Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Learn to lead people and organizations — a business degree built around leadership, communication, and strategy.
Leadership-Focused
A business degree built around leading people
57-Credit Major
Full business core plus leadership focus courses
Ethics Built In
Business Ethics is a required core course
Every organization — a company, a church, a nonprofit, a team — rises or falls on leadership. ACU’s Organizational Leadership degree is built for the people who want to lead them well. It pairs a complete business education with a focused study of leadership, communication, and strategy, so you graduate ready to guide people and organizations toward their goals.
You’ll complete the same 39-credit business core that grounds our Business Administration majors — accounting, finance, management, marketing, economics, and more — then add eighteen credits of leadership focus courses: Principles of Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Strategic Management, Communication Strategy in Business, and Public Relations. The result is a 57-credit major aimed squarely at leading and developing people.
Throughout, a Biblical Worldview reframes leadership as service — working for the good of the people you lead, not just the results you can extract. You’ll graduate with the business fluency, people skills, and strategic thinking to step into leadership in almost any field.
Lead People Well
Build the leadership skills to guide, develop, and inspire teams and organizations.
Understand How Organizations Behave
Study organizational behavior to build healthy, productive cultures.
Manage the People Function
Learn to hire, develop, and lead employees through human resource management.
Communicate and Build Reputation
Master business communication and public relations — how leaders and organizations are understood.
Think Strategically
Set direction for a whole organization through strategic management.
Speak the Language of Business
Ground your leadership in accounting, finance, marketing, and economics.
Leadership can be about status or about service. At ACU, a Biblical Worldview reshapes what it means to lead — and the people you lead are at the center of it.
Leadership as Service
Scripture's picture of leadership is service — the leader as someone who works for the good of those they lead. That reframes leadership from a position of privilege to a responsibility for people.
Forms a leadership style built on serving people, not commanding them.
The Dignity of People
Everyone you lead is an image-bearer, not a means to an end. Seeing people that way reshapes how you hire, develop, correct, and care for those in your charge.
Grounds your people decisions in dignity and genuine care.
Stewardship of an Organization
A leader stewards an organization's mission, resources, and people. Faithful stewardship — not just hitting targets — becomes the real measure of leading well.
Anchors your strategy and decisions in responsibility to a larger mission.
Organizational leadership is one of the most transferable degrees there is — every sector needs people who can lead.
Management & Team Leadership
Lead teams, departments, and operations across companies of any size.
Human Resources & Talent
Build a career in HR, employee development, and organizational health.
Nonprofit & Ministry Leadership
Lead and steward nonprofits, churches, and mission-driven organizations.
Communications & Public Relations
Manage communication, reputation, and public relations for organizations.
Operations & Project Management
Coordinate operations, projects, and the people who carry them out.
Graduate Study
Continue into an MBA, a master's in leadership, or related graduate programs.
ACU's Organizational Leadership degree pairs a complete business education with a focused, people-centered study of leadership.
Business Fluency + Leadership Focus
The full business core plus eighteen credits of leadership, communication, and strategy.
People-Centered Curriculum
Organizational behavior, human resources, and communication put people at the heart of the degree.
Highly Transferable
Leadership skills travel across business, nonprofit, ministry, and public sectors.
Ethics and Service Built In
Required business ethics and a Biblical Worldview frame leadership as service, not status.
Getting started in organizational leadership at ACU takes just a few steps. Here’s the path.
Apply to ACU
Submit your application for admission to Arizona Christian University.
Start Your ApplicationMeet With a Business Advisor
Map your degree plan and talk through your leadership goals.
Start With the Business Core
Begin with Introduction to Business and the core sequence the leadership courses build on.
Grow Into the Leadership Focus
Move into Principles of Leadership, organizational behavior, HR, and strategy as you advance.
The Organizational Leadership degree gives you the business fluency, people skills, and strategic thinking to lead in almost any field. Connect with our team or apply today.