Global Leadership, MA

Co-Program Directors: 
Min-Dong Paul Lee, Co-Program Director of Global Leadership; Norris A. Aldeen Professor of Business
Junias Venugopal, Associate Dean of the School of Mission, Ministry, and Leadership; Co-Program Director of Global Leadership; Associate Professor of Evangelism and Leadership

Our mission for this program is to "develop academically grounded, spiritually maturing, and practically skilled leaders able to lead in global marketplace and nonprofit organizations in culturally savvy ways for Christ and His Kingdom." The structure of the 36 credit hour degree is designed to give students analytical, practical, and theological tools for leadership in multiple contexts.

When our students graduate, we anticipate they will have become...

• Leaders who are able to fruitfully guide organizational strategy and manage change.
• Leaders who are able to develop themselves and diverse others.
• Leaders who are able to articulate and demonstrate the relationship of Christian mission and values with personal vocation.
• Leaders who are able to engage critically with leadership theory and practice.

Admission to the Global Leadership program is open both to those serving or preparing to work in both marketplace and ministry roles. Admission does not require a specific undergraduate major or a prescribed set of courses, but students are expected to have demonstrated leadership experience and possess proficiency in written and spoken English. Accelerated MA students can take classes Junior and Senior year that do not count towards their bachelor's degree but which will count towards the MA should they matriculate in the accelerated MA program.

The program leading to a Master of Arts in Global Leadership degree consists of the successful completion of 36 credit hours:

As part of this 36-credit program, all graduate students are required to complete a theological studies requirement of 6 credit hours. For Global Leadership students, this consists of MML 513 Theological and Systematic Foundation of the missio Dei  plus a 4-hour course from the approved Category I listing in the Graduate School section of this catalog.

The Global Leadership Summit Partner Program

Students interested in the MA in Global Leadership may choose to enter the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) Partner Program. Through an arrangement between GLS and Wheaton College, with successful completion of the GLS Certificate (the GLS certificate is awarded by GLS), students will be awarded 2 credits for LEAD 547 toward the MA in Global Leadership upon successful completion of the capstone  (LEAD 693).

Upon successful completion of both the GLS Certificate (awarded by GLS) and the Organizational Leadership Certificate (awarded by Wheaton College), students are awarded 2 credits in LEAD 547 toward LEAD 547 Communication and Leadership in the MA in Global Leadershipupon successful completion of the capstone course (LEAD 693). The 8 credits earned in LEAD 559  and LEAD 557 as part of the Organizational Leadership Certificate will also count toward the MA in Global Leadership. This would give the student 10 credits toward the 40 credits required for the MA degree.

Masters in Global Leadership: Outdoor Ministry Track

The purpose of the Master of Arts degree in Global Leadership track in Outdoor Ministries (GLOM) is to equip outdoor ministry professionals as an academically grounded, spiritually maturing, and practically skilled leaders who are able to lead in their organizations in culturally savvy ways for Christ and His Kingdom. This track is specifically designed for those called to provide leadership in the outdoor ministry field in a variety of contexts including camps, colleges, churches, non-profits, or for-profit organizations. It integrates core courses on the theology and practice of outdoor related ministry with core courses in Christ-centered leadership.

This MAGL track in Outdoor Ministry is directed through HoneyRock, Wheaton College's Center for Leadership Development in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Since 1951, HoneyRock has operated as an experiential leadership development laboratory that integrates leadership of camp programs with liberal arts training and coursework to develop leaders for Christ's church worldwide. HoneyRock operates as a fully functioning camp year-round, providing a variety of youth and undergraduate programs as the context for graduate student learning. Our faculty are fully engaged practitioner-scholars, simultaneously leading an outdoor adventure-based ministry while they study and teach in the field.