Major in ANYTHING,

Minor in LEADERSHIP

See what new heights you can reach with the Leadership Minor!

Do you want to learn how to create a positive change in your environment? Or how to better serve others? Add Oregon State's Leadership Minor today!

See what some of our students have to say about the Leadership minor:

"This minor is more than just knowledge from a textbook, it has shaped me outside of the classroom. It has helped me to realize the phrase ‘everyone can be a leader’ really is true, and that people can lead in their own way, even when they thought they never could." -Leadership minor graduate

 

"I urge everyone to take leadership courses, especially if you are shy or hesitant to the idea. The Leadership minor has added so much value to my life, both personally and professionally." -Leadership minor student

At Oregon State you can! The Leadership Minor is a 28-credit flexible minor that is designed to provide opportunities for you to learn and develop both your personal leadership and team leadership potential. 

Effective leadership is vital to the growth and success of society. Whether it's landing your dream job, starting a business, volunteering in your community or organizing a family, earning a minor in leadership from Oregon State University will help you realize your personal and professional life goals. 

As a participant of this minor, you will experience and explore a diverse framework of leadership! Our advisors work with you personally to outline coursework and customized hands-on experiences that will equip you with the practical leadership skills that will best serve you as you continue your academic and career journey. This unique design to our leadership minor allows us to serve students from all departments and programs to complement their current studies. Whether you are a computer science major who wants to learn how to work better in team settings, or a volunteer coach who wants to be a better leader for youth, this minor can help a multitude of people hone in on their leadership skills. The Leadership Minor serves as a great complement to truly any major.

You will have the opportunity to take awesome classes such as...

  • Team & Organizational Leadership Development
  • Introduction to Adventure Programs
  • Personal Leadership Development
  • Leadership Through Conversations
  • Leadership for Career Success
  • Interpersonal Communication 
  • Advanced Persuasion
  • Ethics of Diversity

...just to name a few!

Everyone! This on-campus and Ecampus minor is intended for students of all different areas of academics, backgrounds, experiences, and walks of life. This minor is for those who want to develop their leadership, enhance professional competencies, and foster the skills necessary to meet the local, national, and international needs of our society. The Leadership minor is centered on leadership theory (education), trait/skill development (training), and application (development). It is designed to allow students to apply the coursework in a relevant and relational manner.

Specifically, the coursework focuses on major theories of leadership including contingency, path-goal, leader-member exchange theories as well as transformational, authentic, team, and servant leadership. Within each theory and type of leadership, students will be challenged to consider leadership ethics, leadership culture, gender in leadership, and integration of leadership into personal, civic, and social change. In addition, the elective courses allow students to pursue the development of trait and skill competencies necessary for employment in their chosen field. Students will then have the opportunity to directly apply their learning through a leadership internship, service learning project, or research opportunity. This minor helps students enact postive changes in themselves, their teams, and society.

Purpose

We are excited to offer a university-wide Leadership Minor, available on the Corvallis campus and Extended campus (Ecampus).  This minor applies to students of all majors and is intended to enhance the leadership potential of students throughout the university.  If you are interested in developing your leadership potential, the Leadership Minor is for you!

Mission

Our mission is to create a purposeful path for students to enhance their ability to promote personal, organizational, social, and community change. We will work diligently to recognize, promote, and develop opportunities for students to actively engage in meaningful coursework, rigorous personal development, and intentional experiential learning.  We will collaborate with other leadership development programs, partnering to produce exceptional leaders and develop the whole student to successfully navigate today’s challenges and tomorrow’s uncertainties. 

Vision

The OSU Leadership Minor will provide rigorous, interdisciplinary, and multidimensional coursework as well as experiential learning opportunities. These will develop the distinctive skills, experiences, and abilities needed for students to thrive in their personal and professional lives. Students will encounter experiential, inquiry, and competency-based instruction while being holistically challenged in leadership education, leadership training, and leadership development.

Goals

  • Provide students of all majors the opportunity to incorporate a transcript-visible leadership component into their current academic programs.
  • Allow students to explore, develop, test, and apply their personal leadership styles through active involvement in college, university, and community leadership with the intent to empower and motivate others to achieve a desired goal.
  • Provide students with leadership theories relating to personal, situational, contingency, path-goal, leader-member exchange, transformational, authentic, team, and servant leadership.
  • Give students opportunities to apply classroom learning through experiential learning activities intended to promote community and civic engagement, foster change, embrace differences, promote purposeful reflection, and cultivate life-long learning.
  • Develop students who are ethical, caring, passionate, contributing members of society who recognize the local, national, and global benefits to being a member of an engaged citizenry.

Students who complete the Leadership Minor will be able to:

  • Identify leadership theories and be able to translate the theories into practice
  • Develop a definition of leadership while recognizing the role of personal responsibility in leadership
  • Gain an awareness of leadership opportunities within their personal areas of influence, including their profession, university, and community
  • Clarify values and demonstrate ethical awareness when making leadership decisions
  • Demonstrate the ability to analyze information, develop a communication plan, critically appraise options, and implement successful changes
  • Function as engaged, responsible citizens, able to work within a diverse and democratic society
  • Recognize the role of influencers in the formation and expression of leadership traits, roles, and styles
  • Clearly communicate the differences in leadership theory from both a theoretical and practical perspective
  • Actively lead in a variety of contexts, having the ability to establish a vision, generate consensus, and produce change
  • Work effectively with teams to network, plan, communicate, and complete a task

Student Stories

Abrar Al Mukhaini

Abrar Al Mukhaini

New Media and Communications student with a minor in Leadership from Oman

Evan Walker

Evan Walker

Liberal Studies student with an emphasis in Education and Leadership minor from Bellingham, WA

Halli Barrios

Halli Barrios

Biology student with a Pre-med option and Leadership minor from Rancho Cucamunga, CA