Leadership Programs
Certificates
Join us for a leadership certificate this fall! These are non-credit-bearing, co-curricular certificates that focus on a specific area of leadership. In fall 2024, we’re offering five certificate programs.
Emerging Leader
This foundational leadership certificate program meets for one hour per week for eight weeks. Students will learn leadership theories, values and strengths, goal-setting and how to work across differences and commonalities. This is a great place to start your leadership journey if you haven’t figured out where you want to go.
Leadership for Liberation
This certificate program meets for 90 minutes for eight weeks with the goal of preparing students to grapple with complex, interconnected systems of oppression and domination that prevent the envisioning of a liberated world. Leadership for liberation espouses that in order to create a better world, we must shift systems, structures and cultural norms that give rise to and support wicked problems of inequality.
Followership Leadership
Meeting for one hour for eight weeks, students explore the power that followers hold in the Leader-Follower relationship. Without followers, leaders cannot create change. This new certificate will help students determine excellent qualities of followership and encourage students who see themselves as leaders to explore where they are followers and how to embrace that role.
Community Engagement Certificate
In this program students will understand effective community engagement practices and explore concepts such as collaboration, empowerment and social justice, while examining their role in creating community partnerships. We will also investigate leadership styles and strategies that are effective in community settings and evaluate the impact of leadership on community outcomes and personal development.
Leadership Portfolio Certificate
This is an opportunity for students to compile all their leadership knowledge, learning and experiences throughout their time at UD and beyond into a portfolio and presentation that will assist with interviews for internships, graduate school and full-time employment. Comprehensive reflection and demonstrated leadership learning are key components of this portfolio as analyzed along a path of personal and professional growth. Only students nearing graduation should register for this certificate.
What can you gain from a certificate in leadership?
- Enhance your résumé with theoretical knowledge, practical skills and experiential leadership
- Understand that everyone has the potential to lead
- Understand that leadership development is an ongoing process
- Articulate a personal, demonstrated leadership style and application
- Appreciate and understand a diverse array of perspectives, cultures and style preferences
- Understand that true leadership involves effecting positive change
- Learn skills that enhance your ability to build relationships and to manage an organization or team
- Improve your communication skills, critical thinking skills, problem analysis and management skills
- Engage in purposeful community service and reflection
Leadership Consultants
Designed by students for students, our leadership consultants are forming for the 2023-2024 academic year. Consultants will meet with RSOs, Greek life and other student organizations to facilitate leadership training. Email us for details.
Workshops
Lead and Serve Workshop Series
Watch this page for details on the topics and skills covered in upcoming workshops in the Leadership Workshop Series.
Request a Workshop
The Creative Leadership, Innovation, and Service team is proud to offer a variety of workshops that can engage all members of the campus community on leadership topics. Use our Request a Workshop form below and choose from one of our available topics or request a customized workshop.
Workshop Topic Areas
Personal Development
Leadership Foundations
Group and Team Dynamics
Organization Effectiveness
Additional Offerings
Blue Hen Leadership Program
The Blue Hen Leadership Program is centered on The Social Change Model of Leadership (Higher Education Research Institute, 1996 Tier) and builds on its tiered curriculum to correspond to the Self, Group and Community lenses of that model. Tenets from the Social Action, Leadership and Transformation (SALT) Model (Muesus, 2017) inform our curriculum in all four tiers. The Leadership Challenge (Kouzes and Posner) and its five principles—Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart—provide the foundation for the Emerging Leader tier of the program. All leadership theories and models taught in the program rely heavily on self-awareness, values, the importance of relationships, and communication in ultimately effecting positive change.
All undergraduate and graduate students who haven’t completed Tier 1 by fall 2023 can register for our 10-week Emerging Leader Certificate program and various service opportunities.
