Admissions and Eligibility

The Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics (MSOD) program is designed for mid-career professionals from a variety of backgrounds and requires no specific prerequisite courses. The degree is ideal for those who wish to complement their MBA or another professional or graduate degree, as well as those who do not need the traditional foundational curriculum of an advanced business degree. Students come from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds and professional enterprises including corporations, public institutions and nonprofit organizations, as well as from professional fields such as law, education and healthcare. However, for your admission to the program, it is necessary that you have a strong academic background and well-articulated objectives for participating in the program.

Successful applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited US institution and are expected to have achieved a 3.0 GPA in previous academic work, or explicitly address why they expect to be able to do so in their graduate degree program. In addition, candidates must have completed at least five years of full-time, management-related, professional work. Standardized tests such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are not required when applying for the Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics program. 

International applicants should make sure that their degree is the equivalent of a four-year degree in the US, and must demonstrate English proficiency via their Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores.

See our Application Overview for specific requirements.

Application and deadlines

The first step toward earning your Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics degree at Penn is completing the online application. 

You may apply to begin your studies during the fall, spring or summer terms. Your application portfolio, including all transcripts, must be received by the following deadlines:

Regular admission deadlines

International student admission deadlines

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Applications for the Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics program are accepted on a rolling basis, meaning that applications are acted upon throughout the year whenever they are received. Selected applicants will be invited to personally interview with the program staff.

The Organizational Dynamics Programs Admissions Committee considers each candidate's application materials holistically as part of a selective admissions process. The Admissions Committee thoroughly examines all aspects of each candidate's academic background and work experiences as evidence of their academic potential, intellectual strength, and ability to contribute to classroom discussions and applied learning.

Students who have been denied admission to an Organizational Dynamics program must wait one calendar year before reapplying. This policy does not impact a student’s ability to apply to other programs at the University of Pennsylvania at any time.