Participant Resources
Personal Development Plan (PDP)
The PDP serves as the foundation of the program and must be submitted for participants to be considered active. It consists of three main components: your personal definition of leadership, objectives to develop four leadership competencies, and a completion timeline. We also ask you to upload a copy of your current resume.
The submission deadlines are as follows:
- Fall semester submission deadline = November 15th
- Spring semester submission deadline = April 15th
PDP's should be uploaded by logging into the Illinois Leadership Center website. This is also where you will upload your resume.
Once you have submitted your PDP, ILC staff will review and follow up with you via email if any revisions are needed before it is approved and you are officially enrolled in the Leadership Certificate Program.
Leadership Course
All participants are required to enroll in and complete one leadership course at UIUC to earn the Leadership Certificate. We recommend students take LEAD 260: Introduction to Leadership Studies to fulfill this requirement. To view when this course is being offered, please go to this website: https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/terms/LEAD/260
If you have completed this course prior to enrolling in the Leadership Certificate Program, you may utilize it to fulfill this requirement. We also encourage you to consider taking another course to further your studies of leadership theories and practice. Participants will be asked to provide basic course information as well as a sample of their coursework as part of the ePortfolio.
If you are unable to take LEAD 260 to fulfill this requirement, you may complete a waiver to substitute it for another course that connects to at least one of your chosen leadership competencies. A list of other courses that could fulfill this requirement can be found here: http://catalog.illinois.edu/undergraduate/aces/minors/leadership-studies/.
The course waiver must be submitted via email to leadershipcertificate@illinois.edu for final approval.
i-Programs
Participants are required to attend two Illinois Leadership Center i-Programs to complete the Leadership Certificate. i-Programs are multi-hour seminars designed to focus on a particular aspect of leadership practice and development. These programs are hosted multiple times per year in the fall and spring semesters with in-person, blended, and one online self-paced option. The schedule and descriptioins for the i-Programs can be found here: https://leadership.illinois.edu/i-programs. Students must register for the i-Programs they wish to attend ahead of time.
Participants may count one i-Program toward the Leadership Certificate if it was completed prior to enrolling in the program. Participants will be expected write a summary of their experience and provide evidence of completion (photo, video, sample of work, etc.) for each i-Program.
Leadership Workshops
Participants are required to attend a total of four leadership workshops hosted by the Illinois Leadership Center to earn the Leadership Certificate. ILC Workshops are held twice per week in the evenings during the fall and spring semesters, and cover a variety of topics related to the competencies in the Illinois Model of Leadership. All workshops are held in-person. The schedule and descriptions for the ILC workshops can be found here: https://www.leadership.illinois.edu/workshops. Students must register for the workshops they plan to attend ahead of time.
Participants should attend the workshops while enrolled in the Leadership Certificate Program. Participants will be expected submit a reflection synthesizing key takeaways and future applications on the ePortfolio.
If you are unable to attend four ILC workshops due to your schedule, please check with the Leadership Certificate Team by sending an email to leadershipcertificate@illinois.edu regarding an alternative option to fulfill this requirement.
Team Experience
An important aspect of the Leadership Certificate experience is the opportunity for participants to apply the skills they have learned in courses, trainings, and workshops to a team experience outside of the classroom environment. Participants are required to participate in one co-curricular team experience while enrolled in the program, and will be asked to write a reflection on the experience as part of the ePortfolio.
The team experience should last for at least one semester while students are enrolled in the program (past experiences will not qualify). Students are NOT required to seek or occupy formal leadership positions within their chosen teams, but the experience should provide regular opportunity for participation (not something that occurs only once or twice a semester). Team experiences may include research groups, registered student organizations, part-time or full-time work, athletic teams, study abroad, service-learning, and much more.
Click the button below to find several resources that you can utilize to identify these opportunities.
Leadership Coach
More information coming soon!
ePortfolio
The ePortfolio serves as the capstone of the Leadership Certificate Program and must be submitted and approved by ILC staff in order for participants to complete the program. The ePortfolio consists of five main components: a personal introduction, your PDP, completion evidence for all requirements, a cumulative reflection, and an updated resume. Certificate completers will have the opportunity to share their ePortfolios at the Certificate Completion Ceremony at the end of the fall and spring semesters.
The submission deadline for the fall semester is November 1st and for the spring semester is April 1st.
If you have questions, see our FAQ page at leadership.illinois.edu/certificate-participants-faqs or contact leadershipcertificate@illinois.edu.