Our school stands distinguished by teaching and fostering effective, value-based leadership. Curious to know what it is like to learn from the top scholars and practitioners of policy and leadership? Want to sample a class before applying to the BA or minor but do not know what to take? We’ve included information below about some special topics and core courses being offered this fall! All courses listed will count toward major and minor requirements unless otherwise noted.

For those interested in taking a leadership course:

LPPL 2100: The Resilient Student: Transition, Thriving, and Leadership: The adjustment from high school to college is filled with turbulent transitions and with opportunities for discovery, growth, and development of critical life skills. The course focuses on development of broad skills to create fulfilling lives and successful careers after college, especially in 4 areas: 1) development of emotional resilience skills, 2) development of life management skills, 3) introduction to leadership concepts, and 4) establishment of small communities of students. This course is designed to help build key skills for college success, but it does NOT fulfill a special topics requirement in the Batten BA or minor. You can hear a more in-depth description of the course from Professor Tim Davis here.

LPPP 3500-001: Equity by Design: Transformative Social Enterprise: Explore the process of creating transformational social enterprises from a foundation of human-centered design, historical and social context, and empathy-building to achieve lasting equity. Learn how to build community wealth through developing social enterprises as new gateways for building access to opportunity to build equity. This is an elective course in the Batten BA and minor curriculum as well as for the Social Entrepreneurship minor. 

LPPL 3450: Resilient Leadership for Teams and Teammates: Whether as students, athletes, or future professionals, this course will support you in developing skills to increase your effectiveness as a leader in student organizations, in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in your future professional leadership endeavors. An elective course in the Batten BA and minor curriculum, this course will introduce frameworks that will enhance student’s: resilience, team leadership skills, capacity for thriving in times of adversity, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills (including conflict resolution and negotiation skills) and decision making. We asked some recent students for their thoughts on the class, and this is what we heard:

• This is hands down the best class I have taken at UVA! I strongly believe that everyone should take this course. I have noticed great personal growth from taking this class. Professor Davis is a phenomenal professor who really cares about helping students grow as leaders and teammates. This class is extremely informative and useful for my life at UVa and will be helpful to my professional career in the future. I have loved this class and it will forever be one of my favorite memories of UVA.
• THIS IS SUCH A GREAT CLASS. We have so many great discussions. I really appreciated how thoughtful Professor Davis was. The organization of the teams was really great. I rarely feel so connected to a team from a group project, but I loved the people that I worked with. It was a great class to take as a fourth year because I felt like it is preparing me for the real world. I learned a lot about myself in the class and I appreciate how much Prof. Davis cared about us.
• This is one of the best classes at UVA and I have learned more that I can apply to my life in this class than any other class. Professor Davis is one of the best professors at the University.
• I loved this class. Thank you for everything professor, I hope to be able to take another course with you in the future. In general, this course taught me more about life and myself than any other at this university, so for that, I thank you Professor Davis.
• Professor Davis is great. This class was both informative and inspiring.
• This class has been without a doubt my favorite and most useful class I have taken at UVA. I have been able to use what I have learned in this class in the real world more than any other class.
• I loved this class! I felt like I learned a lot but also really enjoyed the majority of what we did.
• I cannot stress enough as a fourth-year student how valuable this class is. Out of all the classes I have taken at this university, by far this class has been the most impactful on my experience here. The value placed on self-awareness and growth really helped me to succeed, and it is a class I will remember and take with me when I graduate, and long after. 100% an amazing course.
• This was my favorite course that I have taken in my 3 years so far at the University of Virginia. The information learned in this course is extremely applicable to the real world and I will greatly benefit from taking this course.