No matter your undergraduate degree, current job, goals, or calling—an M.A. in Strategic Leadership will elevate your performance and equip you for taking that next step in your career. A degree in strategic leadership is about integrating your personal experience with cutting-edge leadership skills so you can impact, support, and advance your career, your team, and your organization.
As you explore what’s next for you, here are eight benefits of pursuing your M.A. in Strategic Leadership degree:
1. Hands-on experience will help you put leadership theory into practice.
Throughout the strategic leadership program, you’ll not only learn the theories behind impactful leadership but receive firsthand experience to develop and refine these skills. As you complete each course, you’ll create materials and have experiences that you’ll be able to use to demonstrate your competencies in different core areas of leadership. As you add relevant experiences to your resume, you’ll also be able to immediately apply what you’re learning to your current job and workplace.
2. Personal growth opportunities will shape your ability to lead.
Part of becoming a strategic leader is learning how to be led. As you strengthen your ability to coach others, you will be coached yourself. You’ll learn how to refine your self-awareness, develop emotional intelligence, and cultivate the competencies necessary to lead people and organizations in new directions. You’ll understand how your nature and your faith infuse your leadership service so you can best support your colleagues.
3. Career advancement can occur in any field or workplace.
A degree in strategic leadership can offer everything from executive-level education to a supportive community ready to help you uncover your career dreams. In fact, that’s what makes this degree so dynamic. With an M.A. in Strategic Leadership, you’ll be able to enhance your executive leadership skills, apply for a promotion, and impact your workplace right now—whether you’re working for a corporation, nonprofit, or your own freelance business.
4. Classes will transform your mind and strengthen your character.
While pursuing a strategic leadership degree, you’ll take classes focused on all aspects of leadership, including areas such as talent management, learning and leading through conflict, strategic communication, project management, followership—and that’s just the beginning. Some courses emphasize different business structures across the globe, allowing you to understand how American companies partner with other countries. Others highlight how to lead during times of crisis, which is an ever-relevant, ever-changing topic as crisis takes on numerous forms.
5. Ethical approach to problem solving will set you apart in the workplace.
An effective strategic leadership degree will not only help you analyze data, but empower you to use data to make ethical decisions. Faculty will embody what ethical leadership looks like and mentor you throughout the program, walking you through ethical challenges in your own workplace and supporting you as you learn how to problem-solve for the best of every party involved. The best strategic leadership programs will develop you as a whole person, training you for more than a position, but a lifestyle.
6. Career coaching will help you determine your calling and goals.
Some strategic leadership programs weave career coaching into their curriculum. These one-on-one coaching sessions with executives, consultants, or faculty are meant to help you chart your personal and professional growth throughout the program. Through mentorship, you’ll learn more about what you’ve been created to do and how you can impact your world. Your leadership development and career goals will be supported by professional certified career coaches who integrate insights from a variety of personalized career assessments.
7. Flexible course options suit busy people with busy lives.
Some leadership programs have flexible course offerings to fit lives packed with work, families, and various responsibilities. At Bethel, classes start every six weeks, giving you the chance to advance through the program quickly or take things at a pace that suits different seasons of your life. With three different delivery options—face-to-face, completely online, or blended between face-to-face and online—you’ll be able to take classes aligned with your learning style and current location. In as few as 18 months, you can graduate with diploma and portfolio in hand, ready to further your career.
8. Dual-degree possibilities at Bethel will fast track your educational journey.
Only Bethel offers dual-degree options that set you apart from all other strategic leadership graduates. Our Master of Business Administration (MBA) program shares leadership courses with our Master of Arts in Strategic Leadership (MASL) program, so you can complete the MASL by adding only six to seven courses after completion of your MBA. In three years, you’ll hold two master’s degrees and possess the technical and leadership training to excel in any organizational environment. Additionally, Doctor of Nursing Practice + M.A. Strategic Leadership enables B.S.N. graduates to earn their master’s and doctorate degrees in as few as three years. Our mostly online format allows you to complete your coursework and practicum in your community, so you can immediately apply what you’re learning in the context where you’re already serving.
Our world needs great leaders, now more than ever. It needs innovators, problem-solvers, and bridge-builders who have their eyes on the horizon but remain grounded in truth. The M.A. in Strategic Leadership program at Bethel University will equip you as a leader-catalyst to aspire, engage, and transform your environment for the better.
