Applied Humanities: Rural Leadership & Renewal Emphasis
Bachelor of Arts
Quick Facts
Top 3%
Online Bachelor's
Program in the Nation
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TOP 25
Public Flagship
University
- U.S. News & World Report, 2024
In the BA in Applied Humanities: Rural Leadership & Renewal emphasis, you will learn how to create opportunities for rural communities to overcome challenges such as economic stagnation, population decline, environmental degradation, persistent systemic racism, and public health crises.
You will be introduced to the principles and practices central to organizational innovation and leadership and develop skills in project planning, community enrichment, environmental stewardship, intercultural competence, and more. Through this emphasis, you will learn how to help revitalize and serve historically underserved yet vital communities.
The exploration of the public and applied humanities, agricultural production, e-commerce, sustainable tourism, and entrepreneurial leadership will equip you with the skill base necessary to be a leader of change. These invaluable skills have the potential to make an impactful difference within agricultural organizations that extend across educational, public, governmental, and industrial settings and environments.
The program involves a mandatory internship that can be completed remotely.
*Residents of some U.S. Territories may not be eligible. Please see our Eligibility & State Authorization page for more information.
Courses in this emphasis include:
This course focuses on helping students better understand themselves and others; improving group communication; becoming effective leaders and members of groups; improving leadership and personal development skills; assessing leadership situations, determining and administering appropriate leadership strategies, and evaluating results.
This course is an exploration of the principles and practices of entrepreneurial leadership, and the application of such principles and practices within agricultural and rural communities, the cooperative Extension system, educational organizations and systems, agricultural agencies at the local, state, and federal levels, and agricultural enterprises and life sciences industries.
This course provides an introduction to the principles and practices central to organizational innovation and leadership. Frameworks and methods for designing, developing, and implementing innovation within agricultural organizations and industrial settings and environments will be explored.
This course examines the principles and processes of knowledge diffusion and methods of transferring appropriate technology to user/clientele groups. Communicating effectively within organizations.
Outcomes
Skills
Earning your Bachelor of Arts in Applied Humanities: Rural Leadership & Renewal Emphasis will build core skills, including:
- Abstract and critical thinking
- Analytical abilities
- Communication skills
- Entrepreneurial skills
- Flexibility
- Innovation development
- Leadership
- Opportunity recognition
- Organizational skills
- Professionalism
- Resource mobilization
- Strategic planning
- Storytelling
- Teamwork/collaboration
- Creative problem solving
- Adaptability
- Intercultural competence
- Interdisciplinary problem solving
- Iterative problem solving
Potential Career Paths
Graduates of the Applied Humanities: Rural Leadership & Renewal program will be prepared to pursue careers in the following fields:
