Leadership and Learning Innovation
Bachelor of Science
Quick Facts
Top 3%
Online Bachelor's
Program in the Nation
- U.S. News & World Report, 2025
TOP 25
Public Flagship
University
- U.S. News & World Report, 2024
Cultivate your leadership potential, foster your strategic decision-making skills, and gain the foundation to excel in a competitive landscape with a Leadership and Learning Innovation degree. This flexible leadership degree provides students with a justice-oriented framework for turning complex ideas into accessible content for learners in various education and industry settings. Graduates go on to lead in a wide range of fields, including nonprofit work, human services, business, government, and community outreach. Students can gain valuable work experience through internships at local, national, and international organizations. This flexible major is frequently used to prepare for a wide variety of graduate degrees.
If you currently work in educational, developmental, or nonprofit environments, you may be eligible to apply your employment as internship credit for up to 12 upper-level units toward your degree. The Leadership and Learning Innovation program allows you the freedom to focus on your areas of expertise, such as experiential learning, policy/advocacy programs, and more.
View detailed information for the Community Education emphasis
View detailed information for the Leadership for Equity, Access and Success in Education emphasis
*Residents of some U.S. Territories may not be eligible. Please see our Eligibility & State Authorization page for more information.
The curriculum for this program includes:
This course discusses how colleges and universities market to and recruit students, make decisions about providing various academic and social experiences to students, and how leaders within these institutions are selected and why they make or don't make the decisions they do.
An exploration of what makes non-school learning environments powerful and how we can catalyze cross-setting learning. Sociocultural theories of development, as well as place-based and person-centered learning theories, will serve as a conceptual framework for exploring these settings and experiences.
This course discusses cultural practices, schooling, privilege, and marginalization that shape youth developmental pathways. Discussion topics include youth studies research, listening deeply to young people's perspectives, youth learning in diverse communities and communities-of-practice, independence/ interdependence, voice, participation, and civic engagement.
Students in this course will gain broad knowledge about event planning and programming techniques that can apply to a variety of fields, including recreation, sport, education, non-profit and community sectors. Specific topics to be covered include: assessing organizational needs, developing goals and objectives, venue and space considerations, budgeting, marketing, registration, staff and volunteers, risk management, and evaluation. Issues related to access and inclusion will be highlighted as well.
Outcomes
Skills
Earning your Bachelor of Science in Leadership and Learning Innovation will build core skills, including:
- Communication
- Digital literacy
- Educational innovation
- Formal & informal learning strategies
- Instructional design
- Leadership
- Social and cultural understanding
Potential Career Paths
The BS in Leadership and Learning Innovation prepares you for a wide variety of career paths. Some examples include:
