The Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership with a Sustainability concentration (MLS) degree is designed for students who want to pursue an advanced leadership position within their current organization, make a career change, work in the nonprofit sector, or those interested in promoting change within their community.
This online M.A. in Organizational Leadership with a Sustainability concentration degree program examines how organizational decision-making and activities impact society, the environment, and the organizations’ own prosperity – or the triple-bottom line of the new economy: people, planet, and profit.
Claremont Lincoln's master's degree programs all have the distinct advantage of being 100% online, providing the flexibility to determine how and when coursework is performed. CLU master's degree programs can be completed in as little as 13 months. In addition, the Admissions process has been streamlined for convenience. Neither a GRE or GMAT score is required to apply or be admitted.
The Sustainability concentration is taken along with courses from The Claremont Core®. These courses teach the engagement skills necessary to implement the theories and ideas of organizational management.
Leadership in action is designed to support the exploration of leadership through self-reflection and assessment, including creating a personal mission statement and developing a leadership philosophy. Students will review a variety of leadership assessments, theories, and strategies on power dynamics, decision making, ethically addressing toxic leadership, conflict resolution, communication, and cultural awareness. Students will explore practical and experiential leadership styles and consider consequences of choices in the role of leading others. In addition, students will review and apply research strategies to develop knowledge and skills preparing for the capstone project. The course topics center around developing key leadership and action research skills to understand influencers in the social change process.
In this course students will gain a basic understanding of the interdisciplinary study of environmental science. Environmental science encompasses many aspects of sustainability including the “triple bottom line” of economic, environmental, and social policies. The scientific method, ecosystems, how human activities impact natural systems, biogeochemical cycles, how organisms interact within a community, and operating principles of sustainable development will be discussed. The content will then build upon this foundation by examining how human populations impact natural systems and how this relates to sustainable development including hazard identification and risk assessment.
As the culminating course in all programs, students apply skills, knowledge, and professional application learned throughout the degree. The planning for this course begins at the start of the program, continues through the evolution of learning as students design their projects, and peaks with students being prepared to implement the project during the capstone course. The specific content in each student’s degree program provides a foundation for the research and design. The Capstone Project demonstrates student mastery of program and institutional learning outcomes.
In this course students will develop an understanding of critical Earth resource systems including biological, mineral, water, and atmospheric, and the interdependence of the various resource systems (water, energy, minerals, and land). The impacts of resource use, critical factors for those resources, evolution of resource use by humans, the competition between agricultural needs and natural ecosystems, and waste streams on the environment are discussed. Students will evaluate the inputs required from each system to support other systems through interdependence, evaluate environmental resource values and impacts across systems, and the instabilities that can result from interdependencies of multiple, constrained resource systems. The course concludes by discussing future trends and limits for various Earth resource systems to enable students to develop basic proposals to address these challenges.
This course explores the policies, laws, and politics of environmental protection and use of natural resources. Students will review the history of the U.S. natural resource policies and the shift from local and state governments to federal leadership on matters of environmental health and quality protection. The course covers the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) along with key federal statutes such as the Administrative Procedure Act, Clean Air Act, The Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act including the effects of the policies for sustainability. The roles of the three branches of the federal government are explored from a historical context in regard to natural resources acquisition, disposal, conservation, and preservation.
In this course, students will explore the balance between meeting needs (and desires) of current generations without depleting resources for future generations. Students will explore the limits of depletion for stock-limited resources and of availability for flow-limited resources. This content will be coupled with efforts to assign plausible net values to the use of various resources based on the levels of needs addressed and how to address and communicate these values as a leader. Additionally, students will develop value metrics to optimize the use of a selected resource system.
The basic concepts of Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) can be used as a tool/ set of tools to predict potential impacts and aid in decision making for such areas of water, soil, noise, air, climate, atmospheric quality, biological resources, cultural resources, and others. In this course, students will learn the historical background leading up to the passage and implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), setting of national priorities for the environment, the creation of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Topics include key components of environmental assessment process, methods and techniques for conducting analyses relating to environmental risk, social and economic impact, technology needs, impacts from the proposed federal actions, suggested alternatives, and the no-action alternative.
An overview of the financial accounting and reporting process for managers is the focus of this course. It is designed to facilitate understanding of the financial reporting process and forecasting for strategic thinking and informed decisions. Students will use various data analysis tools to make judgements about a firm’s financial condition in an ever-changing business landscape. Key topics include the time value of money, cost and value, the fundamental relationship between risk and return, choosing investment projects that support firm strategy, alternative financing decisions, and sustainable business practices.
Throughout the course students will consider the entire research design process, learning how to conceptualize, problematize, diagnose, understand, and translate findings across social, political, environmental, healthcare, and organizational contexts. By the end of this course, students will have had experience posing research questions, exploring their own research goals, understanding the primary components of the research design process, and consuming a variety of styles of inquiry and action. Students will also consider course concepts in the context of their own future projects, and begin activating the research skills they will use in Applying the Claremont Core® Capstone Course. (Prerequisite: MCC 5320: Invitation to Inquiry: Foundations of the Claremont Core®)
In this university-wide foundational course, learners begin their engagement with the four domains that make up the Claremont Core domains: Mindfulness, Dialogue, Collaboration, and Change. These four domains consist of transferable skills and resources that support leadership and facilitation capacities that accentuate students’ professional work. Students become familiar with aspects of mindfulness and dialogue that will undergird their work. Concepts of collaboration and change leadership are also introduced, and students begin the process of locating their work in a community where positive social change can be facilitated. Finally, students also determine the scope and aim of their Capstone Projects and begin to use resources from the four Claremont Core® domains to build their research repertoire and leadership acumen.
In a world that is reimagining what is possible, Strategic Communication: Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will present students a historic perspective of the legacy and manifestation of structural racism, and other societal and cultural marginalization including the unintended consequences of systemic exclusion. Students will build upon the principles learned in the Claremont Core® to create environments where difficult conversations can take place with both internal and external audiences. This course will equip students to tackle challenges with diverse teams using language which acknowledges and respects difference to create equitable outcomes. In this course, students analyze self, personal strengths, and biases, and accumulate tools and communication skills in dialogue, collaboration, and bridging across divides. With these tools, students hone their abilities to build advocacy for dismantling oppressive structures and rebuilding personal, professional, and civic spaces that maximize diversity and facilitate equity and inclusion for all.
This course builds on the foundational aspects of the Claremont Core®, focusing on how students can become mindful, engaged, and inquisitive research practitioners for positive social change. Students will develop an ability to critically evaluate what research methods are best suited for certain types of research projects. This course will specifically focus on the role of research methods that can address, illuminate, or explain enduring and newly salient social problems. Throughout the course students will consider the entire research design process, learning how to conceptualize, problematize, diagnose, understand, and translate findings across social, political, environmental, healthcare, and organizational contexts. By the end of this course, students will have had experience posing research questions, exploring their own research goals, understanding the primary components of the research design process, and consuming a variety of styles of inquiry and action. Students will also consider course concepts in the context of their own future projects, and begin activating the research skills they will use in Applying the Claremont Core® Capstone Course. (Prerequisite: MCC 5320: Invitation to Inquiry: Foundations of the Claremont Core®)
In an increasingly interconnected world, leaders who want to make positive, sustainable change need to develop the critical perspectives and collaborative skills necessary to reach across traditional barriers of ideology, culture, and faith. At CLU, we put development of these capabilities at the center of our degree programs. The result is the Claremont Core®, a sequence of four innovative courses. Progress through the Core takes you through a process of self-awareness and steadily evolves towards engagement with others and society at large. Learn More.
Claremont Lincoln University is a non-profit, "online-by-design", graduate university providing socially conscious education and multiplying social impact through the work of its students in the world.
As a nonprofit university, Claremont Lincoln University is focused on the student's learning experience as well as their career success. Funds received from donations, endowments and tuition go directly to curriculum and to enriching our students' education.
Since CLU is both online and nonprofit, the university is able to serve students who are not well served by traditional institutions and universities— allowing the university to deliver the innovative education its founder and benefactor David C. Lincoln envisioned.
Claremont Lincoln University is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, (510) 748-9001.
The Commission has confirmed that Claremont Lincoln University has satisfactorily addressed the Core Commitments to Student Learning and Success; Quality and Improvement; and Institutional Integrity, Sustainability, and Accountability and is found to be in substantial compliance with the WSCUC Standards of Accreditation.
To obtain a copy of Claremont Lincoln University's WASC accreditation, please contact:
Lynn Priddy
Accreditation Liaison Officer
Student Achievement & Accreditation
Claremont Lincoln University has entered into a complaint agreement for private non-profit institutions with the California Bureau of Post-Secondary Education (BPPE).
Department of Consumer Affairs
Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400
Sacramento, CA. 95833
Chief Complaint Unit
Phone: 916-431-6959
Email: bppe@dca.ca.gov
Fax: 916-263-1897
The M.A. in Organizational Leadership aligns with the mission of Claremont Lincoln University to produce leaders capable of respecting differences and collaborating with those of diverse viewpoints to resolve problems.
Students that are ideal for the M.A. in Organizational Leadership with a Sustainability concentration include the following career and industry interests:
A completed Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution is required to apply to Claremont Lincoln University. Neither a GRE or GMAT score is required for enrollment.
The Admissions process has been streamlined for applicants to complete the online application in 15 minutes or less. Unofficial Transcripts and a current Resume or CV are required to be uploaded with the online application. The Enrollment Committee will then review the application and determine an acceptance status within 24 business hours. A determination letter will then be sent, and in return, an acknowledgment of its receipt will be needed. The Admissions, Financial and Student Services Team will finalize any other necessary items to complete Enrollment.
Claremont Lincoln University reserves the right to request additional items as deemed necessary by the enrollment committee to determine student readiness for the graduate level workload. Claremont Lincoln University reserves the right to accept, provisionally accept, or deny students upon the evaluation of all admission documents.
Here is what some of our current and past students are saying about Claremont Lincoln University. We are committed to being a student-centered community and are proud of how we have continued to establish dialogue and long-lasting relationships with our graduates by showcasing their action-oriented and impactful work across the globe.
"In speaking to the CLU core, every student can expect an immersion in developing skills that will enhance personal leadership and self awareness. I hope that CLU meets every students' expectations with a bit of surprise and magic mixed in."
"I am a lifelong learner and am convinced that our reward is commensurate with our effort. Some students will just want to be able to place an M.A. after their name while others are seeking ways to change the world. With the mix of world class professors and an exemplary cohort, I believe students will not finish the program in the same mindset that they started. Everything fit together so perfectly and the scaffolding made the entire program manageable."
"I am most proud of heeding the prompt to "reinvent" myself during the 18-month program and to put my energy in an environment where I can make a difference."
"I have had an association with seafaring for fifty years, having served in the British Merchant Navy at the beginning of my working career. In later years, I served as a board trustee with the Seamen's Church Institute in Philadelphia, and more recently I began volunteering as a chaplain. I realized that I could use my Capstone project to bring value to the needs of the seafarer mission."
"When I chose my Capstone project I selected a project that would create value, there are many research questions that a student may choose. In my view, it is better to find an issue that will enable a benefit that translates to value in use. This then ensures that the time and effort spent on the research will endure and be meaningful."
"Prospective students can expect to be challenged to grow as leaders, collaborators, and change-makers in their field and sector. The knowledge provided by the Social Impact program combines high level theoretical and critical thinking with practical grassroots implementation of learning and tools. This program equips students to become transformational leaders."
"In addition to growing academically, personally, and professionally, I hope students gain a community of thought partners and allies rooted in the mission of social change, love, and justice."
"CLU has been such a blessing to my life. CLU helps strengthen my leadership skills through mindfulness, meaningful dialogue and collaborations that allow us to suspend assumption, approach non judgmentally and create strong foundations of shared vision in order to not forget the human part of our world, as we seek our purpose and deeply feel and understand our "why" in our journey towards change."
Many hard working professionals contribute to a Claremont Lincoln University education. Here are just a few of the great faculty and staff that you will meet at CLU:
Sidney Morse is an established academic with scholarly journal publications, presentations, and community involvement that focus on change, leadership, and empowerment. Dr. Morse has been inspiring students academically for over four decades. Dr. Morse began his own consulting firm 26 years ago and is still a managing director providing strategic and leadership development.
Earn your master's degree online in as little as 13 months starting at $23,100 while developing the skills, behaviors & mindset required to improve the world for the benefit of all.
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