Leadership Communication
What is Leadership Communication?
Leadership communication is literally where leadership and communication meet. Leadership is a set of behaviors used to help people align their collective direction, to execute strategic plans, and to continually renew an organization, community, and the world, while communication is a process by which information is exchanged among individuals, organizations, and other units of our social sectors through languages and a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviors.
As a program within the "Strategic Communication" major, our leadership communication major is dedicated to building the leaders for tomorrow by teaching effective communication today.
What will I Learn?
You will take courses that will make you an effective leader. While you will specifically study leadership communication, organizational communication, and other strategic communication classes, you can develop your own study plan, as our major has much room for a diversity of elective courses that students can take in their own interest. On a practical level, leadership communication courses will provide you with skills and knowledge that you can immediately apply to your workplaces and daily life.
Broadly speaking, you will develop your leadership to make a positive impact in our society and the world by taking a diversity of classes in your own interest.
In your senior year, to prepare you for a real-world career, you will take the capstone course, Communication Consultation. In this course, you and your fellow students will meet with an off-campus client and prepare a professional communication audit and set of recommendations. This will challenge you to use all your previous learning to solve real-world communication problems.
You will also conclude your studies with an internship. Through this course, you’ll work 10 hours a week for an organization that our department approves and learn more about the processes of job searching, networking, office politics, resumes, and interviewing.
In terms of required courses for an undergraduate degree, our UL-Lafayette requires 14-15 required major courses (42~45 credit hours), depending on different majors. However, our leadership major only requires only 6 major courses (18 credit hours) and one internship (3 credit hours). For the rest of the credits, students can take any communication courses across different majors, based on their own interests! Leadership communication is a very individualized major, taking care of EVERY single student and their interests individually!
"You can design your OWN curriculum to build up your leadership!"
Learn more about the leadership communication curriculum >
Careers in Leadership Communications
Our graduates have become elected officials, lawyers, business owners, consultants, events managers, human resources personnel, pastors, fundraisers, nonprofit and governmental organization leaders, safety consultants, management advisers, counselors, and leaders in a variety of other professions.
Learn more about leadership communication career opportunities >
Award-Winning Debate Team
UL Speech and Debate, founded in 1901, celebrates the legacy of Edith Garland Dupre, representing the university in competition across the nation. Our nationally competitive & award-winning team represents the Southern Forensics Association, American Forensics Association, as well as one of the oldest Pi Kappa Delta Chapters in the nation. Showcasing diverse advocacy efforts, performance techniques, and communication-based research, our students are the future of advocacy-based leaders. With a seamless fusion of critical analysis and eloquent delivery, they consistently captivate judges and audiences alike. UL Speech and Debate's track record of victories solidifies its reputation as the legacy of Edith Garland Dupre. Join the legacy by contacting the Director of Forensics, Dr. Masey Hammons (masey.hammons@louisiana.edu).
Scholarship Available
Students in the leadership communication major will have opportunities to apply for many scholarships at the department and university levels. These scholarships are awarded each Spring Semester for the following school year, including but not limited to the following scholarships: the Robert E. Simmons Scholarship, the Roy D. Murphy Scholarship, the Dr. Jung-Sook Lee Scholarship, the Brad Wedlock Scholarship, the Ory G. Poret Scholarship, the Super 1 Foods Scholarship, the Jacob Hirsch Scholarship, Bernard Curet Scholarship, the Ronald Rich Scholarship, and many others.
Contact Us Today!
Do Kyun David Kim, Ph.D.
Leadership Communication Program Coordinator
337.482.6932
do.kim@louisiana.edu