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  • Center for Leadership Studies
      • Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership
      • Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership
      • Master of Arts in Leadership Studies
      • Online Master of Arts in Leadership Studies
      • Online Bachelor of Arts in Humanitarian Leadership
      • Online Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership
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Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership

Our Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership will prepare you to be a groundbreaking scholar/practitioner capable of conducting and publishing original research. Your work will help develop new theory and practice in the leadership arts. The degree is the ideal preparation for an academic career, or any other calling requiring high order analytical thinking, problem solving, and insightful research.

The Ph.D. requires a total of 72 credits. As a full-time student, a working professional can finish the coursework and dissertation process in four years. Successful completion of the program involves:

  • Core courses (36 credits)
  • Concentration courses (18 credits)
  • Research seminars (6 credits)
  • Dissertation courses (12 credits)
  • Comprehensive examination
  • Dissertation completion

Program Quick Facts

  • No GRE required
  • 72 credits
  • $861 per credit (2023–24)
  • 4 years to complete
  • 2-3 residencies a year
  • Cohort-based classes

Organizational Leadership - Meet Our Faculty

Leadership training matters because we never arrive when it comes to leadership. We will never be that perfect leader. We have to always be in a position where we're willing to learn. My name is Rowlanda Cawthon, Dean of the College of Business here at Northwest University. I've worked here for almost six years, one year as a dean and five years as a professor. Prior to that, I worked for the Department of Corrections for 11 years.

So my name is Dr. J.P. Smith and I've been with the Northwest University family for the last six months. I am an adjunct professor teaching with the school, the College of Business, and I'm also in the military. I'm an army chaplain and I've been in the military for 27 years. And so pretty much everything I do centers around leadership.

The quintessential advice that I would give a leader who is navigating through difficult times would be to lean into others, seek the advice, support, and help of others. But more importantly, be willing to look inward and assess your own leadership style to make sure that you're leading in a way that the current time needs you to lead. And then, more importantly, be willing to be creative with solutions. And being able to really take a balcony view perspective to be able to look down on the situation, be able to lean in it, tap into others in order to make the change, that transformational change, that needs to occur.

One word of advice I would give leaders is never give up. My grandfather always taught me to never give up. He told me at a young age. He said, son, if you if you get knocked down, you know, while you're down there, do some push ups, maybe even some sit ups. But in all your "getting". Make sure you get back up. Life is not always going to be about things going good. You're going to face some adversity and especially in leadership, you're not always going to have the best team. You're not always going to have the best situation. However, in that adversity, if you just hang in there and continue to move forward, you can make it. Doctoral programs, you know, that's just one way that an individual can expand themselves. You know, always talk about, individuals who can expand their capacity. If a person goes towards a doctoral program, what that individual is saying is I want more opportunities to succeed in life and also to make a difference because it gives you more opportunities when you do that.

Leadership training matters because we never arrive when it comes to leadership. We will never be that perfect leader. We have to always be in a position where we're willing to learn about leadership and how we can improve our leadership capacity. So for me, that is why leadership training matters. That's why it's important to immerse yourself into educational experiences that are going to shift how you think about yourself, even how you think about yourself from the perspective of a leader, because sometimes we think that we know it all when we really don't.

You know, if you're on the fence and you're concerned about whether or not a doctoral program is for you. I can tell you that it is. You know, for me, I remember when I started out, I thought to myself, I'm not the smartest person in the world. Matter of fact, I wasn't even the smartest person in the room. However, I had grit and I had this stick-to-itiveness. I wouldn't give up. And that's really what it takes. It takes this desire and a little bit of discipline. And if you have that, a doctoral program is for you.

Integrated Course Format by Year

Every Session includes Core, Concentration, and Dissertation coursework.

Note: Course schedule is subject to change.

Year One

  • Core Courses: Advanced Leadership Theory, Critical Inquiry, Organizational Theory, Organizational Change
  • Concentration Courses: Strategic Thinking & Planning, History of Higher Education, Historical Models of Ministry Leadership, Financial Management, Higher Education Leadership, A Theology of Christian Organizations
  • Dissertation Courses: Quantitative Research and Statistics, Qualitative Research

Year Two

  • Core Courses: Leadership and Diversity, Organizational Communication, Organizational Culture, Leadership and Ethics
  • Concentration Courses: Data-Driven Decision-making, Higher Education Law, Current Issues in Missiology
  • Dissertation Courses: Advanced Research Methods, Research Seminars

Year Three

  • Core Courses: Doctoral Conference in Organizational Leadership
  • Concentration Courses: Managing Innovation, Performance Evaluation in Ministry Organizations, Conflict Management, Higher Education Finance, Transforming Ministry Organizations, Organizational Consulting, Self-Leadership in Organizational Life, Principal Internship (if applicable)
  • Dissertation Courses: Research Seminar, Guided Reading, Dissertation Proposal

Year Four

  • Dissertation Research and Writing

Hear From Students in the Program

Hi, I'm Charlee Magruder from Jacksonville, Florida, and I'm very excited about being in the Ph.D. Program the first time here at the Center for Leadership Studies in Northwest University, I've been in leadership positions all my life. I've started from when I went to the Naval Academy and my first ship, I was in charge of some 20 young men that we had to get the mission done. And that was my, kind of my, introduction to leadership. I was looking for a college or university that has a Ph.D. program in leadership. But Northwest really stood out, it was really unique, but I thought, what is Northwest? And so I started researching what Northwest was not even know where they were and found out that they had this amazing program.

I like the fact that they integrate faith into the program where it's not forcing you to talk a lot about your faith or evangelizing. It's an integration. I can explore my own faith while I'm doing this program to help me better understand me as I'm going forward and trying to work with others. So I think that's a really good fit.

This doctoral program is that foundational piece that's going to help me figure out more about myself and about leadership and how to step into this next role that I hope to play. If someone is considering the Northwest Ph.D. Program, I'd say, come do it, jump in, be a part of this because it's changing lives. The whole intent of this program is, is to move someone forward, to launch them into a position where they can be a leader out in the rest of the world. To take a leadership role, to be a part of the solution of some of the problems that we're facing in the world today. And that's what this program is designed to do.

My name is Li Lowry. I am the Director for International Education at Northwest University. I came back to live in the States in 2009 when I was asked to, invited to establish the International Student Services Office at NU. At the time, I had been looking and searching for a doctoral program in the area. After learning about the doctoral program, I was attracted by the way this program is set up, the hybrid way, allows me to have family life. In addition to that, my work life as well. I've learned so much from this. You don't have to wait until you finish the degree to be able to use what you've learned.

For anyone who's thinking about doing a PhD and I would say don't just think about it, do your homework, list your pros and cons. And if you're on the verge or on the edge, just do it, because once you jump into it, you'll realize it's such a rewarding experience. You won't regret it.

Would you like to get started right away?

Begin the admission process now by completing our online application form.

Start an Application

Transfer Courses


On average, new students transfer in

9

corresponding courses,

adding up to around

$7,400

in savings.

View Course Descriptions

You can explore program details such as course descriptions and graduation requirements for this program in our academic catalog.

Go to the Catalog
Dr. Valerie Rance

Questions about this program?

I would love to answer any questions about the Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership program that you may have.

Dr. Valerie Rance

Co-Director/Dean of the Center for Leadership Studies
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
425-889-6316

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