The 18-unit Minor in Leadership Studies is a multi-disciplinary program providing students the opportunity to study and practice leadership from multiple disciplines, including both theoretical and experiential components, emphasizing active learning and community service.
Regardless of one’s academic major, this minor seeks to improve a student’s abilities for leadership roles in their chosen field. The program has four components: theoretical, experiential, skill building and a culminating capstone.
The minor in Leadership Studies will prepare students of all majors to study the qualities and skills of effective leaders and apply these concepts to improve their leadership behaviors and ethical decision making that effects constructive and effective change. The program seeks to educate students to be prepared to serve as leaders in their professions and in their community.
The Leadership Studies Minor emphasizes ethical, cultural, historical, organizational, philosophical, political, psychological, societal and ethical dimensions of leadership. Students will learn the nature of leadership, examine strategies for effecting change and practice ways to become a better leader in multi-cultural contexts.
The program is comprised of courses offered by several of the University’s academic departments. NOTE: Students may use any combination of courses listed in a category to satisfy that category’s 3 unit requirement. Not all courses are available every semester. To determine day, evening, weekend and online course options, please consult the current semester’s schedule on Self Service or contact the Office of the Registrar.
Adult Degree Completion (ADC) Program: Students enrolled in the Adult Degree Completion baccalaureate programs may also complete the Minor in Leadership Studies. Adult Degree Completion (ADC) students may take any course approved in the current catalog for the Minor in Leadership Studies offered in the evening, online or on weekends, unless they are designated for a Cohort program. Classes in the Barowsky School of Business numbered as BUS 44XX are only offered to the Business Administration Cohort, however cohort students may take courses designated as BUS 41XX to meet the requirements for the Leadership Studies Minor.
Students contemplating a Leadership Studies minor are required to meet with their major advisor, and then the advisor for the Minor in Leadership Studies, preferably by the beginning of their Sophomore year.
Leadership Studies Minor Requirements
Required to select 3 units in each of the following six categories for a total of 18 units:
| Category 1: Leadership Theory and Practice |
3 |
| Category 2: Planning and Leading Effective Change |
3 |
| Category 3: Effective Interpersonal and Group Communications |
3 |
| Category 4: Organizations, Communities & Teams |
3 |
| Category 5: Ethical Leadership and Social Responsibility |
3 |
| Category 6: Integrative Leadership Practice |
3 |
| Total Leadership Studies Minor |
18 units |
Category 1: Leadership Theory and Practice (3 units)
This category provides an overview of leadership theory and practice. Courses in this category review the major theories of leadership and followership developed over the past 100 years. Leadership skills and styles, self-awareness and an orientation toward others, the ethical responsibilities of leadership, conflict resolution and facilitating group decision-making and the importance of vision and initiative to achieving constructive change in your community and organizations and across situations and cultures/genders will be emphasized. It is strongly suggested that students begin their Minor in Leadership Studies by taking one of these courses before the other categories in the minor.
Select one 3 unit course from the following to complete this category: (3 units)
| BUS 4075 | Leadership, Teams & Change | 3.00 units |
| BUS 4165 | PW:Leadership & Change Management | 3.00 units |
| BUS 4401 | PWC:Leaders, Teams and Change | 3.00 units |
Category 2: Planning and Leading Effective Change (3 units)
This category focuses on the heart of leadership: Inspiring and effecting positive change by individuals and/or groups in government, organizations and society. Courses in this category examine effective leaders and leadership practice from historical, organizational, political and/or social contexts.
Topics may include: Effective, ineffective and innovative change movements, how individuals and groups vary in their reaction to change, constructive aspects of power in facilitating change, systemic change systems and communication strategies, processes of planning from vision to action steps, and/or leadership actions supporting implementation of organizational and/or societal change.
Students may choose from courses listed below to satisfy completion of this category:
| ART 4130 | Special Topics in Graphic Art | 3.00 units |
| BUS 4019 | Green and Social Marketing | 3.00 units |
| BUS 4070 | Advanced Mgmt Practices and Negoti | 3.00 units |
| BUS 4073 | Managing Not-For-Profit Org | 3.00 units |
| CMS 3202 | Environmental Advocacy | 3.00 units |
| ENSC 3300 | Advanced Environmental Science | 3.00 units |
| ENSC 4000 | Conservation Biology | 3.00 units |
| HCS 3140 | Cultural Ecology | 3.00 units |
| HCS 3220 | Native American Perspectives | 3.00 units |
| OT 5103 | OT Community Program Development | 3.00 units |
| PH 4102 | Evidence Based Public Health/Evaluation | 3.00 units |
| PH 4200 | Contemporary Health Problems | 3.00 units |
| POL 3302 | American Presidency | 3.00 units |
| POL 3304 | Political Parties and Interest Groups | 3.00 units |
| POL 3310 | Campaigns & Elections | 3.00 units |
| PSY 3160 | Social Psychology | 4.00 units |
| RLGN 3186/RLGN 1086 | Catholic Social Teaching | 3.00 units |
| WGS 3800 | Toxic Bodies | 3.00 units |
| WGS 4000/WGS 2000 | Principles of Gender Studies | 3.00 units |
BUS 4019: Prerequisite: BUS 3012 Marketing Principles
ENSC 3300, PSY 3160: 3 units applied to Leadership Minor
OT 5103 (OT majors only) Must complete this course as part of the Undergraduate OT degree to apply toward the Leadership Minor
Category 3: Effective Interpersonal and Group Communications (3 units)
This category features primary theories and applications of human interactions in dyads, teams, groups, organizations and in society leading to goal achievement, group and team productivity or organizational and societal change in a global environment. Courses in this category will explore communication patterns and behaviors of individuals and groups that facilitate ethical achievement of goals at the individual, organizational or societal level.
Topics may include: Critical thinking and communication skills, persuasive public speaking and presentation skills, active listening, written communication, messaging, self-awareness and self-management for effective interpersonal communication, conflict resolution and prevention, mediation, coaching and/or negotiation skills.
Prerequisites: Completion of the General Education categories Communication (CMS 1200) and English (ENGL 1004).
Students may choose from courses listed below to satisfy completion of this category:
Category 4: Organizations, Communities and Teams (3 units)
This category examines the impact of leadership and teams in organizations, governments, communities, cultures and societies, and their institutional structures. The courses in this category focus on the role of the roles of individuals, groups, and cultural structures in organizations and society, as well as the impact of organizational, governmental or societal structures on individuals, groups and teams.
Topics may include: Motivation, persuasion, social influence, conformity and obedience, small group dynamics, social movements, empowerment, group process and decision making, risk taking, roles, group think, job design, political structures and practices, team work, organizational governance, organizational culture, and/or organization development techniques and strategies.
Students may choose from courses listed below to satisfy completion of this category:
| ART 3010 | Community Engaged Art:Principles & Prac. | 3.00 units |
| BUS 3011 | Organizational Behavior | 3.00 units |
| BUS 4070 | Advanced Mgmt Practices and Negoti | 3.00 units |
| BUS 4140 | PW: Organizational Behav&Structure | 3.00 units |
| BUS 4410 | PWC: Global Business and Cultures | 3.00 units |
| CMS 3604 | Organization &Professional Communication | 3.00 units |
| HCS 1101/HCS 3101 | Sociology | 3.00 units |
| HCS 1103/HCS 3103 | Problems in Contemporary Society | 3.00 units |
| NURS 4150 | Community Health & Nursing | 5.00 units |
| NURL 4150 | Community Health & Nursing Lab | 0.00 units |
| PH 3100 | Principles of Global Health | 3.00 units |
| PH 4000 | Health Policy, Politics and Law | 3.00 units |
| POL 3300 | State & Local Politics | 3.00 units |
| POL 3302 | American Presidency | 3.00 units |
| POL 3303 | Congress | 3.00 units |
| POL 3304 | Political Parties and Interest Groups | 3.00 units |
| POL 3310 | Campaigns & Elections | 3.00 units |
| POL 3522 | Diplomacy | 3.00 units |
| PSY 3161 | Small Group Interaction | 3.00 units |
| PSY 3166 | Organizational Psychology | 3.00 units |
| RLGN 3120 | The Rhetoric of Belief | 3.00 units |
| WGS 3222/WGS 2222 | Gender Relations | 3.00 units |
BUS 4070: Also eligible for Category 2, but may only be applied to one category
BUS 4140: ADC only
BUS 4410: ADC cohort only
CMS 3604: Also eligible for Category 3, but may only be applied to one category
NURS 4150/NURL 4150: Nursing majors only; 3 units applied to the Leadership Minor
Category 5: Ethical Leadership and Social Responsibility (3 units)
Ethical decision making is fundamental to value-based leadership. This category examines the impact of ethical traditions, moral development and the role of contending values involved in decision making of individuals, organizations and society. Ethical leadership issues of local and global significance related to business, communications and mass media, health care, politics, science and/or society will be examined.
Topics include: Introduction to western and/or non-western ethical theories, contemporary moral philosophy as it relates to individuals in a pluralist society, ethics and the law, ethical considerations of contemporary political and socioeconomic dimensions of social change, environmental sustainability, civic engagement, corporate social responsibility, social justice, and/or inter-relationships between economic development and the environment.
This category requires that students study ethics beyond the foundation ethics courses that fulfill General Education requirements. Therefore, General Education courses in Ethics do not meet this category, with the exception of Adult Degree Completion students, and Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Health Science and Public Health majors, given that ethics is integrated throughout multiple courses in those majors. For that reason, students in the health sciences majors noted above, who transferred a course to Dominican meeting the PHIL 1108/PHIL 3108 requirement, will have met this requirement.
BUS 4406: ADC cohort only
PHIL 3520: Also eligible for Category 6, but may only be applied to one category
Category 6: Integrative Leadership Practice/Civic Engagement Experience (3 units)
In this experiential component, students will integrate the specialized knowledge gained in their major with that of the leadership minor through leadership and team practice experiences. These leadership practice options may involve community and civic engagement leadership opportunities, as well as projects in for-profit, non-profit and public organizations. This category may be fulfilled through completion of a service learning course, co-curricular experiences, a leadership internship or a leadership legacy capstone project.
The Center for Creative Leadership proposes the following basic skills as fundamental components of leadership development: Learning from experience, communication, listening, assertiveness, providing constructive feedback, effective stress management, building technical competence, building effective relationships with colleagues at all levels, setting goals and conducting meetings.
This category provides opportunities to hone skills in these areas and practice working cooperatively with team members. Students complete the units for this category from any of the following four categories. Multiple categories may be used to fulfill this 3-unit requirement.
A. Service-Learning Course:
Completion of a 3-unit course with the Service Learning designation. The service learning projects promote the common good and the values of study, reflection, community and service, ethical responsibility, and respect for multiple cultural traditions linking academic education and community experience.
B. Leadership Internship:
(1 to 3 units: 45 to 135 hours) in a project focused, work situation that constitutes a valid educational experience relevant to developing the students’ leadership skills. Students are required to maintain a journal and deliver an oral presentation at the Career and Internship Symposia. Leadership Internship Guidelines provided. Important Note: A maximum of six (6) internship (BUS 4989) units may be counted toward the bachelor’s degree.
C. Independent Study:
Leadership Legacy Capstone Research Project Option: This is a culminating experience option that frames societal or organizational issues or projects within a community leadership context. Students will research a leadership problem at a community or business organization, related to their major, and formulates a proposed resolution of the problem. Prerequisites: Completion of Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4. May be co-requisite with Category 5.
D. Leadership Practice:
1 to 3 units (45 hours per unit) focused on leading a project or initiative, serving on a team or as a team leader, participating in an organizational or community change project. All Leadership Practice options require fulfilling project hours, plus written assignments and reflections.
Students may choose from courses listed below to satisfy completion of this category: