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Pepperdine | Graziadio Business School
Pepperdine University campus

Online Master’s in Management and Leadership

Become a Manager and Leader Who Inspires Organizational Change

The online Master of Science in Management and Leadership (MSML) degree program from Pepperdine's Graziadio Business School prepares career-driven professionals, like you, to drive meaningful results within their organizations in times of change. You will learn how to effectively practice self-awareness, manage group dynamics, assess team culture, and resolve disputes—and you will gain the skills you need to transition into a management and leadership role, or advance within your organization.

Our online master's in management and leadership program will position you as an effective leader of organizational change across large-scale corporations, not-for-profit institutions, and cutting-edge startups. You will graduate poised to take on higher leadership roles such as director, entrepreneur, team manager, project manager, or business strategist. Within these positions, you will be well-equipped to promote empowered leadership, unified collaboration, and effective management strategies.

Online Program Highlights

Pepperdine's online Master of Science in Management and Leadership program offers a values-centered curriculum taught by award-winning faculty. Engage in the Education to Business (E2B™) program and collaborate on client-based projects with executives. Choose the program pace that's right for you and benefit from immersive learning experiences in Los Angeles.

 

 

Award-Winning Faculty

 

Education to Community (E2C) Capstone

 

16-Month Program or 24 months part time

 

No GMAT/GRE Required

 

Global Alumni Network of 48,000+

 

Group of students chatting outside

Education to Business (E2B™): Integral to Graziadio's experiential learning, the E2B program will empower you through client-based projects where you work directly with executives to address complex issues currently facing their organization.

faculty member helping students

Immersions: You will attend one immersion in Los Angeles during the first term of the program, where you will meet fellow students, faculty, and industry leaders. You will also attend one online immersion during the last term, where you will meet with industry leaders, as well as further network and collaborate with fellow students and faculty. In addition to networking opportunities, both immersions feature hands-on workshops, individual coaching, and live-case learning.

Experienced business professional walking downstairs

Distinguished Faculty: Pepperdine faculty are accomplished, award-winning leaders who have experience managing and improving multifunctional teams for companies like Boeing and Procter & Gamble. They make it their mission to truly get to know you, mentor you, and support your professional and personal growth.

online student taking classes

Live Online Classes: Hosted on Zoom, live classes encourage you to collaborate and engage in rich discussions and debates.

Quick Facts

 

Units

36

Courses

10

Duration

16 to 24 Months

Location

Online

Immersions

2 in L.A.

 

 

Curriculum

Pepperdine Graziadio's online Master of Science in Management and Leadership program is designed for career-driven professionals who want to gain the skills to enact meaningful results within their organizations during times of change. Upon completion of your MS in Management and Leadership, you'll be equipped to practice self-awareness, manage group dynamics, assess team culture, and resolve disputes. Our curriculum includes 31 core and two elective units.

 

Core Courses (31 units)

  BSCI 650 Personal and Leadership Development Workshop (1)

This workshop serves as an orientation toward the experiential and team-based models of learning used at Graziadio. Students engage in exercises and reflection that are meant to enhance communication, ethical decision-making, career development, and other relevant skills for interpersonal effectiveness in business. This course is graded credit or no credit.

  BSCI 651 Behavior in Organizations (4)

Students learn to apply the behavioral sciences to management issues through the integration of conceptual and experiential approaches to self-awareness, perception, communication, motivation, productivity, group behavior processes, leadership, organizational change, diversity, ethical issues, career planning, and the management of personal and organizational stress. Development of oral and written communication skills is stressed in this course. In addition to regular class sessions, a required personal and leadership development workshop, BSCI 650, assists students in attaining an accurate understanding of their patterns of communicating and relating to others. Students must complete the workshop in order to continue in this course.

  OTMT 600 Strengths-Based Leadership Workshop (0)

The global economy demands increased competitiveness at both personal and organizational levels. People can choose to respond either the easy way or the hard way. The hard way is to focus on what they (and others) perceive is wrong with them and pull themselves up by the bootstraps to improve those areas of weakness. The easy way is to tap into their underlying store of talents and understand exactly what is great about them at their core. The Strengths-Based Leadership Workshop deepens self-awareness, develops self-leadership, and shows students how to use that knowledge to improve their effectiveness. It also gives a work group or team a shared language that pinpoints their unique contributions in a way that is helpful and supportive.

  OTMT 601 Team Dynamics Workshop (0)

The Team Dynamics Workshop applies the self-awareness gained in the Strengths-Based Leadership workshop to building high-performance teams based on individual and combined team talents and strengths. This workshop gives work groups or teams a shared language that pinpoints their unique contributions in a way that is helpful and supportive, leading to high performance and enhanced team dynamics.

  OTMT 672 Organizational Dynamics and Managing Change (4)

Contemporary organizations exist in social, political, and economic environments that change rapidly and unpredictably. This course deals with how to manage changes by looking at strategy, organization design and processes, and multi-organizational systems. Theories and practice of change management, which deals with the individual, group, intergroup, and organizational levels, are discussed. Methods for diagnosing organizations and designing interventions that will increase an organization's effectiveness are explored. Specific topics include traditional and contemporary approaches to change management, organization learning, consulting skills, and organization development.

  OTMT 676 Talent Management (4)

As the 21st-century global economy has transitioned from the Knowledge Age to what is being called the Talent Age, talent is viewed as being the primary differentiator between great companies and ordinary ones. In this context, talent management has become an overarching strategic lens and a set of functions that can drive the management of human capital and create sustained competitive advantage for organizations. This course provides an in-depth analysis of the talent management functions of workforce planning, talent acquisition, learning and development, performance management, career planning, employee engagement, and retention.

  OTMT 678 Managerial Creativity and Innovation for Leadership (4)

Business leaders must respond to such contemporary realities as the information explosion, intense competition, accelerated social and technological change, fresh expectations from new generations, and ever-higher customer demands. Therefore, contemporary leaders must be more creative and innovative. This course focuses on imagination and invention (“creativity”) and the productive results of such processes (“innovation”). To enhance business problem-solving and effective leadership, students will integrate a dozen linear methods with a dozen nonlinear, imaginative tools.

  OTMT 679 Management and Leadership Capstone (2)

The Education to Community (E2C) Capstone Project is completed and presented in this course. Each student provides a summative reflection integrating and applying theories, frameworks, and learning across the MSML program, including an understanding of organizations as complex systems. Students also present evidence of completion of their individual learning contracts and a personal and professional leadership development plan in which core values, personal mission, and strategic action plans are articulated.

  OTMT 682 Designing and Leading Organizations for Sustainable Effectiveness (4)

This course provides an introduction to the variety of theories, frameworks, and models of organization design and management. The course will focus on how the multiple elements of organization design and management contribute to an organization's sustainable performance outcomes and strategic alignment. Multiple frameworks and models of organization will be examined. The course will provide special attention to several core organization design elements, including organizational structure and processes, job design, management and leadership style, talent management practices, and innovation and charge.

  OTMT 683 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (2)

This course explores the management of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) at work and how the Human Resources Management function can contribute to leveraging diversity as a competitive advantage. Using a multilevel approach, the course identifies how individuals, work relationships, teams, and organizations employ DEIB principles. Designed to better prepare HR professionals to meet the challenge of diversity in organizations, the course is taught from an HR practitioner's point of view using case studies, textbooks, external readings and videos, and current media. The application of DEIB principles to actionable HR topics is studied during interactive class sessions, employing discussion, experiential exercises, presentations, case analyses, and team projects. By the end of this course, students will have a holistic appreciation of the HR tools necessary to implement effective DEIB management practices.

  OTMT 688 Leadership and Virtual Teams (4)

Leadership is one of the most studied and least understood of human behaviors. In today's complex global business environment, strong leadership acumen is vital for successfully leading traditional and virtual teams. This course is designed to prepare individuals to lead teams and understand the nuances of the virtual business world. There will be a strong focus on communication processes in virtual organizations and how to build, manage, and lead both traditional and virtual teams. Issues relating to ethical leadership, virtual management, team-building efforts, defusing conflict, and building trust will also be points of focus.

  STGY 645 Responsible Business Practice Capstone (2)

This course examines multidisciplinary values such as environmental stewardship, corporate citizenship, product/service excellence, and financial strength. Students are required to integrate these four values in building a blueprint for business sustainability. The course is taught from a practitioner's point of view, utilizing a combination of case studies, current media, and guest speakers. The capstone project requires students to work collaboratively in preparing a business plan that will be presented to a panel of distinguished business entrepreneurs.

 

Elective Courses (2 units)

Choose from one of the following:

  OTMT 671 Cross-Cultural Management (2)

This course explores cultural influences on organizations and the people working within them. Emphasis is placed on learning how to “learn culture” using methods for scanning the cultural assumptions of groups; bringing personally held cultural assumptions to consciousness; gaining exposure to the cultures of a variety of different regions, nations, and groups, and considering their organizational and managerial implications; and facilitating communication and cooperation across cultures. Personal and managerial skills are developed to enhance performance in multicultural environments and on transpatriate assignments.

  PGBS 693 Global Business Intensive (1–4) (2 units required)

Hosted by partner schools abroad, Global Business Intensive focuses on critical aspects of doing business in the global economy. The course consists of lectures by distinguished faculty members of the partner schools and recognized experts from companies and research centers on a variety of contemporary business issues. The course involves a series of seminars covering such topics as international economics, culture, marketing, finance, and political and legal contexts. Some programs also include field visits to internationally recognized companies or organizations in the region for a hands-on look at business opportunities and management strategies. Also included is a study tour of important historical sites. The tour provides an important backdrop of culture and history that flavors the nation's experience.

 

 


 

 

Online Master's in Management and Leadership Admission

 

Admissions Criteria

Our online master's in business analytics program is designed for working professionals who have a few years of experience.

  • A bachelor's degree is required to apply.
  • GRE or GMAT scores are not required.
  • Applicants should have one year of relevant career experience.

Pepperdine reviews applications on a rolling basis, and there are typically three cohort start dates per year.
If you apply by the priority deadline, you are eligible for an application fee waiver.

Review a complete list of application requirements »

Tuition and Financial Aid

The online Master of Science in Management and Leadership program is 36 units. Additional fees can be expected each semester, including travel and accommodations for one required on-campus immersion.

You may be eligible to apply for federal financial aid to help fund your graduate education. To learn more about financing your education, visit our Tuition and Financial Aid page.

Upcoming Deadline

OCT
1

The standard deadline for the Spring Term is October 1st, 2025

Dec
2

The final deadline for the Spring Term is December 2nd, 2025

Jan
13

Summer Spring 2025 - Classes Start

Jan
31

The priority deadline for the Summer Term is January 31th, 2025

 

The Company You'll Keep

When you join the Graziadio community, you'll become part of a global network of over 48,000 alumni actively shaping the business world. Our graduates secure positions at top organizations, including Boeing, Amazon, Northrop Grumman, Disney, Bank of America, Oracle, AT&T, Kaiser Permanente, Wells Fargo, Edison, and Amgen. Joining our network means connecting with successful professionals across diverse industries and enhancing your career prospects.

Boeing logo

Amazon logo

Northrop Gruman logo

Disney logo

Bank of America logo

Oracle logo

ATT logo

Kaiser Permanente logo

Wells Fargo logo

Edison logo

AMGEN logo

Pepperdine University logo

 

Speak with a Student Ambassador

There's no better way to understand the online student experience than to speak with a current online student. Our dedicated student ambassadors can give you firsthand insight into balancing work, life, and an online master's program at Pepperdine Graziadio.

If you think you would benefit from speaking one-on-one with a current student, email the Pepperdine online admissions team to request an introduction.

Student Experience

Values-Based, Personalized Learning

The online Master of Science in Management and Leadership degree program at Pepperdine Graziadio offers small, collaborative classes led by our renowned faculty who are personally committed to your academic and professional success. Thanks to the ethical, sustainable business principles woven into the core of our teachings, and to the emphasis on experiential learning, you'll experience a truly unique, transformational graduate program within a global community.

Your Education, Supported

The academic success of our students is at the heart of everything we do. Through our wide variety of student success resources and workshops, our students have the opportunity to develop their writing, reading comprehension, presentation, test preparation, and time management abilities. They also have full access to our comprehensive library services.

Your Future with a Master's in Management and Leadership

Our Career and Professional Development department provides resources that will help you connect with other like-minded professionals and navigate potential career opportunities. Our dedicated advisors provide personalized guidance, career-building tools, and access to an extensive network of students, alumni, and employers around the globe.

 

Student Clubs and Organizations

Life at Graziadio extends beyond the classroom with our student-initiated and student-run groups. You can develop and enhance your leadership skills in one of the many clubs and organizations that are open to current online and on-campus students. With over a dozen clubs and organizations, you'll be able to find a group that best fits you.

 

In-Person Learning and Networking

You will attend a weekend immersion experience in Los Angeles during your first term as a student in the online master's in business analytics program. The immersion serves as an orientation to Pepperdine Graziadio. You'll get to know your peers and professors while enhancing your skills in communication and ethical decision making.

Accomplished, Accessible Leaders

Our values-driven professors have real-world experience at organizations like Hilton, Honda, and NASA—but that's only part of what makes them great. Beyond having exceptional credentials, our faculty members are known for their accessibility. They see themselves as mentors, and their ultimate goal is to position you for professional and personal success.

  What Sets Us Apart

Values-Based, Personalized Learning

The online Master of Science in Management and Leadership degree program at Pepperdine Graziadio offers small, collaborative classes led by our renowned faculty who are personally committed to your academic and professional success. Thanks to the ethical, sustainable business principles woven into the core of our teachings, and to the emphasis on experiential learning, you'll experience a truly unique, transformational graduate program within a global community.

  Student Success

Your Education, Supported

The academic success of our students is at the heart of everything we do. Through our wide variety of student success resources and workshops, our students have the opportunity to develop their writing, reading comprehension, presentation, test preparation, and time management abilities. They also have full access to our comprehensive library services.

  Careers

Your Future with a Master's in Management and Leadership

Our Career and Professional Development department provides resources that will help you connect with other like-minded professionals and navigate potential career opportunities. Our dedicated advisors provide personalized guidance, career-building tools, and access to an extensive network of students, alumni, and employers around the globe.

 

  Student Clubs

Student Clubs and Organizations

Life at Graziadio extends beyond the classroom with our student-initiated and student-run groups. You can develop and enhance your leadership skills in one of the many clubs and organizations that are open to current online and on-campus students. With over a dozen clubs and organizations, you'll be able to find a group that best fits you.

 

  Immersion

In-Person Learning and Networking

You will attend a weekend immersion experience in Los Angeles during your first term as a student in the online master's in business analytics program. The immersion serves as an orientation to Pepperdine Graziadio. You'll get to know your peers and professors while enhancing your skills in communication and ethical decision making.

  Faculty

Accomplished, Accessible Leaders

Our values-driven professors have real-world experience at organizations like Hilton, Honda, and NASA—but that's only part of what makes them great. Beyond having exceptional credentials, our faculty members are known for their accessibility. They see themselves as mentors, and their ultimate goal is to position you for professional and personal success.

 

Enroll in a Distinguished Business School

We strive to facilitate an enriching student experience. The Princeton Review has reported on our high-quality programs and faith-based education.

 

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Take the Next Step

Reach out to us and an admissions counselor can give you a tour of the online classroom, answer questions about application requirements, help with application fee waivers, and so much more.

 

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