The Certificate in Leadership Studies is designed to provide a structure for involvement, introducing students to the concepts of leadership while giving them the necessary hands-on experiences to begin the life-long development of these leadership skills.

Online Curriculum

To earn the ONLINE Certificate in Leadership Studies, students must successfully complete 20 semester hours (s.h.) and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in all course work.

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Required Interdisciplinary Core Courses:

• LS:3004 Perspectives on Leadership (3 s.h.)
• LS:3012 Leadership Theory to Practice (3 s.h.)

Area Electives (12 s.h.) - must complete 3 s.h. from each of the four areas below:

Self and Group Leadership - Select at least 3 s.h. from these:

• LS:1020 Introduction to Leadership (3 s.h.)
• LS:1022 President's Leadership Class (3 s.h.)
• LS:2002 Career Leadership Academy Part I: Leadership in Practice (3 s.h.)
• LS:2020 Women in Leadership (3 s.h.)
• LS:3002 Career Leadership Academy Part II: Leadership in Action (3 s.h.)
• AERO:3100 Leadership Studies: Leading People and Effective Communication I (3 s.h.)
• AERO:3200 Leadership Studies: Leading People and Effective Communication II (3 s.h.)
• COMM:1819 Organizational Leadership (3 s.h.)
• COMM:2011 Group Communication (3 s.h.)
• LLS:1150 Leadership in the Outdoors (3 s.h.)
• MGMT:2100 Introduction to Management (3 s.h.)
• MGMT:3200 Individuals, Teams and Organizations (3 s.h.)
• MGMT:3600 / SSW:3600 / NURS:3600 / RELS:3701 Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness II (3 s.h.) 
• MGMT:3999 CIMBA Italy Experiential Leadership (1-3 s.h.)
• MGMT:4300 Leadership and Personal Development (3 s.h.)
• MILS:1010 Leadership and Personal Development MSL 101 (1 s.h.)
• MILS:1020 Introduction to Tactical Leadership MSL102 (1 s.h.)
• MILS:2010 Innovative Team Leadership MSL 201 (2 s.h.)
• MILS:2020 Foundations of Tactival Leadership MSL 202 (2 s.h.)
• PSY:2501 Introduction to Social Psychology (3 s.h.)
• SOC:1220 Priciples of Social Psychology (3-4 s.h.)
• SOC:3610 Organizations and Modern Society (3 s.h.)
• SOC:4225 The Social Psychology of Leadership (3 s.h.)

Communication - Select at least 3 s.h. from these:

• BUS:3000 Business Communication and Professionalism (3 s.h.)
• BUS:3800 Business Writing (3 s.h.)
• CNW:3640 Writing for Business (3 s.h.)
• COMM:1112 Interpersonal Communication (3 s.h.)
• COMM:1117 Advocacy and Argument (3 s.h.)
• COMM:1130 The Art of Persuading Others (3 s.h.)
• COMM:1170 Communication Theory in Everyday Life (3 s.h.)
• COMM:1818 Communication Skills for Leadership (3 s.h.)
• COMM:1819 Organizational Leadership (3 s.h.)
• COMM:2091 Organizational Communications (3 s.h.)
• MGMT:4100 Dynamics of Negotiations (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:3005 / CW:3005 / INTD:3005 Professional and Creative Business Communication (3 s.h.)

Cultural Competence - Select at least 3 s.h. from these:

• AFAM:3459 / ENGL:3459 African American Literature Before 1900 (3 s.h.)
• AMST:1074 / GWSS:1074 / SPST:1074 Inequality in American Sport (3 s.h.)
• ASP:3135 / GHS:3050 / SSW:3135 Global Aging (3 s.h.)
• CCCC:2220 Foundations of Critical Cultural Competence (3 s.h.)
• CSED:4197 Citizenship in a Multicultural Society (3 s.h.)
• GWSS:1002 Diversity and Power in the U.S. (3 s.h.)
• GWSS:1310 / SOC:1310 Gender and Society (3 s.h.)
• GWSS:3154 Sexuality in the United States (3 s.h.)
• HHP:1045 Diversity and Inclusion in Healthy Living (3 s.h.)
• HHP:2280 Cultural Competency and Health (3 s.h.)
• HIST:1040 Diversity in History (3 s.h.)
• JMC:1200 Introduction to Media and Culture (3 s.h.)
• LS:2022 Leading From the Margins (3 s.h.)
• MUS:1310 World Music (3 s.h.)
• NURS:3111 Caring for Vulnerable Populations (3 s.h.)
• SOC:2810 Social Inequality (3 s.h.)

Ethics and Integrity - Select at least 3 s.h. from these:

• CSED:4195 Ethics in Human Relations and Counseling (3 s.h.)
• HMP:6315 Healthcare Ethics (1-2 s.h.)
• HRTS:2115 / IS:2115 Introduction to Human Rights (3 s.h.)
• JMC:2600 Freedom of Expression (3 s.h.)
• JMC:2700 Media Ethics (3 s.h.)
• MGMT:2000 Introduction to Law (3 s.h.)
• MGMT:3400 Employment Law (3 s.h.)
• PHIL:1034 Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (3 s.h.)
• PHIL:1401 Matters of Life and Death (3 s.h.)
• PHIL:1636 Principles of Reasoning: Argument and Debate (3 s.h.)
• PHIL:1861 Introduction to Philosophy (3 s.h.)
• PHIL:2402 Introduction to Ethics (3 s.h.)
• PHIL:2432 Introduction to Political Philosophy (3 s.h.)
• PHIL:2435 Philosophy of Law (3 s.h.)
• PTRS:5100 Professional Issues and Ethics (1 s.h.)
• SRM:3700 Ethics in Sport (3 s.h.)

Experiential Learning - complete 2 s.h. of the following:

• LS:1024 Hawkeye Service Breaks (arr.)
• LS:3002 Career Leadership Academy Part 2: Leadership in Action (3 s.h.)
• LS:3011 Leadership Certificate Internship (2 s.h.)

Other Approved Experiential Learning Courses - students may also satisfy the certificate's experiential learning requirement by earning a minimum of 2 s.h. from the following:

• COMM:1302 Introduction to Civic Bridge-Building: Skills for Effective Dialogue (1 s.h.)
• COMM:2829 Leadership for Civic Dialogue (1-3 s.h.)

How to Declare the Certificate

Students may add a certificate program to their plan of study at any time.  Declaring a certificate will allow you to request a degree audit for the certificate requirements in MyUI.  There is no penalty to remove a certificate from a plan of study and one may be removed at any time.

Current BAS/BLS University of Iowa students may add the certificate to their plan of study by contacting their assigned BAS/BLS advisor. 

After the certificate has been declared, please log into MyUI to make an appointment with your Leadership Studies Certificate advisor.  Instructions are provided on the Career Center website.

How to remove the certificate from your program of study

Current BAS/BLS students can email their assigned academic advisor to ask to remove the certificate from their plan of study. There is no penalty to remove a certificate program from a plan of study and one may be removed at any time.