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Master of Business Administration – Leadership

Strengthen your influence. Build the communication, conflict management, and team leadership skills needed to guide others with confidence and empathy.

Apply by 1/2/27
Start class 1/11/27 Apply Now

Program Overview

Turn new insights into workplace impact with the online MBA in Leadership

Prepare to elevate workplace performance and support organizational change with the online Master of Business Administration – Leadership from Northern Kentucky University. This concentration connects management practices with concepts in finance, analytics, strategy, ethics, and decision-making to develop your broader business judgment.

Through real-world case studies and applied projects grounded in self-awareness, this concentration helps you cultivate emotional intelligence, trust-building, coaching, negotiation, and conflict-resolution capabilities. The curriculum prepares you to motivate diverse teams, address workplace challenges, and foster innovation in complex, fast-changing environments. You’ll graduate ready to improve company performance and approach management with adaptability and strategic perspective.

As a graduate of this online MBA degree, you will be able to:

  • Apply emotional intelligence to lead individuals and teams effectively
  • Build trust, coach others, and motivate strong performance
  • Navigate conflict and negotiation in professional settings
  • Lead diverse and innovative teams
  • Adapt leadership approaches to shifting organizational conditions
  • Communicate with executive presence and influence
  • Apply emotional intelligence to lead individuals and teams effectively
  • Build trust, coach others, and motivate strong performance
  • Navigate conflict and negotiation in professional settings
  • Lead diverse and innovative teams
  • Adapt leadership approaches to shifting organizational conditions
  • Communicate with executive presence and influence

As a graduate of this online MBA degree, you will be prepared for higher-level roles in business, such as:

  • Operations Manager
  • General Manager
  • Organizational Development Specialist
  • Training and Development Manager
  • Human Resources Manager
  • Program Manager
  • Nonprofit Manager
  • Change Management Specialist
  • Operations Manager
  • General Manager
  • Organizational Development Specialist
  • Training and Development Manager
  • Human Resources Manager
  • Program Manager
  • Nonprofit Manager
  • Change Management Specialist

Northern Kentucky University offers a variety of online Master of Business Administration concentrations. View our online business programs.

Total Tuition $18,546
Program Duration As few as 12 months
Credit Hours 33
Apply Now

Need More Information?

Call 800-985-7215

Call 800-985-7215

Tuition

Explore your pay-by-the-course tuition options

The MBA – Leadership online program offers the same affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition for in-state and out-of-state students. Financial aid may be available to eligible students.

Tuition Breakdown:

Total Tuition $18,546
Per Credit Hour $546
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A Top Public School

Recognized among the "Top Public Schools" by U.S. News & World Report, 2025

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A Best Value College

Ranked among the “Best Value Colleges in America” by Niche.com, 2026

Calendar

Review important dates and deadlines for this online program

The MBA – Leadership online program is flexible and efficient for busy schedules, with accelerated courses that start multiple times a year. View the calendar to find the best start date for you, and be sure to submit your application, registration, documents and tuition by the corresponding deadlines.

SessionProgram Start DateApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlinePayment Due
Fall 210/21/2610/8/2610/13/2610/16/2610/21/26
Spring 11/11/271/2/271/5/271/8/271/11/27
Spring 23/15/273/3/273/8/273/12/273/15/27
Summer 15/10/274/28/275/3/275/7/275/10/27
Summer 26/28/276/16/276/21/276/25/276/28/27

Now enrolling:

Apply Date 1/2/27
Class Starts 1/11/27
Apply Now

Admissions

Get started with the streamlined admission process for the MBA leadership online

The admission process is the first step toward earning your MBA – Leadership degree online.

Admission Requirements:

  • Official transcripts of all coursework from accredited institutions
  • Current resume
  • 2.5 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale

A portfolio approach is used in evaluating prospective students for acceptance into the MBA program. Factors considered for admission include:

  • Complete online application and pay $40 non-refundable application fee
    • If you are an NKU alum or active/veteran military member, your application fee will be waived
  • Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) coursework from accredited institutions with a minimum undergraduate overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.5.
    • Applicants with an undergraduate overall GPA under 3.0 must have three years of professional work experience
    • Direct admit pathway available for applicants with minimum undergraduate overall GPA of 2.75 who submit application, fee, resume, and transcript
  • Current resume

Official documents may be mailed or emailed to:

NKU Office of Graduate Education

467 Math, Education, Psychology Building

Highland Heights, KY 41099

[email protected]

Have a question? Call us at 800-985-7215.

Courses

Browse the MBA leadership online degree courses

For the MBA – Leadership online program, students must complete 33 credit hours including 24 credit hours of core courses.

Students must take the following courses:

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This dynamic 7-week MBA course helps you take your problem-solving skills to the next level by immersing you in real-world, open innovation “wicked” challenges, to build advanced critical thinking, agility, storytelling, and emotional intelligence skills essential for today’s business landscape. Through creative frameworks, experiential projects and hands-on teamwork, you’ll learn to diagnose and overcome cognitive biases, synthesize diverse thinking strategies, and communicate solutions with power and clarity no matter what type of audience you are targeting.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This 7-week MBA course equips students with a practical framework for developing emotional intelligence as a key leadership skill. Based on Daniel Goleman’s four-domain model, the course explores twelve core competencies including self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, adaptability, and inspirational leadership. Students examine the neuroscience of emotional responses—such as the amygdala hijack—and learn strategies for resilience and emotional agility. Drawing on research from thought leaders like Carol Dweck, Susan David, and Brené Brown, the curriculum emphasizes growth mindset, psychological safety, and authentic leadership. Through a mix of theory and experiential learning, students engage in self-assessments, case studies, role-play, and reflective exercises to build skills in empathy, active listening, feedback delivery using the SBI model, and managing difficult conversations. The course fosters executive presence and influence, preparing students to lead with emotional intelligence in complex organizational settings.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This 7-week MBA course provides a comprehensive exploration of resilience, agility and chaos management including the critical role of understanding and responding to failure within the unpredictable landscape of modern business. Students will learn to analyze the causes and consequences of failure, develop strategies for organizational learning from setbacks, and cultivate individual and collective resilience in the face of chaos. They will learn practical frameworks, tools, and strategies to navigate uncertainty, embrace change, and cultivate resilient organizations. Through a blend of theoretical concepts, case studies, and hands-on assignments, participants will develop the leadership capabilities necessary to not only survive but thrive amidst adversity in complex and unpredictable environments.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
In this course, you’ll discover how successful companies thrive in a complex world. We'll see how marketing, economics, and operations all work together to attract and keep customers. You will learn the practical skills to analyze what customers really want, what your rivals are doing, and what your company can actually deliver. Your challenge will be to use this comprehensive view to build and execute smart, powerful strategies that work in the real world.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
In this course, you’ll explore what it really takes to lead with integrity in a complex business world. We’ll look at how ethics and law, organizational behavior, and leadership work together to shape effective decision making. You’ll develop practical skills in critical thinking, emotional intelligence, communication, and influence, all while strengthening your leadership agility. Each week, you’ll engage in online discussions, multimedia storytelling, and applied projects designed to help you connect concepts to real organizational challenges. Along the way, you’ll learn to evaluate ethical dilemmas, understand and influence behavior in organizations through authentic leadership, and apply adaptive strategies that drive meaningful, positive change. Your challenge will be to bring all of these perspectives together and use them to lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Financial Intelligence is designed to build students’ ability to understand, interpret, and apply core finance and accounting concepts used in modern business decision-making. This course provides a practical foundation in the language of business using finance, financial accounting, and managerial accounting, thereby equipping students with the tools needed to evaluate organizational performance, support strategic choices, and participate confidently in managerial discussions involving the numbers.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course develops the ability to make high-impact strategic decisions using data, analytics, and AI tools—while maintaining human judgment and ethical awareness. Students learn how to interpret complex data environments, design decision frameworks, and balance quantitative evidence with managerial intuition when facing ambiguity and trade-offs. Applying data-driven reasoning, systems thinking, and strategic judgment to organizational decisions.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
MBA 650 is the culminating experience of the Haile MBA. In this intensive 7-week consulting engagement, you will work in teams to diagnose, analyze, and solve real strategic problems for real organizations in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region and beyond. You will function as a professional consulting team—scoping a problem, conducting research and analysis, interviewing stakeholders, generating insights, and delivering evidence-based recommendations directly to executives.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
"Leading in a Dynamic World equips students with the mindsets and capabilities needed to lead effectively in complex, rapidly changing environments. Through a seven week, fully online format, students explore emotional intelligence, personal values and strengths, motivation, trust-building, coaching, and organizational change. Using evidence based frameworks and real world cases, the course emphasizes self development, authentic leadership, and the ability to influence positive change in others and across organizations. Interactive discussions, reflective exercises, and applied projects enable students to practice key leadership behaviors and build the confidence and adaptability required for enduring leadership success.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
"This course develops your negotiation and conflict management skills through a sequence of experiential exercises and case-based debriefs. You engage in distributive, integrative, multi-issue, cross-cultural, and ethical negotiations, with emphasis on judgment, strategy, and process rather than outcomes alone. The course highlights how power, timing, perception, relationships, and conflict dynamics shape negotiated outcomes over time. Through active participation and reflection, you learn to diagnose negotiation situations, manage conflict constructively, and make principled choices in complex professional settings.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course prepares students to lead diverse, innovative, and high-performing teams in complex organizational contexts. Students examine how team performance, diversity, trust, conflict, decision-making, and innovation interact to shape outcomes. Emphasis is placed on ethical and inclusive leadership, power and identity dynamics, and leading teams through uncertainty, change, and global or virtual environments. Through applied cases and reflective exercises, students develop the judgment and skills required to lead teams effectively when collaboration, inclusion, and innovation are most challenging.

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