Video: MUW Offers Master’s Degree in Women’s Leadership

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Preparing women to lead has always been part of MUW’s mission. Now the university is offering women a new academic program, allowing students to apply leadership skills in their careers.

This fall, Mississippi University for Women will offer a master’s degree in women’s leadership. Dr. Bridget Smith Pieschel is the Director of Women’s Studies at MUW and says the program was developed after getting feed back from Alumni.

“We wish we could’ve had some specific training having to do with women and leadership when we were working on our graduate degrees,” says Pieschel.

The master of arts degree in women’s leadership will combine theories of leadership development, social change, and gender issues. Pieshcel says the program will teach students leadership isn’t just about giving orders.

“We need to train more leaders to be collaborative, to understand how systems work together, to understand that you can be both a leader and a follower,” says Pieschel.

Pieschel says the women’s leadership degree will give women already working, the credentials they need to advance their careers. She says the program is another milestone in MUW’s tradition.

“I think one of the ways this particular program reflects our history, and this is important, is that we always have combined the idea that you learn theory with practice,” says Pieschel.

Students will have to complete practical studies and apply the knowledge of women’s issues in any field. The advanced degree will be offered to graduate students across all academic majors.

Though MUW expects to offer the degree this fall, the program is still pending acceptance by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.