Public Leadership
Changing the world through effective, ethical leadership
Introduction
Leadership is essential across all professions and careers. Whether in medicine, finance, or any other field, effective leaders are the driving force behind progress and purpose for any industry. The Public Leadership Scholars Program exists to develop students into leaders and equip them with the necessary skills to become successful in their chosen path.
Public Leadership (PL) explores the theory and practice of leadership with a focus on strengthening students’ leadership and life skills. Throughout the course, PL Scholars will explore topics beneficial to students across a range of different majors, including:
- Different models of leadership, citizenship and social change;
- Forms of persuasion and power and how to use them effectively;
- Ethical approaches to decision-making and negotiation; and
- Life and career development skills.
Through panels, debates, simulations, case studies, group discussions, long-term projects, and dialogue with guest speakers, PL students become informed citizens able to engage in a healthy discussion of issues and reason critically and persuasively about community matters. Personal and professional development are also integrated into the curriculum: Students will advance their writing, communication, and presentation skills; practice negotiation fundamentals; and discover and develop their own leadership styles and strengths. These skills will serve students with a variety of majors who seek careers in a wide range of professions.
By the end of the PL Scholars program, students will be able to:
- Facilitate and lead group meetings
- Speak confidently in public settings.
- Practice effective negotiation tactics
- Create requests for grant proposals
- Review grant requests
- Write succinctly, professionally, and persuasively
PL welcomes students of all majors who are committed to developing their leadership skills in pursuit of the common good.
Colloquium and Lecture Topics
- Understanding leadership strengths in yourself and others
- Leadership and social change application
- Communicating across differing values and identities
- Time management and coping with stress
Joining the PL program was one of the best decisions I made at Maryland. Because of PL, many career opportunities opened for me that otherwise would have been a long shot, and the floormates I lived with in the PL dorms are some of the best friends I've made at UMD.
Other Learning Opportunities
Located near the nation's capital, the state capital and a large international diplomatic community, the University of Maryland is an ideal setting for examining and growing public leadership. Students:
- Take engaging field trips, such as to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts;
- Experience professional development seminars and speaker events; and
- Engage in a team-based grant-making experience, where they seek grant proposals from nonprofits in the capital region serving an identified social issue, evaluate proposals and award grants with actual funding from the Do Good Institute.
Finally, through the program’s practicum requirement, students gain valuable professional experience that allows them to leverage their newly learned communications and leadership evaluation skills in their field of choice. Past students have interned in a wide variety of career fields including: on Congressional committees; for local nonprofits; in the Student Legal Aid office; for large tech and finance organizations; and even engaged in research in labs on and off campus. Our students are also entrepreneurs, creating their own companies and formulating their own research while still at the beginning of their college career.
Curriculum Overview
Over the two-year program experience (four semesters), students will complete a 3-credit oral communication course that will count toward their PL Scholars citation and General Education requirements. Note that your Scholars courses will generally be in addition to any courses you take to satisfy major requirements.
The following table represents a typical two-year curriculum, but individual schedules may vary. Details about courses and requirements can be found on the PL Citation Checklist.
| SEMESTER | COURSE | CREDITS |
|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 | CPPL 100: Colloquium I (DVCC) | 1 credit |
| PLCY 201S: Public Leaders and Active Citizens (SCIS, DSHS or DSSP) | 3 credits | |
| Semester 2 | CPPL 101: Colloquium II | 1 credit |
| Semester 3 | CPPL 200: Colloquium III | 1 credit |
| Semester 3 or 4 | Practicum (var. Gen Ed) | 3 credits |
| Semester 1, 2, 3, or 4 | Oral Communication Course (FSOC) | 3 credits |
Sponsoring College
Office Address
1122 Cumberland Hall
Office Phone
Faculty
News and Notes, Etc.
School of Public Policy: Washburn Honored with Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, June 2024
Do Good Institute: Public Leadership Students Award Grants to Local Nonprofits, May 2022
School of Public Policy: How Networking Landed Public Leadership Student Lexi Naskiewicz an Internship at the National Police Foundation, December 2021
Do Good Institute: Five Social Impact Groups Awarded $1,000 by Freshman Public Leadership Students, May 2021
Public Leadership News
Scholar Earns Philip Merrill Presidential Honors
A College Park Scholars alum has been tabbed one of the University of Maryland's top graduating seniors. Senior Anna Karan, a Psychology major who received her Scholars citation from Public Leadership, was one of 18 students selected as a 2025-26 Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar. The program, established through a generous gift from the late publisher Philip Merrill, recognizes the achievements of the students and the mentors who profoundly impacted their academic success.
UMD students learn about dangers of microplastics at documentary screening
University of Maryland students gathered in Hoff Theater to attend a film screening and panel about the hidden dangers of microplastics on Wednesday evening.The Student Government Association, Sustainable Ocean Alliance and Maryland’s Sierra Club organized the event. Attendees watched “Plastic People,” a documentary chronicling the history of plastic materials and how they evolved to become a part of daily life.Public Leadership Scholars alum Alicia Barnett, SGA's sustainability director, spoke about the importance of the event and how students can get involved with environmental sustainability through campus organizations.
2025 Citation Class Honored at Awards Ceremony
College Park Scholars celebrated the best and the brightest of its most recent Citation class at its annual Citation and Awards ceremony recently. The 2025 Citation class, already packed with leaders in their academic fields of study and on campus, emerged undaunted by the challenges as one of the last high school classes during the pandemic, as productive community members in Scholars and at the University of Maryland.
Scholars Emerge as Finalists for Maryland Medallion Society Awards
The Maryland Medallion Society is a community of students who have shown exceptional leadership and integrity. These students are also the finalists for the University’s top two prestigious awards: the University of Maryland Model Citizenship Prize and the Wilson H. Elkins Award.This year, several College Park Scholars alumni were finalists for the top two awards – Jhennifer Celestino Alva (Global Public Health), Lily Fleischmann (Public Leadership), Sarang Han (Science and Global Change), Erika Holdren (International Studies), Abigail Manga (Public Leadership), and Kaitlyn Zhou (Public Leadership).
Five College Park Scholars Earn Philip Merrill Presidential Distinction
Eighteen outstanding graduating seniors at the University of Maryland are committed to a variety of causes and career goals, ranging from statistics and public policy to teaching.
Scholars Honor Citation and Founders Circle Award Winners at Annual Ceremony
College Park Scholars, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the program's founding, honored the best and the brightest of its most recent Citation class at its most recent Citation and Awards ceremony. This tenacious class, filled with future changemakers and leaders, pushed through a challenging start to college that began during the pandemic to emerge as standouts in the classroom, in their communities, and at the University of Maryland.