||
| Health Systems Management | ||
| Ambulatory Care Administration | ||
| Principles and Methods of Health Planning | ||
| Investigative Methods in Interdisciplinary Studies | ||
| Legal Environment of Business | ||
| Organization and Management | ||
| Business Law | ||
| International Business | ||
| Ethics and Critical Thinking | ||
| Human Resource Management | ||
| Decision Modeling | ||
| Operations Management | ||
| International Management | ||
| Managing Projects in Organizations | ||
| Management of Nonprofit Organizations | ||
| Business Communication Fundamentals | ||
| Human Resource Information Systems | ||
| Employment Law | ||
| Effective Staffing Practices | ||
| International Human Resource Management | ||
| Organizational Behavior | ||
| Management of Organizational Conflict | ||
| Basic Marketing Concepts | ||
| Consumer Behavior | ||
| Integrated Marketing Communications | ||
| Services Marketing | ||
| International Marketing | ||
| Personal Selling | ||
| Social Media Marketing | ||
| Senior Seminar-Marketing | ||
| Marketing Research | ||
| Marketing Management | ||
| Supply Chain Management | ||
| Sales Force Management | ||
| Advanced Personal Selling Strategies | ||
| Marketing Study Abroad | ||
| Legal Ethics | ||
| Public Policy | ||
| Government and Ethics | ||
| International Organization and Law | ||
| Issues in Human Resource Management | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Issues in Cross-Cultural Psychology | ||
| The Psychology of Sales Behavior | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Industrial / Organizational Psychology | ||
| Recreation Leadership | ||
| Grant Writing for Nonprofit Organizations | ||
| The Community in Rural and Urban Settings | ||
| Diversity in American Society | ||
| Systems Thinking and Problem-Solving in Complex Organizations | ||
| Total Hours | 48 | |
The following restrictions apply to this major: no more than 24 semester hours from the School of Journalism and Broadcasting; no more than 30 hours in courses administered by the Gordon Ford College of Business; no more than 12 upper-level semester hours from the Gordon Ford College of Business.
Students who transfer to WKU with an applied associate degree (e.g., Associate of Applied Science) receive a 12-hour waiver from the overall upper-level course requirement.
Finish in Four Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENG 100 | 3 | LEAD 330 | 3 |
| MATH 109 (or higher) | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| LEAD 200 or LEAD 300 | 3 | COMM 145 | 3 |
| Colonnade: Arts & Humanities | 3 | HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | Colonnade: Literary Studies | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| LEAD 325 | 3 | LEAD 395 | 3 |
| Major Elective | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Colonnade: Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Colonnade: Natural & Physical Sciences | 3 | Colonnade: Natural & Physical Sciences with lab | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| LEAD 440 | 3 | LEAD 450 (fulfills major and Connections: Local to Global) | 3 |
| Major Elective | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Colonnade: Writing in the Disciplines | 3 | Colonnade: Social and Cultural | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| LEAD 465 | 3 | LEAD 400 | 1-6 |
| Major Elective | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Colonnade: Systems | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours 120 | |||