Business and service organizations must be nimble to thrive in today's complex marketplaces. Innovation is more than a buzzword — it's become a necessity. Organizations must constantly change from within to build viable processes and structures that can sustain success. They must also adapt in response to their environments through innovative management and creation of new services. This certificate provides a comprehensive overview of what it takes to thrive in an age of innovation and strategy, exploring a variety of topics — product development, quality management practices, the application of technology. Through coursework in organizational change, business innovation and change management, managers or aspiring managers can develop structured approaches to change across all levels of an organization.
Complete the Change Management certificate fully online with these courses:
COMM ST 250-DL Team Leadership & Decision Making
ORG BEH 301-DL Organization Behavior
ORG BEH 311-DL Conflict Resolution
ORG BEH 367-DL Strategic Planning & Management
Change Management Tuition
Post-baccalaureate students at Northwestern's School of Professional Studies pay per course. For more information about financial obligations and tuition, visit the Tuition page.
Admission for the Change Management Certificate
In addition to completing an online application, you'll also need to submit a few supplemental materials. A list of requirements for admission including application deadlines and tips on how to apply can be found at the Admission page.
Change Management Registration Information
Whether you're a first-time registrant or current and returning student, all students register using our online student registration and records systems. Important information about registering for courses at SPS, including registration timelines and adding or dropping courses in which you are already enrolled, can be found at the Registration Information page.
Find out more about the Change Management Certificate
Program Courses:
Course Detail
Team Leadership and Decision Making <> COMM_ST 250-DL
This course is organized to expose students to foundational
perspectives and concepts of effective, ethical leadership and
collaboration. Our work together will focus upon communication
principles and practices that support evaluation of others’
leadership and your own practices as part of a team. We will
explore models and theories that describe these topics and gain
practice thinking and writing critically. The goal of this course
is for students to leave with applicable knowledge and tactics that
will help them to engage with others--as a leader and a team
member-- to achieve good results in good conscience.
This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will
be added to tuition.
Organizations are a part of our everyday lives. Whether at work,
school, church etc., similar interpersonal and group behaviors and
dynamics apply. The focus of this course is to examine several
aspects of organizations from an integrated perspective, including
how the formal organization, culture, people and work can all
connect to transform inputs to outputs. Emphasis will be placed on
understanding individual differences as the foundation of our
interpersonal and managerial effectiveness. Case studies, classroom
and online discussions, team assignments and presentations will all
be part of the learning. At the end of the class, it is anticipated
that students will have a better understanding of today's complex
organizations and more equipped to navigate the workplace.
This course combines in-person sessions with online components -
in-person Saturday dates are: 1/7, 1/21, 2/4, 2/18 and 3/4 on
the Chicago campus. For the lecture and discussion components, this
course is paired with ORG BEH 311-CN. This course is part of the
Business Leadership year one curriculum.
This course has been cancelled as of 12/22/22. Please instead
register for SOCIOL 302-CN: Sociology of Organizations. This is
another required class for your program and is running at the same
time and location as this canceled Organization Behavior class.
There is no available section.
Organization Behavior <> ORG_BEH 301-DL
Our contemporary lives are shaped by participation in
commercial, social, and government organizations. This course uses
social science research to explicate the dimensions of formal
organizations and show how they influence our public and private
behavior. The course will investigate sources of organizational
success (positive function) and failure. Students will learn how to
address organizational dysfunction through applying research-based
solutions. Exercises include case study scenarios, role-play
videos, simulations, and path-dependent decision making. By the end
of the course, students will be able to diagnose organizational
problems and devise targeted remedies. This course is conducted
completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.
This course is an in-depth investigation of the forces driving
organizational change and their impact on people and structure.
Today's emphasis on quality, service, and efficiency has created
great urgency for change that runs counter to other factors (e.g.,
a mobile labor force, uninspired leadership, and intense global
economic pressures). The byproduct is often cynicism,
self-preservation, and confusion--ingredients for disaster. Yet
some organizations thrive; this course examines why, and explores
change drivers and dynamics across organizational settings and
situations ranging from major corporate mergers to not-for-profit
politics. This course combines classroom lecture and discussion
with an online component. This course is part of the Business
Leadership year two cohort.
Conflict takes place daily in all organizations, regardless of
size. Research indicates ways to deal with misunderstood and
mismanaged conflict. In this course, we will focus on two types of
conflict: conflict that is positive and has the ability to increase
productivity, effectiveness, and satisfaction; conflict that will
result in negative outcomes. Recognizing both the positive and
negative impact of conflict is essential. With that knowledge, you
can develop positive strategies to maintain excellent working
relationships and address issues as they occur. Our goals, then,
are to identify conflict, determine whether it is positive or
negative, and resolve it to the benefit of all.
Conflict takes place daily in all organizations, regardless of
size. Research indicates ways to deal with misunderstood and
mismanaged conflict. In this course, we will focus on two types of
conflict: conflict that is positive and has the ability to increase
productivity, effectiveness, and satisfaction; conflict that will
result in negative outcomes. Recognizing both the positive and
negative impact of conflict is essential. With that knowledge, you
can develop positive strategies to maintain excellent working
relationships and address issues as they occur. Our goals, then,
are to identify conflict, determine whether it is positive or
negative, and resolve it to the benefit of all. This course is part
of the Business Leadership year one curriculum.
There is no available section.
Strategic Planning & Management <> ORG_BEH 367-DL
This course applies the concepts of strategic planning to
various types of organizations. Initial discussions will provide a
basic framework for preparing a strategic plan for corporations,
non-profits and government agencies. Practical applications will be
developed from case studies and the experiences of the instructor
and students. Since we can learn from wide range of situational
discussions, we will consider entrepreneurial and established
operations, as well as success stories and failures. This course is
conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to
tuition.
This course focuses on early-stage companies (including, but not
only, startups) and how they are structured, financed, managed,
scaled, and sold. It is an example-driven course that requires
research outside class. While the course focuses on technology
companies, this is interpreted broadly to include
telecommunications, financial technology, medical technology,
hardware innovation, and other topics; this is not a
sector-specific course focused on "pure tech" (e.g. social media
startups, ad tech, etc.). This is a case-driven,
highly-collaborative course with a Socratic, conversational
classroom environment, and it includes a midterm exam and a
final project.