The University of Texas at Austin
Master of Arts in Human Dimensions of Organizations
Austin, USA
MA
DURATION
15 months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2027
TUITION FEES
USD 60,000
STUDY FORMAT
Blended
Key Summary
About: The Master of Arts in Human Dimensions of Organizations (HDO) at UT Austin Extended Campus is a 15-month program for working professionals. It offers weekend classes, a distance-learning option, and UT Austin faculty teach across psychology, history, literature, sociology, philosophy, and anthropology. You’ll study organizational behavior, discern root causes of why organizations succeed or fail, and develop leadership and change-management skills to improve teams, nonprofits, and businesses. Admissions value professional growth across related roles or employers.
Career Outcomes: Graduates enter roles such as organizational leader, HR manager, and management consultant, applying leadership, organizational development, and culture skills across sectors.
Human Dimensions of Organizations (HDO) is an innovative graduate program at UT Austin designed for working professionals. This master's degree program is a 15-month program for professionals featuring weekend classes, a distance learning option, and courses led by top UT Austin faculty. By exploring varied disciplines such as psychology, history, literature, sociology, philosophy, and anthropology with some of the University’s best professors, an HDO Master’s degree will give you the tools to:
- Discern the root causes of why businesses and nonprofits work, and why they often don’t.
- Understand how and why the key components of organizations—people—behave and work the way they do.
- Develop leadership skills to create lasting and effective change in organizations of any size or type.
Student work experiences provide an invaluable addition to classroom discussions and group projects. Master’s program applicants should possess at least 3-5 years of career-level experience.
An applicant’s career path should demonstrate professional growth in a particular field or a set of related fields. This experience does not have to be with one employer or in a particular role.
Course List
Fall I Semester: 11 Credit Hours
- HDO 381: Individual Perspectives on Organizations (3 Credit Hours)
- HDO 383: Society, Culture, and Diversity (3 Credit Hours)
- HDO 390: Qualitative Research in Organizations (3 Credit Hours)
- HDO 289: Writing and Researching Organizations (2 Credit Hours)
Spring Semester: 12 Credit Hours
- HDO 384: Organizational Inertia, Decision-Making, and Change (3 Credit Hours)
- HDO 382: Approaches to Leadership (3 Credit Hours)
- HDO 391: Quantitative Research in Organizations (3 Credit Hours)
- HDO 386: Persuasion and Argumentation (3 Credit Hours)
Summer Semester: 7 Credit Hours
- HDO 287: The Structure of Organizations (2 Credit Hours)
- HDO 380: Cultural Perspectives on Organizations (3 Credit Hours)
- HDO 285: Organizational Ethics (2 Credit Hours)
Fall II Semester: 6 Total Credit Hours
HDO 695: Capstone Project (6 Credit Hours)
Course Descriptions and Availability Are Subject to Change.
HDO’s curriculum is unique in its balance of conceptual consideration and practical application of ideas.
Our coursework requires students to examine real-world challenges through a variety of disciplinary lenses. Students will learn to draw on a range of approaches to analyze, consider, and improve the structure and function of organizations.
The degree requires 36 credit hours spread across four successive semesters: Fall, Spring, Summer, and the following Fall. These classes include a two-semester core course; nine courses offering depth in topics relevant to the degree; and 6 hours dedicated to the completion of a Capstone Project during the final semester of the program.
Program Structure
Fall Semester I
11 Credit Hours
August-December
- Intensive Week: Wednesday-Saturday (kicks off semester)
- Classes Run Every Other Weekend: Fridays (4:00 pm – 7:00 pm); Saturdays (8:30 am – 5:30 pm)
Spring Semester
12 Credit Hours
January-May
- Intensive Week: Thursday-Saturday (kicks off semester)
- Classes Run Every Other Weekend: Fridays (4:00 pm – 7:00 pm); Saturdays (8:30 am – 6:30 pm)
Summer Semester
7 Credit Hours
May-August
- Intensive Week: Thursday-Saturday (kicks off semester)
- Classes Run Every Other Weekend: Fridays (4:00 pm – 7:00 pm); Saturdays (8:30 am – 4:30 pm)
Fall Semester II
6 Credit Hours
August-December
- No Intensive Week, No Formal Classes
- Optional Capstone Writing Group Sessions
- Graduation Events at the Conclusion of the Semester