Curriculum

 

Global LEAD experiences have a unique three part curriculum focusing on Leadership, Service Learning and Personal Development.  Through our partnership with the University of Georgia, students receive six upper-level college elective credits within the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.  A collaborative team composed of Global LEAD  staff, University of Georgia faculty and Ph.D. students as well as distinguished guest speakers that are leaders in academia, business or their community are responsible for all course instruction.
 
The leadership and service courses fulfill upper-level requirements at UGA and are easily transferred to other universities.  Our instruction focuses on out-of-the-classroom experiential learning; the lessons that Global LEAD teaches are applicable in the real world and last a lifetime.

 

Students have received transfer credit at the following universities:

University of Georgia

Auburn University

University of Alabama

Wake Forest

University of Tennessee

University of Texas

University of Mississippi

Louisiana State University

 

 

Leadership

 

Leadership and the Arts and Sciences (FCID 3800) draws on multiple disciplines and explores the theory and application of leadership on a variety of real world issues and situations.  Students practice leadership skills firsthand, discuss leadership in the context of a global society, participate in complex role-playing situations and compose a final essay discussing leadership theory, application and its personal relevance.

 

 

Past sample reading/viewing has included:

 

Alex La Guma, A Walk in the Night

Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice 5^th ed

What Are We Doing Here? Has Foreign Aid Hurt Africa? (film)

A broad selection of leadership texts and speeches can be found in the Student Workbook.

 

 

Service Learning

 

Throughout Service Learning and the Arts and Sciences (FCID 3900S), students study and discuss service learning theory, applications and case studies. A major component of service learning is actual fieldwork. Supervised by their instructors, Global LEAD students engage with the local community and actively contribute to a specific project or cause.
 
In Cape Town, we partner with an underserved township, Sir Lowry’s Pass, to help run afterschool programs for local children and families.  While in Greece, we work with displaced refugees to improve their living conditions and better understand the fight against human trafficking. Finally, in Ecuador, we work with a local community center and school to provide empowerment and beatifications programs to an impoverished neighborhood. 
 
Taking a holistic approach to the curriculum, students analyze the connection between service and leadership in a global society, keep a journal to encourage a self-reflexive mentality and become globally aware citizens.

 

National surveys show that employers want new hires that can write coherently, think creatively and demonstrate strong analytical skills. Global LEAD courses are explicitly designed to foster these competencies. Students find these to be challenging but rewarding courses that lead to a deeper appreciation for diversity and intercultural exchange, fuller self-awareness and new ways to think about service and leadership. You will work hard, but love what you do.

 
 

Personal Development

 

Throughout the Global LEAD experience, students reflect on their personal strengths, goals and ambitions in order to better understand themselves and the roles for which they strive, now and in the future. We administer the Strength Quest and DISC exams, study young leaders and entrepreneurs in the world today and hold small group discussions administered by Global LEAD staff and UGA teaching assistants.  Each student completes a personal “Vision Statement” to guide them as they navigate college and determine their direction after graduation.