How can one enter the growing field of executive and leadership coaching?

Executive and leadership coaching is one of the fastest-growing fields of management consulting in America. SMU's 9-hour concentration in Executive and Leadership Coaching can be taken as a stand-alone set of courses that provides students with a comprehensive, classroom-based, learning experience that gradually builds on skills and knowledge throughout the course sequence. The coursework provides students with the theoretical grounding and applied practice needed to enter the field of executive coaching as a consultant or internal practitioner.

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Distinctive Features

  • Three graduate courses for completion, additional electives available

  • Apply courses towards International Coaching Federation (ICF) Certification

  • Two required Executive and Leadership Coaching courses: Essentials, Theory and Practice

  • Third course: Choose from multiple electives and apply coaching in a variety of contexts: performance, conflict, and education and non-profit sectors

  • All courses are conducted on weekends or weeknight evenings to support participation by working professionals and out-of-state students

  • Instruction in person, hands-on practical application, build connections with fellow students and faculty

  • Workshops and networking events with students, faculty, and alumni

  • Each course earns 3 credit hours - may be applied to the Master of Arts in Dispute Resolution, Graduate Certificate of Dispute Resolution, Master of Liberal Studies, Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study*, or Doctor of Liberal Studies* upon admission

  • Limited number of tuition grants available

* requires master's degree

Mandatory Courses (Both Courses)

  • HDDR 6390 - Executive and Leadership Coaching: Essentials

  • HDDR 6391 - Executive and Leadership Coaching: Theory and Practice

Elective Course Options (One Course Required, May Take Additional Electives)

  • HDDR 6392 - Executive and Leadership Coaching: Performance

  • HDDR 6327 - Conflict Coaching

  • BHSC 7341 - Coaching for Educational and Organizational Leaders

  • BHSC 7368 - Educational Coaching: Ensuring Success for All Leaders

  • BHSC 7369 - Potential and Performance: Coaching for Individual and Organizational Effectiveness

Practicum Option (Additional Elective Option After Three Required Courses)

  • BHSC 6300 - Directed Study: From Concept to Practice - Becoming an ICF Coach

Summer and Fall 2024 Course Schedules