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Program Overview

The Master of Organizational Leadership program focuses on developing skills that have been recognized as absent in many graduate business programs. An effective graduate business leadership degree goes beyond spreadsheets and daily management techniques. It focuses on the development of skills and knowledge required to work with people, provides a framework and strategies for managing organizational systems and performance, and enhance the ability to communicate and disseminate information in an effective manner throughout the business organization. That is the Master’s program you will find at William Penn University.

“A strength of the program is that there is an emphasis on leadership. There are many voices that talk about the importance of leadership; however not many get to go out and live what they teach.”

— Jacob Taylor ’21

Tuition

William Penn University offers its students the opportunity to earn their degree with affordable tuition rates and options.

Accepted Requirements

William Penn does not require an entry exam (GMAT or GRE) to be accepted into our Graduate Studies Programs. We do require:

  1. Proof of undergraduate degree form an accredited institution
  2. Transcripts from degree granting institutions
  3. Completed application
  4. Cumulative 3.0 grade point average (GPA) on previous college credit. Students with a GPA below a 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by a review committee
  5. Two letters of recommendation and a completed recommendation form from people qualified to judge the applicant’s professional capabilities, capacity to complete graduate study, and character
  6. Current resume
  7. A Statement of Purpose (minimum of 500 words – not to exceed 1000 words) stating your professional goals, and how this will bring you to the realization of these goals
  8. Students whose native language is not English must have a score of 173 (computer-based) or more, or 500 (paper-based) or more on the TOEFL (some exceptions apply)

Student Profile

Akram Hassan

A small town in Iowa isn’t the first place to come to mind when most people hear the word “diversity,” but thanks to William Penn University’s commitment to a welcoming and diverse campus, the school nestled in the quaint Oskaloosa community is just that – something Organizational Leadership graduate student Akram Hassan didn’t expect before his 2016 move to campus.

“I’ve met people from all over the world when I came here and I never expected that,” he said. “The school overall is built on diversity. That’s what I noticed about it my whole time when I have been here, just the diversity and the hospitality of everyone.”

Hassan grew up in Cairo, Egypt, but moved to the United States in 2011. He attended and completed high school in Virginia, despite not knowing a word of English upon his arrival in the country.

After high school, Hassan thought that he would go directly into the work force. A college education felt like an unachievable dream, but that changed when WPU’s men’s soccer coach saw Hassan’s portfolio and thought that he could be a good fit for the school.

“That’s what actually brought me to Penn, it’s just a dream that pretty much came true,” Hassan said. “Just like anybody else, going to college was something huge. It was a dream for me. I never thought I would go to college, someone coming from a different country. I had never even spoken English ever in my life until I came to the states.”

Hassan and his older brother, who has played soccer professionally in Egypt and on the American team D.C. United, ended up coming to the school together to play.

Some of Hassan’s favorite moments with the school took place on the soccer pitch, his fondest memory that of walking onto the field with his brother for their senior day game.

Though soccer is what helped Hassan and the school find each other, his studies and aspiration to pursue his bachelor’s and ultimately master’s degrees have always been his reason for being here – and the experience of attending college in the U.S. is not one that Hassan takes for granted.

“I didn’t want to look at it as a credit that I’m getting, but I wanted to do it because I wanted to do it,” he said. “I would do it for myself, not for the grades.”

Hassan has appreciated many aspects of his time at Penn, but what he feels perhaps the most grateful for is the networking he was able to acheive.

“[Penn] gave me the chance to meet new people,” he said. “It gave me the opportunity to build my network with so many people in the community, in the Des Moines area, Pella.”

While working as a Graduate Assistant in Career Services at the university, Hassan has also been working as an Experience Specialist at Unity point Health in Des Moines. He plans on moving to Waukee, Iowa, near Des Moines, in summer.

“I never thought that I would make the decision to stay in Iowa, actually, and work.”

Hassan’s past seven years on campus have rooted in him a connection to the community that welcomed him with open arms and became for him a home so far away from home.

“When I came to Penn, I never expected all the things that I experienced,” he said. “From the people, from the community, every staff, every faculty here, everyone is there to help you. Everyone is there to take you forward or wherever you want to be. This is something that touched my heart and I felt like it’s where I come from.”

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Courses

You will be taking the following courses as a graduate student in the Master of Organizational Leadership program:

  • MOL 508 Principles and Practice of Business Leadership
  • MOL 510 Project Management
  • MOL 528 Business Leadership Research Methods and Analytics
  • MOL 512 Character-Based Servant Leadership
  • MOL 524 Financial Management for Business Leaders
  • MOL 520 Ethical and Moral Business Leadership
  • MOL 516 Effective Business Leadership Communication
  • MOL 532 Systems, Performance and Organizational Effectiveness
  • MOL 536 Human Capital Development and Succession Planning
  • MOL 540 Leadership and Community
  • MOL 544 Leading in a Global Business Environment
  • MOL 548 Business Leadership Capstone