Course Schedule and Catalog

Long Title: LEADERSHIP: THEORY AND PRACTICE

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: In LEAD 101, students explore and assess various leadership theories and approaches. The class addresses the nature of leadership in different contexts - by degree of authority, by group type, size and purpose, and by profession. Armed with a theoretical framework, students are given opportunities to address current ethical, democratic, and international challenges of leadership. Assignments helps students formulate a general theory of leadership and identify how and where they fit in that framework. Students learn to match leadership approaches to contexts and also gain clarity about the types of leadership they are best suited to practice.

Long Title: LEADERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 1

Description: This course, to be taken in conjunction with Leadership Rice's Summer Mentorship Experience, prepares students for their internships by familiarizing them with essential leadership concepts and keys to success in professional contexts. Required of and limited to students admitted to the SME program. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: HISTORICAL AND INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF LEADERSHIP

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The focus of this course is to construct a historically informed philosophy of leadership that encompasses not just what leadership is but why it is valued, when it is legitimate, what its moral purpose is, and how it both shapes and reflects societal norms. Cross-list: HUMA 312.

Long Title: LEADERSHIP: THEORY TO PRACTICE

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course is designed to help students develop a conceptual, practical, and personal understanding of leadership. By reviewing research and case studies, students will learn leadership skills such as building self-knowledge, dealing with ethical challenges, developing networks, and leading change. Students will also explore their own leadership capabilities and potential.

Long Title: ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 2

Description: Entrepreneurial Leadership provides students with a survey of leadership issues and practices in an entrepreneurial business context, along with an understanding of fundamental business elements and economic concepts of importance to entrepreneurs and their organizations. Through discussions with established entrepreneurial leaders in the Houston community, ongoing readings, group discussions, and special presentations, students experience the challenging interplay between business demands and effective leadership. Assignments include a group project consisting of on-site meetings with a local entrepreneur and a thorough review of the business's structure and operations, with findings and conclusions presented to the class and the sponsoring entrepreneur.

Long Title: RHETORIC OF LEADERSHIP

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores leadership theories as they relate to persuasive and informative communication strategies deployed by leaders. The class will focus on analyzing speeches, advertisement campaigns, political campaigns, and other leadership-oriented material in order to understand the rhetorical construction of leadership. Cross-list: HUMA 311.

Long Title: LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Powerful communication skills are essential for effective leadership, and LEAD 321 equips students to articulate ideas with poise, confidence, and clarity. Students develop written, oral, interpersonal, and team skills while developing an understanding of leadership communication in different contexts, including specific fields of study. The Leadership Communication class gives students the opportunity to practice the types of communication that will be required of them in the workplace and that will be crucial for their success. Cross-list: COMM 321.

Long Title: APPLIED LEADERSHIP: POWER; INFLUENCE, AND PERSUASION

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture/Laboratory

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Applied Leadership is a leadership skills development course focused on practical applications in negotiation, organizational communication, and consulting. The course explores power, influence, and persuasion in organizational contexts and allows students to practice advanced leadership skills, such as conflict management, change management, negotiation, delegation, and group facilitation, with an emphasis on supervising, persuading, and motivating others. Coursework assumes competence in fundamental communication skills, such as are developed in LEAD 321 - Leadership Communication, BUSI 296 - Business Communication, or one of the HUMA or other COMM courses focused on writing and speaking. Students completing this course will be prepared to exercise strategic influence from any point in an organizational hierarchy, whether interacting with supervisors, peers, or subordinates. Cross-list: COMM 325.

Long Title: THE SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF LEADERSHIP: ELITES AND SOCIETY

Department: Center for Civic Leadership

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores the rise, reign, and fall of elite groups in human societies (the powerful, the influential, the celebrated, the stars) with emphasis on the contemporary United States. Particular themes to be addressed include power, wealth, fame, and status, and paths to achievement in different sectors of society. Cross-list: SOCI 375.