Towards a Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Leadership & Society Program

Abstract

The interdisciplinary field of Leadership Studies has emerged in recent years at several well- known universities as a major or minor course of study at the Undergraduate level. The success of these multidisciplinary programs depends importantly on an ability to creatively think outside the box and challenge the classical – and still all too common – framing in our universities as institutions structured into independent disciplines. This paper describes one attempt at meeting this objective. It assesses the lessons learned over the past five years in the development and teaching of Leadership and Society at United Arab Emirates University. As a practical matter, it offers academic curriculum planners a model for a full multidisciplinary leadership bachelor program and describes some administrative and academic conditions and requirements essential to successfully implement a program in this exciting and critical new field.

Keywords: Leadership, leadership studies, leadership development, multidisciplinary approach