Leadership Certificate
The School of Arts and Sciences Leadership Certificate (first offered in the fall 2006 term) is an interdisciplinary program open to any University of Pittsburgh students interested in further developing their strategic planning, people management, and communication skills.
The certificate program aims to inform and motivate future leaders from the perspective of the liberal arts background. Through this program, students earn an academic credential for developing the core competencies that will enable them to lead in their scholarly fields, their communities, and their families, while they major in their chosen academic discipline. Students declare the Leadership Certificate in the Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Studies Office of Student Records.
This certificate program emphasizes coursework in the areas of quantitative reasoning, economic principles, oral and written communication, and human architectures, as well as practical experiences of leadership and community service. Because its foundation courses can be completed by using courses that also meet General Education Requirements, the program allows students the flexibility to tailor their certificate to best suit their interests and goals. The certificate fosters cross-discipline awareness and co-curricular learning by including two terms of a senior seminar.
The Leadership Certificate program requires foundation courses from four different rubrics (PDF, page two), each with a range of courses from which students may choose. Students must maintain an average GPA in the foundation courses equal to 2.75 (a B- average).
Students pursuing the Leadership Certificate must also complete two advanced courses:
- ARTSC 1900 Arts and Sciences Internship (1 credit)
- ARTSC 1999 Arts and Sciences Senior Leadership Seminar (2 terms for 1 credit each)
Students may take the advanced courses for S/NC grade. To satisfy the co-curricular (not for credit) component of the certificate program students must complete the Emerging Leaders Program, a 20-hour workshop series offered by Career Development in the Division of Student Affairs and perform a total of 40 hours of community service during the course of one term (fall, spring, or summer).
The Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Studies Office of Experiential Learning (OEL) can assist students in determining what type of community service best suits their skills. Please contact Certificate Coordinator Margaret Heely at OEL if you have questions.
