Designed for experienced professionals, Marian University’s online Adaptive Leadership Certificate equips you with the skills to navigate complexity, lead change, and mobilize others in today’s dynamic organizations—all in a flexible, fully online format.
Are you a working professional seeking to grow your leadership practice? Marian University’s 100% online Adaptive Leadership Certificate is designed for professionals across industries who want to strengthen their leadership capacity and create meaningful impact within their organizations. The program focuses on building the emotional and psychological resilience needed to understand complex systems, navigate adaptive challenges, and mobilize others toward progress.
Who Should Pursue an Adaptive Leadership Certificate?
This online leadership certificate is ideal for professionals who are already in leadership or management roles—or those preparing to step into greater responsibility. Participants commonly include managers, team leaders, educators, healthcare professionals, nonprofit leaders, and professionals seeking advanced leadership development without committing to a full degree program.
Typically, the 12-credit hour Adaptive Leadership Certificate can be completed in one to two semesters. Courses are delivered in a flexible, asynchronous online format and taught by Marian faculty and industry experts in five-week sessions—allowing working professionals to balance leadership development with career and personal responsibilities. The certificate program is competitively priced at $425 per credit hour.
Adaptive Leadership Learning Outcomes
- Diagnose the complex social systems of an organization and the challenges faced by learners’ organizations.
- Mobilize others within an organization to make meaningful progress.
- Focus on and increase the emotional and psychological capacity needed to exercise leadership and carry others during challenging times and hardships at an organization.
- Act with purpose and agency within groups, teams, and organizations.
- Manage the technical aspects of an organization’s operations and differentiate between a technical problem and an adaptive challenge
Career Value of Adaptive Leadership Training
Adaptive leadership training helps professionals lead effectively in environments shaped by uncertainty, change, and competing priorities. Graduates of this certificate develop practical leadership skills that support career advancement, organizational effectiveness, and long-term professional growth across business, education, healthcare, nonprofit, and public service sectors.
For more information, contact Johnna Denning-Smith, Associate Director of Strategic Partnership and Online Recruitment (jdenningsmith@marian.edu).
Courses begin this fall, with multiple start points designed to support working professionals.
Required to begin:
- Application fee: $25
- High school diploma or qualifying high school equivalency exam
- Current resume
Certificate Program Plan
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
|
LDR 310 |
Foundations in Adaptive Leadership |
3 |
|
LDR 350 |
Adaptive Leadership from the “Inside-Out”: Gaining Freedom and Choice |
3 |
|
Choose Two Courses |
||
|
BUS 210 |
Effective Workplace Conversations/Transparent Leadership |
3 |
|
BUS 304 |
Business Ethics |
3 |
|
BUS 330 |
Leadership |
3 |
|
BUS 495 |
Business Policy and Strategy |
3 |
|
LDR 320 |
Adaptive Leadership: Advanced Diagnostics and Interventions |
3 |
|
MGT 352 |
Organizational Behavior |
3 |
|
MGT 372 |
Creativity and Change |
3 |
|
PBH 100 |
Intro to Human Services and Public Policy |
3 |
|
PSY 310 |
Industrial and Organizational Psychology |
3 |