Program Description

The B.S. in Public Leadership and Changemaking prepares students to make change at local, state, national, and global levels. Core courses for the major are taught by professors of political science, First Nations studies, and social work. Students choose elective coursework from such diverse fields as communications, history, economics, philosophy, gender studies, criminal justice, health, anthropology, and writing.

The program culminates in both an internship experience in which students gain practical experience doing change making work and a senior capstone project in which each student studies an issue of their own choosing and designs a civic intervention to address that issue. Students graduate with both the academic knowledge and practical skills to pursue careers in change-making fields, such as Community Advocacy, Public Policy, Community Health, Sustainable Management, Urban and Regional Planning, Social and Community Service, and Public Relations and Community Engagement.

The program is available both to students physically present on the UW-Superior campus and those at a distance. Students completing the major are also required to complete an academic minor in a field of their own choosing. 

Programs

Student Learning Outcomes

The Public Leadership and Changemaking Program has the following student learning outcomes for the students in the major:

1. Articulate factors that may impact how systems and institutions function;
2. Identify and apply a range of methods to facilitate change;
3. Describe and compare how organizations engage in civic interventions;
4. Recognize and analyze current complex issues and their historical roots;
5. Describe characteristics of civic and social responsibility;
6. Use variety of communication tools to affect change;
7. Perform technical tasks like budgeting, grant, scenario planning, and report writing;
8. Gather, evaluate and analyze information to understand an issue and inform a response;
9. Work collaboratively with diverse partners to lead inclusive processes; and,
10. Design and implement a concrete civic intervention.

Faculty of Core Courses

Dr. Khalil (Haji) Dokhanchi, Professor of Political Science
Dr. Chantal Norrgard, Assistant Professor of First Nations Studies
Dr. Lynn Goerdt, Associate Professor of Social Work
Dr. Daniela Mansbach, Associate Professor of Political Science
Dr. Alisa Von Hagel, Associate Professor of Political Science