Program Curriculum

Antioch’s MA in Nonprofit Management is designed for working professionals and is a 33-semester-credit program that can be completed in under two years.

Core Courses

Core courses provide a comprehensive examination of all essential aspects of the nonprofit organization: program, development, administration, and governance.

HSA-5210: Program Planning and Evaluation (3 credits)

This course introduces students to the purposes of and strategies for program planning in nonprofit organizations. The primary focus of the class is building the knowledge and skills required of program professionals. Students explore and examine theories, concepts, approaches, and processes fundamental to program planning and evaluation. Using research, reflection and practical application, students will explore the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs that aim to effect change and build capacity of individuals, families, and communities.

MNM-5210: Development and Fundraising (3 credits)

Development (also often referred to as “advancement”) is what empowers and supports nonprofits in doing the work of fulfilling their stated missions. If you think of a nonprofit organization’s programs as the essence of what it does for its cause or community, the work of development is that of garnering the resources necessary to make that good work possible. For many (though not all) nonprofits, the key component to resource development is fundraising. This course, therefore, focuses primarily on the fundamentals of fundraising, from preparing a fundraising plan through acknowledging and recognizing donors appropriately for their support.

MKT-5000: Marketing and Communication Strategy (3 credits)

This course explores marketing and communication strategies as an essential business component within an organization. Students will develop both an intellectual and hands-on understanding and appreciation of essential marketing and communication concepts, and how those concepts can be applied to the growth, development, and long-term success of an organization. Marketing and communication strategies, models, and tactics will be addressed through the lens of branding, the classic “Four Ps” of marketing (Product, Price, Place [distribution], and Promotion), messaging, integrated marketing communication, and tactical application.

MNM-5110: Nonprofit History, Context, Theories, and Trends (3 credits)

Among the many types of organizations that exist, what is a nonprofit? Are they an aberration in a capitalist economy or an intentional counterpoint? What impels people to establish them and support them? Is it to fulfill a need in society, or in themselves? And are they worth the effort and resources people put into them? This course will explore all these questions as it surveys the development of the nonprofit sector and examines some of the theories that attempt to explain its existence and purpose. Moving from past to future, it will also discuss some of the trends currently reshaping the sector and the impact they may have upon it.

FIN-5100: Financial Analysis for NonProfits (3 credits)

This course focuses on the practical application of financial statement analysis and the use of financial information to make decisions in nonprofit organizations. Students will explore financial definitions, concepts and structure of non-profit accounting principles, financial statements, and basic tools for interpreting financial information. Ultimately, students will develop confidence in reading and interpreting the financial position of an organization and use financial statements, along with knowledge of an industry and information about the marketplace, to make informed budget and financial decisions.

MGT-5280: Human Resources Management (3 credits)

Human Resource Management deals with a wide range of activities by which organizations (both profit and nonprofit) acquire, maintain, and utilize their workforces. Adopting the perspective of a general manager, students will examine a number of key human resource “levers” or processes contributing to the development of an effective work system, including investing in people (training and development), measurement and incentives (compensation), and tapping potential employees (recruitment and selection) to better understand the complexities of managing people in organizations.

HSA-5113 Organizational Leadership and Governance (3 credits)

As the environment for nonprofits continues to change, the demand for measured and innovative nonprofit leadership and governance is at a premium. In this course, students explore the unique aspects of nonprofit board governance with a primary focus on roles and responsibilities of the board, executive leadership, staff, and volunteers; how governing boards function; and, elements that contribute to the overall organizational effectiveness and mission achievement.

MGT-5340 Leading High-Performing Teams (3 credits)

This course examines characteristics of high performing teams, common challenges that prevent teams from realizing their full potential, and selected strategies for overcoming constraints on optimal team performance. Students explore the influence of diversity and inclusion on team performance outcomes, along with the evidence-based practices employed by exemplary team leaders in mobilizing others toward the achievement of shared aims.


Elective Courses

A wide range of elective courses allow students to pursue their special interests in depth.

MNM-6100: Social Movements and the Work of Advocacy (3 credits)

This course considers the question of how intentional change occurs in a nation’s society and/or economy. Focusing first on the theoretical level, students will survey several notable social movements in the modern era as well as prominent theories which attempt to explain their inception and influence. Turning to the pragmatic, the course will then move on to discover how movements become effective at gaining notice and followers and, ultimately, making change.

HSA-5200 Grant Writing and Resource Development (3 credits)

This course provides students with a practical understanding of old and new concepts, techniques and theories of nonprofit/human service organization resource development. Students will think creatively about resource generation and learn how to build a story to express organizational need. The course includes a substantive section on the preparation of an effective grant application and exploration of frequent issues like knowing one’s capacity to “get the job done” or creating and implementing outcomes and ensuring realistic expectations and infrastructure for implementation success. The course concludes by highlighting the power in developing non-monetary resources through collaborative partners and building coalitions in order to be more successful systems of financial independence. At the completion of this course, students will be able to: Examine the basic concepts, techniques and theories of financial fundraising practices; tell stories that express the problem and need in order to apply their request to multiple modalities of fundraising; and, discover and understand the development and nurture of productive relationships and coalitions that move organizations forward in maintaining resources, capacity, and financial sustainability.

MNM-6100: Social Movements and the Work of Advocacy (3 credits)

This course considers the question of how intentional change occurs in a nation’s society and/or economy. Focusing first on the theoretical level, students will survey several notable social movements in the modern era as well as prominent theories which attempt to explain their inception and influence. Turning to the pragmatic, the course will then move on to discover how movements become effective at gaining notice and followers and, ultimately, making change.

MNM-6200: Community Organizing (3 credits)

The course first introduces students to the range of motives and methods for community activism. It then examines in detail the work of community organizing at both the individual and collective levels. Students will formulate a strategy for organizing around a current social issue and also build a plan for sustaining oneself through both success and defeat as an advocate.

HSA-5100: Public Policy and Advocacy (3 credits)

This course examines the relationship of how public policy influences nonprofits and as well as, how nonprofits impact policy. The topics in this course will focus on the interaction between nonprofit organizations in forming public policy and advocacy strategies, methods and techniques employed to affect policy and legislative change.

MGT-5380: Developing People and Performance (3 credits)

Skillful leaders foster workplace culture, practices, and relationships that support learning, satisfaction, and strong performance among employees. Employees, in turn commit their knowledge, skills, and energy to the organization’s success. Through the interdisciplinary lens of human resource development, students explore the value and benefits of developing people and performance in diverse and inclusive work environments. Theories related to training, organizational development, performance improvement and systems create the landscape for students to explore the practical aspects of organizational culture and systems that support the development and well-being of employees and organizational stability.

MGT-5242: Leader Identity and Development (3 credits)

Change agents in every setting confront conflicted situations and have leadership roles therein.  Such individuals have an ethical duty to know themselves well enough to “first, do no harm.”  That duty includes understanding conflict and identity as enduring factors in ordinary human experience and leadership challenges. Conflicts press for choices among stakeholders’ competing interests and needs, often threatening identity along with the presenting issues.  Drawing from developmental, conflict, and leadership theories and applications, this course examines mental models of leadership, how personal and group identities form and change as they develop, and how these factors impact leadership and conflict styles, effectiveness in change making, and capacities for critical reflection and foresight.

MGT-5370: Organizational Leadership and Change (3 credits)

This course introduces leadership theory and managerial roles to plan, organize, implement, monitor, and evaluate organizational change efforts. Strategic communication plays a critical role in the change-management process, and students will examine best practices in organizational leadership and change management. The course thus introduces leadership theory and some best practices of change leadership such as to scan, focus, align, mobilize, and inspire. The course will focus on several key areas such as: why leaders need to guide staff through periods of change and help transform organizational culture, why formal and informal leadership behaviors are needed at many levels of an organization, and why multiple intelligences are needed not only to manage and lead change, but also to predict and address resistance, anxiety, and the forces of inertia that can sabotage even small change efforts.

MGT-5380 Developing People and Performance

Skillful leaders foster workplace culture, practices, and relationships that support learning, satisfaction, and strong performance among employees. Employees, in turn commit their knowledge, skills, and energy to the organization’s success. Through the interdisciplinary lens of human resource development, students explore the value and benefits of developing people and performance in diverse and inclusive work environments. Theories related to training, organizational development, performance improvement and systems create the landscape for students to explore the practical aspects of organizational culture and systems that support the development and well-being of employees and organizational stability.


Capstone Project

Capstone projects undertaken give students the opportunity to integrate learning from throughout the program.

MGT-6520: Capstone Project: Integrating Knowledge and Skills (3 credits)

Students work with a faculty advisor to prepare a project proposal which is acceptable in substance and scope. A suitable project involves both secondary (library) and primary (field) research on a topic pertinent to the field of nonprofit management and leadership and integrate learning achieved through the regular course work of the program. To demonstrate completion of the approved project and the learning achieved through it, the student writes a report that includes several components: a review of the literature studied, the methods used in the field research, the results of the field research and an analysis thereof, general conclusions and implications, and insights drawn from the experience. Advisors are assigned from the management studies faculty on the basis of professional experience, education, and training pertinent to the management or leadership issue that is the focus of the project.


For detailed curriculum and degree requirements, please visit the AU catalog.

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