Master of Organizational Leadership

Is This Program for Me?

Do you tend to emerge as the leader when working on a team? Have supervisors or mentors recognized your leadership potential? Are you interested in understanding human behavior within organizational contexts? If you want to advance your career and skillfully lead others in a manner informed by Christian principles, then this program is for you!

Program Prerequisites

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. The minimum GPA for admission is 2.75 along with the submission of a supervisor’s disposition form and two letters of recommendation as an indicator of academic ability and discipline.

Plan of Study

Program Objectives

Building upon adult learning principles, culturally responsive leadership, purpose-oriented project management, organizational communication, and values-based performance appraisal, graduates will acquire the advanced knowledge, skills, and dispositions that characterize faith-informed leadership.

Core Concepts

Models of moral and ethical leadership
Tools for strategic project management
Skills for sharing information safely and communicating ethically
Group dynamics and mission-focused decision making
Performance appraisal and employee development
Emerging technology tools and trends
Crisis and emergency management

What Makes Us Different?

Christian Principles

Samford is a Christian university; thus, prospective students will encounter Biblical principles woven throughout their coursework. Graduates will develop the skills and habits of mind that are indicative of Christlike leaders who strive to “make a positive difference” in the workplace.

Applied Learning

The program features six hours of applied learning in a workplace setting of the student’s choice, allowing the direct use of new knowledge and skills as a culminating feature of degree completion.

Online Accessibility

Although not unique to Samford, 100% online delivery makes earning a master’s degree accessible to working professionals from communities near and far.

Admission Timeline

Samford Online offers six opportunities for graduate admission throughout the annual application cycle.

Fall Term A - 2025

August 1st - Recommended submission date for all application materials
August 15th - Admission notifications begin
August 25th - Classes begin for Fall Term A

Fall Term B - 2025

September 15th - Recommended submission date for all application materials
October 1st - Admission notifications begin
October 20th - Classes begin for Fall Term B

Spring Term A – 2026

December 1^st – Recommended submission date for all application materials
December 15^th – Admission notifications begin
January 12^th – Classes begin for Spring Term A

Spring Term B – 2026

February 1^st – Recommended submission date for all application materials
February 15^th – Admission notifications begin
March 9^th – Classes begin for Spring Term B

Summer Terms I & III – 2026

May 1^st – Recommended submission date for all application materials
May 15^th – Admission notifications begin
June 1^st – Classes begin for Summer Terms I & III

Summer Term II – 2026

June 1^st – Recommended submission date for all application materials
June 15^th – Admission notifications begin
July 9^th – Classes begin for Summer Term II

Graduate Admission Requirements

All students applying to graduate Samford Online programs are required to provide the following to accompany their completed application form.

Application Fee

Pay a non-refundable $35 application fee. The fee is payable by credit card and is waived for Samford alumni, students, and employees.

Academic Transcripts

Official transcripts from all colleges where you attended are required. Official transcripts can be obtained by contacting the respective institution and are only considered official when they bear the issuing institution’s seal and arrive with the seal intact. Have official electronic transcripts emailed to edgradadmit@samford.edu or sent by postal mail to:

Samford Admissions
800 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, AL 35229

Disposition Form

Your current supervisor must complete a disposition form and may not be the same person who completes a letter of recommendation. Requests to supervisors will be generated from the application form.

Letters of Recommendation

Request two letters of recommendation from non-family members who are preferably a supervisor, employer, mentor, co-worker or spiritual leader. Requests to recommenders will be generated from the application form.

Transfer Credit

Students transferring from other institutions must arrange to have official transcripts from each college/university attended sent directly to Samford University. Have official transcripts emailed to edagradadmit@samford.edu .

Three hours of transfer equivalent credits may be accepted from another institution which is fully accredited by one of the six regional accrediting agencies below. Three additional hours may be considered by petitioning the Dean of the School of Education. After an application is received, transfer credits will be evaluated by the department chair and the Dean of the School of Education for applicability towards the Samford program. Transfer credits more than six years old will not be accepted.

Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
Western Association of Schools and Colleges; Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)