PLC Program Structure

To complete the PLC Program you must finish a combination of academic course work experiential components. All of the defined elements must be completed before graduation from the University of Colorado Boulder in order for you to earn a PLC Certificate of Completion and a PLC graduation stole.

1. Complete the structured First Year Curriculum 

• Fall Semester, first year – PRLC 1810: Individual Leadership and Ethics (3 credit course; meets A&S Ideals and Values Core Requirement; $500 PLC Base Scholarship)
• Spring Semester, first year – PLRC 1820: Community Issues in Leadership (3 credit course; meets A&S Contemporary Societies Core Requirement; $500 PLC Base Scholarship)

2. Complete two additional PLC Courses (within your remaining years as an undergraduate)

• Second Year (any semester) – PRLC 2820: Multi-Level Issues in Leadership (3 credit course)
• Second or Third Year (fall semester) – PRLC 3810: Global Issues in Leadership (3 credit course)

3. Complete the Minor in Leadership Studies

• Third of Fourth Year (any semester) - LEAD 4000

4. Complete the PLC Experiential Components

• Complete (3) Experiential Weekends in your four years
  • Two-day experiences where a small group of scholars travels around the state to explore an industry and meet with top leaders there within.
  • There are approximately four weekends available each semester and eight total topics each year. (Topic Examples: Education, Politics, Criminal Justice, Tourism, Military/Defense, Energy, Science/Biotechnology, and Agriculture.)
• Complete (2) Walkabout Intensives in your three years (starting your sophomore year)
  • Walkabout Intensives are leadership in action.  These are opportunities to further leadership development through real-world encounters and experiences.  Walkabouts fall in the three following areas: student leadership experiences, traditional internships, PLC-facilitated experiences.
  • Lower Division Walkabout - A lower-division walkabout is intended to help students get accustomed to the walkabout process while giving them a quality hands-on experience.
  • Upper Division Walkabout - An upper-division walkabout is a formative leadership-specific experience as reflected in scope, specificity, and deliverables, particularly compared to a lower-division walkabout. Students must show that they are actively leading in the context of the field they are working in, applying what they have learned about leadership in PLC and elsewhere

• Senior Check-In
  • During senior year, senior PLC members have a meeting with professional staff members to revisit the PLC experience from the individual student perspective.

University of Colorado Minor in Leadership Studies

All PLC scholars are highly encouraged and expected to pursue and obtain a Minor in Leadership Studies.  The PLC program is structured in a way that earning the minor is practically synonymous with completing the PLC academic course load.

Please see the PLC Pathway to the Minor in Leadership Studies here.