Economics Professor George Norman is taking the reigns of the new leadership studies minor, which will be offered for the first time next fall.
The minor will draw from several arts and sciences departments, as well as a few from the engineering school.
"It's very much grounded in solid academic study," Norman said. "We're trying to get people to understand the idea of leadership from an interdisciplinary perspective."
Students pursuing the minor will be required to take six courses from the three different tiers that compose the program.
The first tier includes courses that deal directly with leadership. Examples will likely include the "Psychology of Leadership" and an engineering course entitled "Team Leadership in Science and Technology."
The second tier encompasses a wider selection of courses that involve leadership more indirectly. These classes could include a drama course on public speaking and a political science class on Machiavelli.
According to Norman, the third tier is a capstone internship. Once they land an internship, students will be required to attend a seminar class and write a paper on the experience.
Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser is enthusiastic about the minor.
"I think there's some real value in students thinking intellectually about leadership," he said.
According to Glaser, good leaders need to have a handle on policies, ethics and strategy. "The leadership studies minor will expose students to all those different things," he said.
The minor was designed by Norman, Glaser, Political Science Professor Jeffrey Berry, Psychology Professor Nalini Ambady and Molly Mead, who left the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at the end of last year to pursue a job at Amherst College.
Norman hopes the program will attract students from a variety of majors and he's excited to see how it works out.
"I hope it doesn't become just one discipline," he said.
Nancy Wilson, the director and associate dean of Tisch College, said she sees the minor as part of "a much broader initiative" focused on promoting active citizenship and leadership on campus.
She said that while the program may not be for everyone, it allows interested students to explore leadership from various academic perspectives.
Wilson also said that the program is meant to supplement, not replace, the traditional undergraduate education.
"I think that's why it's a minor, not a major. It's made to be a complement to any student's other field of study," she said.
Rob Silverblatt contributed reporting to this article.
