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Public Leadership

Changing the world through effective, ethical leadership

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Introduction

As a nation and as a world, we face multiple urgent challenges, from social inequalities to climate change. How do we assess what could work, and why? How might our differing identities and perspectives impact how we shape our solutions?

Public Leadership (PL) focuses on developing and strengthening students’ leadership and life skills so that they can use their talents to address social, political, environmental, and economic problems in their local and global community. We use current events and policy issues to explore the theory and practice of leadership. PL Scholars explore:

  • 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.

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.

Amir Kalantary
Amir Kalantary '22

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.

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

School of Public Policy

Office Address

1120 Cumberland Hall

Office Phone

301-405-3013

Faculty

Portrait of Susannah Washburn

Susannah Washburn

Program Director, Public Leadership
Portrait of Kelly Brower

Kelly Brower

Assistant Director, Public Leadership

News and Notes, Etc.


Public Leadership News

Showing 13 - 18 of 28
  • Scholars recognizes Citation Class of 2021, Founders Circle Award winners

    When the Scholars Citation Class of 2021—all 930 of them—stepped onto the University of Maryland campus in August of 2019, spirits were undoubtedly high. College Park Scholars was celebrating its 25th anniversary, with branded #ScholarsAt25 shirts, buttons and laptop stickers, and even a Maryland Dairy ice cream flavor created specifically for the occasion. But spirits sank in March of 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, sending the cohort into a virtual experience for the rest of their time in the program.

  • College Park Scholars Awards First Rebecca Basena Kampi Memorial Scholarship

    College Park Scholars has awarded its inaugural Rebecca Basena Kampi Memorial Scholarship to Joy Nash, a junior materials science and engineering major and an alum of the Media, Self and Society Scholars program. The scholarship provides financial support for undergraduate students in College Park Scholars who, through their leadership and public service, work to produce social change and support social justice.

  • New Minor Expands STS Concepts Beyond Scholars

    The Science, Technology and Society (STS) Scholars program has long pushed students to consider the ethical, social and political implications of science, research and technology. It’s the kind of thinking that isn’t readily incorporated into most STEM curricula, despite the high likelihood that these students will one day design or introduce innovations that could significantly impact society. Thanks to a new minor, however, more University of Maryland students will soon be exposed to STS teachings.

  • 3 Scholars Alums Among University’s Undergraduate Researchers of the Year

    Three Scholars alums were among the seven students named University of Maryland’s 2021 Undergraduate Researchers of the Year. Andrew Forschler, Arts Rebecca Gordon, Public Leadership Neehar Peri, Business, Society and the Economy Selected by a panel of faculty and staff, this honor recognizes select undergraduate students who displayed exceptional commitment to and accomplishments in undergraduate research at the university

  • 10 Scholars Alums to Serve as Spring Commencement Senior Marshals

    A significant number of Scholars alumni will be serving as Senior Marshals at the University of Maryland commencement this Friday, May 21, 2021. Senior Marshals are graduating seniors who display the highest levels of scholarship, service, extracurricular activity and personal growth.

  • Despite Being Virtual, Scholars Showcases Promote Personal Interaction

    For most University of Maryland (UMD) students, the end of the spring semester heralds the start of finals. But for sophomores in College Park Scholars, for the past 24 years, this time of year has signified Academic Showcase. The event, one of the largest exhibitions of undergraduate student learning on campus each year, typically involves more than 600 Scholars sophomores presenting on their capstone projects to fellow students, faculty, parents and other members of the UMD community.

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