New Graduate Business Degree from Penn State Targets Aspiring Corporate Leaders
From Penn State World Campus
Note: Employees of all Columbia Montour Chamber members, their spouses and dependents are eligible for a 5% discount on tuition through the PSU World Campus.
Penn State, one of the top CEO-producing universities in the country, has launched a new degree aimed at educating the next generation of corporate leaders.
Penn State is accepting applications for the master’s in strategic management and executive leadership. The degree’s curriculum focuses on the formulation and implementation of effective strategies and developing leaders who can build a culture of commitment across their organization.
The degree is being offered exclusively online through Penn State World Campus in partnership with the internationally ranked Penn State Smeal College of Business.
“The world has changed so rapidly, and many principles of strategy and leadership have changed,” said Al Vicere, professor of business and strategic leadership in the Smeal College of Business and the faculty director of the new degree program. “There is an increased demand for leaders who are skilled in strategic thinking and strategy development. Those skills require work experience, but they also require enhanced academic knowledge to formulate, articulate and implement strategy.”
Penn State has been recognized as one of the leading institutions in the country for its development of top corporate talent: In 2018, LinkedIn said Penn State graduated the second-most CEOs in the country. In 2016, Time ranked Penn State in the top 10 of universities with the most alumni as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
Vicere said the degree has been designed for those business professionals who want a specialized business degree in the areas of strategic leadership and strategic management. They may be about eight to 10 years into their careers with five to six years of management experience and want to take the next step in their career, or they may be executives who want to develop their ability to think strategically beyond their organization’s operational duties.
“They aspire to increased levels of responsibility and are seeking to expand their perspective on leading an organization in a constantly changing and complex environment,” Vicere said. “They want to enhance their ability to connect their organization with the outside world and set direction and strategy to ensure the organization is able to grow and remain successful both today and in the future.”
The curriculum consists of core courses in global strategic management, strategic leadership, strategy implementation and organizational change, strategic leading and identity, ethical leadership, and power and influence.
Students also will choose between a concentration in either negotiation and influence or corporate innovation and entrepreneurship.
Vicere said the instructors in the new degree program will be faculty from the Penn State Management and Organization Department, which consistently ranks among the top 10 of the most research-productive management departments in the world, according to the KUBS Worldwide Business Research Rankings.
Penn State World Campus has been offering degrees online for more than 20 years. Its graduate business degree programs have been ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report for the past three years.
“Business leaders who want to advance their careers need the flexibility that an online master’s degree offers,” said Shubha Kashyap, director of academic affairs for World Campus. “This degree will allow them to learn while they continue leading their organizations, with opportunities to apply their skills for professional and educational advancement.”
Visit the Penn State World Campus website for more information about this new professional business degree.