Leadership Certificate Program
The leadership certificate is a non-credit, co-curricular based program created to develop student’s leadership skills outside of their classroom setting. This program allows students to build their own intentional pathway through the program to facilitate their commitment to their personal leadership development.
As the state designated leadership institution, it is our mission to develop our students into leaders far beyond their collegiate career. Students pursuing the Leadership Certificate Program will gain certification for many of the leadership experiences that they participate in already as students at UNG and receive supplemental opportunities to truly make meaning of those experiences to articulate in graduate school applications, internship interviews, and future employment interviews.
In a world where most candidates will now have a bachelor’s degree—set yourself a part with a Leadership Certificate.
Through this program, students will be able to reflect on their own leadership style and enhance their competency level in the following areas which most graduate programs and employers are looking for:
- Leadership
- Self-awareness
- Teamwork/collaboration
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Oral/Written Communication
- Civic Engagement
- Students who participate in the Leadership Certificate Program will be able to:
- Articulate a personal philosophy of leadership and actively engage in leadership with increasing levels of competency (Leadership).
- Identify one’s values, beliefs, attitudes, strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations while striving to understand and act in congruence with these ideals (Self Awareness).
- Describe the fundamentals of teamwork and your role in supporting the team’s success (Teamwork/Collaboration).
- Create an open and safe environment that respectfully includes and understands the multiple, intersecting identities and perspectives of others (Diversity & Inclusion).
- Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms (Oral/Written Communication).
- Explain the value of active engagement in one’s communities and your contributions toward positive social change (Civic Engagement).
In order to complete the Leadership Certificate Program, students must:
- Attend one Leadership Certificate Program Orientation
- Attend one Defining Leadership Workshop
- Attend 6 Experiential Events
Events are selected by the student based on their academic and career interests, must represent one of the six Leadership Core Competencies, attendance at conferences and participation in leadership courses only counts toward 3 of your 6 experiential event credits, and students are encouraged to verify events will count toward their needed core competency before attending the program. - Attend 1 meeting/event with Career Services
- 6 hours of civic engagement (Volunteer/Service Experience)
- Complete a Capstone Project
- Compete the Leadership Certificate Program Assessment
You can sign up for the program mid-semester; however, you will be placed in the following semester cohort and will be tracked based on the semester you officially entered the program cohort.
The program must be completed in a max of 3 semesters, not including a summer semester (Fall-Spring-Fall or Spring-Fall-Spring).
Yes, students who are aggressively pursuing their requirements may be able to complete within 1 or 2 semesters.
No, the program can be completed on any of the 5 campuses and leadership programming on each campus is modeled to follow each other.
The requirements are split over the 3 semester duration of the cohort.
Yes, the staff can accept Civic Engagement Hours and Experiential Events from previous institutions that meet our requirements. However, you are responsible for informing the LCP Staff and seeking verification from representatives of your previous institution to verify involvement in those activities.
Yes, you may receive credit for Civic Engagement and Experiential Events that you have attended before enrolling in the program. You must receive verification of attendance for those activities from a University representative (unless your attendance is already recorded in UNG Connect).
Experiential Events are any Leadership Studies Courses, Workshops, Speakers, Retreats, Student Leader Trainings, Leadership Lunches, etc. which can be hosted by an academic or student affairs department at UNG that directly relates to one of the six Leadership Core Competencies. You must attend 1 Experiential Event for EACH competency. As part of the program, you will receive a weekly email with information about upcoming events on your campus that will count, but the list is not exhaustive and you can attend other events as well. If you are unsure if a program you are interested in attending counts toward your requirement, please contact Mallory.rodriguez@ung.edu.
Once you have completed the required components of the program, you will submit a form with your intent to graduate the program. Once approved, you will then be invited to your campuses Awards Program to officially receive your Leadership Certificate.
| Campus | Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dahlonega/Cumming/Blue Ridge | Mallory Rodriguez | Director of Student Life, Leadership Programs | mallory.rodriguez@ung.edu | 706-846-1622 |
| Gainesville | Nathan Cheesman | Coordinator of Orientation and Student Leadership | nathan.cheesman@ung.edu | 678-717-3460 |
| Oconee | Jacqueline Adams | Student Leadership Coordinator | jacqueline.adams@ung.edu | 706-310-6250 |