Human Sciences (PHD) - Leadership Studies

The doctoral program specialization in leadership studies is designed for individuals interested in studying leadership and leadership development. It is ideal for those interested in becoming a leadership scholar.
See Leadership Studies Ph.D. for more information.

Admission Requirements

• GRE: GRE waivers are only granted in rare circumstances (e.g. GRE is not available in your country of residence); contact alec@unl.edu to request a waiver.
• Curriculum Vitae or Resume: Your vitae should include a complete account of your academic and professional history along with your community activities, service, accomplishments, and awards.
• Personal Statement: Describe 1) one to three personal and professional goals or objectives and how this degree will help you achieve them, 2) how your past experience (work, volunteer, research, etc.) provides you a context for studying in this field, and 3) how your interests align with research, extension, and/or creative activity of each of the ALEC faculty you list in the Faculty section.
• Essay (required): Choose one (and only one) of the following prompts (using APA style guidelines, 500 words max, not including references), reflecting your area of study:
  • Prompt 1: Why is it important to teach leadership?
  • Prompt 2: Evidence-based practices in leadership development are important.
  • Prompt 3: Is leadership more art than science?
  Academic writing or using evidence-based knowledge within writing is necessary for success in this graduate program. Your response should not be a reflection or musings of your personal thoughts but a demonstration of how you write a short argument using evidence-based knowledge. The graduate committee wants to see the following: demonstration of critical thinking as appropriate for academic writing; synthesis of information, knowledge, and/or evidence to reveal significant insights, themes, or ideas; integration of knowledge and information collected from well-chosen sources in appropriate ways; a writing "flow" and/or a high-quality writing style; appropriate use of organization/format, grammar, and punctuation.
• Writing Sample: Provide a writing sample that demonstrates your scholarly writing ability, for example a term paper, thesis, or published article.
• Other Upload: Provide a document sharing any specific experience you have engaging in research, especially any of the following: specific social science research you've conducted (by yourself or as part of a team; if in a team, articulate your contributions specifically); program/project evaluation experience; quantitative research methods experience; coursework or training in statistics and/or math; any project (for class or work) where you engaged in data analysis (either quantitatively or qualitatively); experience engaging in life sciences (e.g. biology, animal science, plant science) and/or physical sciences (e.g. physics, chemistry) research; qualitative research methods experience; experience conducting interviews; or experience coding/analyzing audio, video, or written materials. It is not expected you have any and certainly not all these experiences.
• Faculty: Review current faculty and their research areas on this page and on ALEC Graduate Faculty. With attention to which faculty are currently accepting new students, identify at least one (max 3) faculty members in this department with whom you would like to work. Also address faculty interest alignment in Personal Statement.
• Letters of Recommendation (three): One letter should speak to your capacity to be a successful student (e.g. from a faculty member); one letter should speak to your professional capacity (e.g. from a supervisor); the remaining letter can speak to anything you believe makes you an ideal candidate for our program (e.g. commitment to diversity and inclusion, research capacity, teaching and training experience).
• Funding/Assistantship: See ALEC Funding and Assistantships for information and the assistantship application.  To be eligible for an ALEC assistantship you must be admitted to an ALEC graduate program; you may complete the assistantship application prior to being admitted.

The priority admission deadline is December 15; applications submitted after this date may be considered if space is available.

Department

Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication