After much deliberation about graduate school, it’s official. I am starting my Master’s degree in Organizational Development this fall.
“What is Organizational Development?” I can hear my friends, family, and colleagues asking this question for years to come.
Organizational Development is the process of helping organizations solve problems and reach their goals. The field is interdisciplinary and draws on sociology, psychology, and theories of motivation, learning, and personality.
I am interested in this degree because I want to help people and organizations by making work more enjoyable. When people enjoy what they do, they do better work. I’m especially interested in studying leadership.
I chose this particular program at Antioch University Seattle because I am excited to work with the professors and students there. My advisor Barbara Spraker is working on a project on international women’s leadership, and I hope to become involved.
I will travel to Seattle one weekend a month for three and a half days of classes. The rest of the time I’ll be reading and writing, working on community projects in Santa Cruz, and working on the management team at MAPS.
This semester I’ll also be TA-ing a class on Leadership at Hult International Business School in San Francisco.
I’ve bought my books and signed up for classes. It’s exciting to be in a structured educational environment again. I’m looking forward to meeting the other students and getting started!
After much deliberation I also decided to start my MSOD this fall. Took me five years of thinking about it but finally made the commitment last week and start September 21.
Linda, that’s great! I thought about it for four years, and I’m starting on October 1. Which school are you attending?
Hi Valerie,
Thank you for your replay to my comment, I will be attending Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri. I don’t know why I had to think about it for so long before I made a decision but glad I will finally be starting.
I look very forward to following your blog as you progress through your course of studies to see how close our programs parallel each other.
Sincerely,
Linda
Linda Henderson CPO®
Concepts In Organizing
PO Box 1172
Raymore, MO 64083
816.820.8292
Linda@ConceptsInOrganizing.com
http://www.ConceptsInOrganizing.com
How are your classes going? I am enjoying the coursework at Avila and look forward to attending each class. I am taking a Stats class this semester so we will see how that turns out.
My classes at Antioch are going well. I’m really enjoying the emphasis on sustainability and social change in my program. I don’t have to take stats though, and I’m glad:)