As a lifelong student of leadership, I’ve always struggled to get people to understand what a degree in organizational leadership is. I usually tell people that it’s a mix of psychology, sociology, communication, behavioral science, business administration, and entrepreneurship. But in reality, it is those things and much more. Usually there is some kind of awkward moment when they say, “So, is it like psychology, or is it like a science like biology?” And my reply is usually yes, and no.
There are many different “disciplines” or fields of study within the subject of leadership. Organizational Leadership is the qualities and skills required to run a company or one of its divisions. It’s greater in scale and scope than many other forms of leadership. Then there is Strategic Leadership is defined as the ability to influence others to voluntarily make day-to-day decisions that enhance the long-term viability of the organization while maintaining its short-term financial stability. (W. Glann Rowe, 2001). We also have Sports Leadership programs which will prepare you to lead with distinction in the sports industry, learning about the complexities of diverse sports settings and how to successfully compete and create opportunities across multiple levels. These leadership programs will get you prepared for a successful career in fields such as athletic administration, coaching, professional sports, and club sports.
And then there is Educational Leadership. Educational leadership is built on the premise of constructing and applying knowledge in ways that make a positive difference. Through collaboration and communication, professionals in educational leadership work with diverse communities and build partnerships to promote positive outcomes by setting and meeting transformative goals. While many educational leadership professionals have advanced degrees and can work in academic settings, they are practitioners who work in applied positions. By connecting theory to real-world projects and contexts, educational leaders take a comprehensive, evidence-based, relational approach to problem-solving.
Since all of these are disciplines are within the “leadership” degrees, and all of them are studied, with set curricula, and requirements, etc., in order to earn the degree, why don’t we use the term “Leaderology” in mainstream education to describe the “study” of leadership? I was curious to know, since all of my degrees (Bachelor’s, Baster’s, and Doctorate) are in Organizational Leadership, I wanted to find out how many colleges and universities awarded “Organizational Leadership” degrees this year. An online search found the following results:
I located “College Factual”* which provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. In their database I found they had surveyed 298 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of organizational leadership.
They listed the top 24 (actually 25 but one schools data had been removed from the website) in the following order:
- Vanderbilt University
- University of Minnesota
- Boston College
- Michigan State University
- Purdue University
- Arizona State University – Tempe
- Syracuse University
- Villanova University
- Bellevue University
- Webster University
- Pepperdine University
- Marquette University
- University of Miami
- Saint Louis University
- Fordham University
- University of Maryland – Global
- University of Iowa
- Creighton University
- Seattle University
- Capella University
- University of Phoenix
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
- University of Arizona
- University of Kansas
Of these 24 colleges or universities they collectively awarded 1588 degrees or graduate certificates in Organizational Leadership. The breakdown for the number of degrees by level of degree (Certificate, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate) is:
Doctor Degrees 296 18.64%
Master’s Degrees 494 31.11%
Bachelor’s Degrees 321 20.21%
Graduate Certificates 477 30.04%
Total Awarded 1588 100.00%
Keep in mind, this is only the top 24 schools, specifically in Organizational Leadership. They report that a total of 15,171 degrees were awarded in 2023 in Organizational Leadership alone, and that Organizational Leadership was ranked the 57th most popular degree in 2023.
But yet, most academic institutions still don’t use the term “Leaderology” to show the study (ology) of leadership? Now, in 2023 we have 15,171 people in the United states who, when asked what the degree they just earned is in, they’ll respond, “it’s a mix of psychology, sociology, communication, behavioral science, business administration and entrepreneurship,” or something similar, when what they SHOULD be able to respond is, “Organizational Leadership is one of the disciplines in leaderology, you know, the study of leadership.”
Author(s): Dr. Chris Fuzie
Board Insights | Open Source
Published Online: 2023 June – All Rights Reserved.
APA Citation: Fuzie, C. (2023, June 5). Why are educational institutions not identifying leadership as its own area of study? The Journal of Leaderology and Applied Leadership. https://jala.nlainfo.org/why-are-educational-institutions-not-identifying-leadership-as-its-own-area-of-study/