Leadership Studies
Leadership involves establishing trust and achieving change through the shaping of vision, values and culture. The world needs ethical leaders who can identify issues facing humanity, increase awareness of those issues, develop solutions and strategies, and empower others to make a difference. That’s why PLP includes a challenging academic component that equips you for this important work.
All PLP students complete the leadership studies minor, a set of interdisciplinary courses that complement any major.
Sample Courses
LDSP 210 Self, Group and Leadership
This interactive course introduces you to the role of self and group in the leadership process. Through academic study, personal assessment, in-class activities and assignments, you’ll learn how personal development impacts leadership capabilities, the importance of self understanding to effective leadership, and the relationship between self identity and group process. In addition to self-study, you will study group development, group think and the effect of power and communication styles in group dynamics.
LDSP 320 Leadership Through the Ages
In attempting to understand leadership in the 21st century, one cannot ignore the insights and practices of significant figures from the past. This course is designed to introduce students to some of the most influential historical leaders and thinkers from throughout the world and to examine how their lessons in leadership may or may not be applicable to current leadership issues. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students will study leaders acting in multiple contexts to understand how the contemporary and immediate situational factors influence leadership behavior.
LDSP 240. Theories and Perspectives on Leadership
This course provides a multidisciplinary introduction to the field of leadership studies. Social scientific approaches to the study of leadership will be considered, with a focus on the application of theory to practice. The influence of the humanities and the natural sciences on the study of leadership will also be considered. Contemporary trends, topics and debates will be explored, along with traditional approaches to the study of leadership.
LDSP 442 Values and Ethics Leadership
This course examines the paradigm of values leadership as a theory and a philosophy. Values leadership is based on selecting, defining, modeling, and promoting values to unify individuals in striving toward a shared vision. Values based leaders create a culture of trust and leverage core values that inspire individuals to a higher level of motivation, morality, and achievement. Terminal, instrumental, and organizational values are explored. The techniques of envisioning, culture shaping, developing self-led followers, fostering trust, and ethical decision making are explored. The course considers the moral responsibilities of a leader toward his or her followers.