ACADEMICS

PLC requires you to be dedicated to your coursework and develop strong communication skills. Our required courses are designed to develop your leadership abilities and broaden your perspectives. You will grow academically, and retrospectively, you will be challenged to apply your new skills in increasingly creative ways. The sequence of the curriculum is not the beginning and end of your leadership education, but rather a broad foundation from which you will continue your growth beyond PLC. You will earn a "values-based leadership" badge for your digital diploma by completing the PLC curriculum. If desired, you can also complete the leadership studies minor with an additional capstone course.

COMMUNITY

In PLC, you are part of a small family made up of highly driven peers and a dedicated staff that offers you individualized guidance throughout your undergraduate experience. The challenge and support you get from the program and your peers are immediate and lasting; providing guidance and reinforcement with everything from your academics to your social life, and from balancing your busy schedule to managing your new life on campus. Your community will extend to our Board of Advocates, the PLC Alumni Club, and many other friends & supporters of the program.

EXPERIENCE

The best way to develop as a leader is to actively lead others. Accordingly, PLC will provide you with opportunities to experience practical leadership through your Applied Leadership Experiences (ALE) process and course, Deep Dive excursions, student staff, and your other involvements both on and off campus. We recognize that the best way for you to learn and know when to lead and when to follow is by experiencing both. Additionally, we use the experiential learning model to encourage our students to intentionally reflect on their experiences, realize the lessons they have learned, and consequently, modify their future actions in order to perform better and be better.

SERVICE

PLC students strengthen their communities and develop their empathy through a commitment to service. Leading is not about personal accolades, power, or the accumulation of wealth. Rather, we believe leaders serve noble, greater purposes while in service to others. We believe acting with humility and kindness drives positive change and inspires empathetic, compassionate action. Each PLC scholar must provide 10 hours of service each year in the program, totaling 40 hours of meaningful, philanthropic service for PLC, CU Boulder, the City of Boulder, Colorado, and beyond.

Inclusive Excellence

PLC fully embraces CU Boulder’s strategic goal of inclusive excellence, where the university becomes a place where diversity and an ingrained commitment to making excellence inclusive define its community and its work. PLC fulfills our commitment to our pillars from an operational foundation of inclusive excellence. Click here to read our statement about Inclusive Excellence.

Leadership Competencies

To learn more about PLC's approach to developing leadership in all professions and endeavors, read about our core Leadership Competencies.