Muhlenberg College has announced the launch of new graduate programs in applied analytics and organizational leadership. (photo courtesy Muhlenberg College)

Muhlenberg College has announced the launch of new graduate programs in applied analytics and organizational leadership, which will be offered starting in the fall semester.

The programs will be offered through the newly-established Muhlenberg College School of Graduate Studies, which will be led by Dean of Graduate Studies Uppinder Mehan, who began his role in November.

“Adding graduate programs to the rich variety and solid foundation of what we already offer allows us to reach out to those who already have undergraduate degrees and are interested in deepening their knowledge and developing proficiencies, and also to our alumni who have helped make Muhlenberg the highly respected college it is,” Mehan said.

These programs will assist with the development of Lehigh Valley’s workforce, a priority for the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. The LVEDC Education and Talent Supply Council is focused on regional strategies to help Lehigh Valley maintain a competitive workforce and talent supply.

Extensive market research led Muhlenberg to offer graduate programs in these two specific areas, according to AJ Lemheney, Vice President and executive Director of Muhlenberg’s Division of Graduate and Continuing Education.

The applied analytics program is in response to industry demand for skilled professionals who can apply analytic methods for informed organizational decision-making and to solve business challenges. 

“What we found are businesses and government agencies rely on big data to succeed and better serve their customers and communities,” Lemheney said. “Our applied analytics program focuses on helping them carry the best of their past forward, understand the present and use their data to envision their future.”

Graduates will develop a foundation in data analytics techniques, teaching them how to find critical patterns within datasets; how to create descriptive data summaries and visualizations and communicate results; and how to employ their skills and knowledge in problem-solving contexts and team projects such as urban analytics and population health, sustainability analytics, and epidemiology.

The organizational leadership program will prepare graduates to lead, inspire, and guide organizations in strategy management, planning, continuous improvement, and leading large change initiatives, as well as financial skills for effective decision-making.

“We found small to large companies and agencies are complex systems of people and processes prone to problems. “Our organizational leadership program is an alternative to the MBA for those companies in demand for a leader who thinks holistically, solving complex problems with empathy, ethics and creativity.”

This program integrates the practice of emotionally intelligent leadership with study of ethical decision-making, mediation, quantitative reasoning and resourcefulness to build the skills that leaders need in personal and organizational success, according to the college.

Graduate certificates in both areas of study are also being offered as an alternative for those looking only to build specific advanced knowledge and skills in a particular discipline. Visit the Muhlenberg College School of Graduate Studies website for more information.

Muhlenberg received accreditation approval for the new graduate programs from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in January 

With the addition of the School of Graduate Studies and launch of these new programs, Muhlenberg is also changing the name of the Wescoe School of Continuing Education to the Muhlenberg College School of Continuing Studies.

Lemheney said this name “better aligns with the College’s strategic plan and brand identity and provides clarity of the school’s function within the greater community we serve.”