Engineering Leadership - Certificate

The Engineering Leadership Program (ENLP) confronts leadership challenges in applied science using liberal arts pedagogy. The program aims to cultivate engineering leaders of curiosity and character who combine technical expertise with moral principles and political literacy to address society’s most pressing scientific and technological problems.

ENLP offers a wide variety of courses on the thought and practice of leadership, many of which utilize primary source texts in history, the philosophy of science, moral philosophy, political science and anthropology. The program’s courses count for humanities and social sciences credit in the College of Engineering and Applied Science and most courses are discussion-based seminars. Students with a deep interest in ENLP’s curriculum are encouraged to pursue the Engineering Leadership Certificate and develop long-term relationships with faculty. Such students may also wish to take courses in the Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society, many of which count for credit toward the certificate.

In addition to introducing students to the intellectual complexities of leadership, the program also addresses contemporary concerns in engineering practice. CU Boulder's engineering alumni and established leaders from engineering industry, business and politics frequently visit ENLP classes to give guest lectures, hold interview sessions and converse with students over informal lunches. The Engineering Leadership Program has also partnered with the Engineering Management Program to offer coursework for ENLP students interested in engineering project management, engineering entrepreneurship and engineering economics.

Requirements

Courses offered by the Engineering Leadership Program are open to all students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. All ENLP courses count for humanities and social sciences credit. Students interested in ENLP are advised (but not required) to begin their course of study with ENLP 2000, the program's introductory course. 

The certificate requires 12 credit hours of coursework to be completed prior to graduation. All 12 credit hours must be earned with CU Boulder coursework only. Graduating students who have completed their certificate requirements must fill out the Certificate Completion Form on the ENLP website to receive certificate status on their transcripts.

Students may take any ENLP course to sample the program's offerings, or they may choose to take multiple courses and pursue the Engineering Leadership Certificate. The certificate is designed for students who are deeply curious about leadership and its manifold relationship with science, technology, humanity, and political society. 

Most ENLP courses are discussion-based seminars focused on primary source readings spanning a wide variety of scientific, humanistic, and social scientific disciplines. ENLP courses also offer opportunities to attend guest lectures, travel abroad, network with CU alumni, and meet leaders from the public and private sectors. 

Required Courses and Credits

Students are required to take any four courses from the list of core requirements or any three courses from the list of core requirements and one approved elective.

A list of approved electives is also available on the ENLP website. Students may petition the Engineering Leadership Program Director to consider other electives, including transfer credits from other universities, not listed below.