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Mentoring and Leadership Graduate Certificate

The Mentoring and Leadership certificate is designed to provide students with opportunities to build strong mentoring and leadership skills while exploring what it takes to be a mentoring leader. The certificate offers courses in mentoring, leadership, communication skills, and more.

Why Combine Mentoring and Leadership?

In today’s fast-paced world, organizations need leaders who can mentor and remain resilient by fostering effective and productive teams. The goal of the Mentoring and Leadership certificate is to help students gain the skills needed to facilitate environments conducive to effective and efficient productivity, as well as employee growth and leadership. We look forward to you joining us for classes that will support you in your journey to actualize your own mentoring and leadership potential while learning how to support others.

Who Will Benefit from Completing the Program?

  • Employees, leaders, and mentors interested in developing or improving their mentoring, leadership, and teambuilding skills.
  • Employees seeking career advancement or transferable skills to maximize prospective employment opportunities.
  • Postdoctoral fellows preparing for entry into the workforce who want to stand out among their peers as the candidate with the most promise.
  • Current UAB employees, leaders, and mentors who are satisfied with their environment and wish to apply an institutional benefit that supports continued academic learning.
 

  • Course Details

    Mentoring & Leadership courses focus on the needs of today’s mentors and leaders to develop and grow their skills in a variety of delivery formats. Courses, seminars, and workshops are available in face-to-face, online, and hybrid formats. The program is 15 credit hours taught at the 700 (doctoral) level. To complete the Pass/No Pass certificate and earn an accredited credential, students must complete 4 required courses and select 7 credit hours from the approved list of electives as denoted in the following table.

    (total 15 credit hours: 8 required/core + 7 elective)

    REQUIRED/CORE

    Required Course Name Credit Hours Offered
    GRD 713 Mentoring 101 Seminar 1 CH Fall: In-person
    Spring: Online
    Summer: Varies
    GRD 735 Leadership 101 Seminar 1 CH Fall: In-person
    Spring: Online
    GRD 719 Intro to Mentoring & Leadership 3 CH Spring: Online
    GRD 745 Communication & Diversity Leadership 3 CH Spring: Online

    ELECTIVES: CHOOSE 7 CREDIT HOURS IN TOTAL

    Elective Name Credit Hours Offered
    GRD 701 Presentation & Discussion Skills 3 CH Fall: In-person
    GRD 703 Resilient Leadership: Self and Others 2 CH Summer: Hybrid
    GRD 706 Grants and Fellowships 101 (One day workshop) 1 CH Fall: In-person
    GRD 707 Presenting Effectively (One day workshop) 1 CH Fall: In-person
    GRD 708 Writing Successfully (One day workshop) 1 CH Spring: In-person
    Summer: In-person
    GRD 730 Developing and Maintaining Your Professional Image 3 CH Fall: Online
    Summer: Online
    GRD 733 Managing & Leading Teams (one-day workshop) 1 CH Spring: In-person
    GRD 744 Leadership Survival Skills (one-day workshop) 1 CH Summer: In-person
    GRD 746 Critical Decisions in Mentoring & Leadership 3 CH Various
    GRD 745 Communication and Diversity Leadership 3 CH Fall: Online
    GRD 746 Ethical Leadership Development 3 CH Spring: Online
    GRD 749 Improvisational Techniques to Improve Leadership, Teaching, and Research Communication (One day workshop) 1 CH Summer: In person
    GRD 772 Emotionally Intelligent Leadership 1 CH Spring: Hybrid

    ONLY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WRITING COURSES MAY BE USED AS AN ELECTIVE

    Elective Name Credit Hours Offered
    GRD 722 or Writing Research for Broad Audiences or 3 CH Spring: online
    GRD 723 or Writing Research for Academic Audiences or 3 CH Summer: Online
    GRD 727 or Writing and Reviewing Research or 3 CH Fall: In-Person
    Spring: Online
    Summer: Online
    GRD 729 Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks 3 CH Fall: Online

    If you have additional questions regarding the curriculum, please email OPSEL@uab.edu.

  • Faculty & Contact

    Dr. Penny S. Seals, OPSEL@uab.edu.

  • Course Requirements and Schedules

    Any graduate student, post-doctoral fellow, or UAB employee with a bachelor’s degree can enroll in this program. There are no prerequisites required. Some courses can simultaneously count toward the Mentoring and Leadership graduate certificate, other certificates and degree plans.

  • Application Checklist
    • New students
      • Request official copies of all your academic transcripts to be sent to UAB graduate admissions (more details in the application)
      • Complete the online application
      • Pay the application fee
  • You're Admitted - Next Steps
    • New students: Visit the New Students to UAB page.
    • Current students: Review the course requirements, choose your courses and get enrolled. If you are not sure which courses to take, reach out to Dr. Penny S. Seals at psseals@uab.edu.
    • Questions: Email OPSEL@uab.edu.
  • Frequently Asked Questions

    What are the admissions requirements for Mentoring & Leadership?

    All applicants must:

    1. Current student: complete the Change of Graduate Program
    2. New Students:
      • Complete and submit the UAB Graduate School Application.
      • Submit official copies of all academic transcripts demonstrating that you have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a 3.0 minimum grade point average.
      • GRE and MAT are not required to be admitted.

    Is the Mentoring & Leadership graduate certificate a credential?

    Yes, Although the Mentoring & Leadership graduate certificate is achieved by passing Pass/No Pass courses, it is an official credential that is tracked and awarded on the student’s official UAB transcript.

    Can undergraduate students take Mentoring & Leadership courses?

    No. Undergraduate students interested in studying leadership should contact Dr. Brandon Brown regarding the LEAD graduate certificate program, which is open to undergraduate juniors and seniors. Email LEAD@uab.edu.

    Do you have to be a Mentoring & Leadership student in order to take Mentoring & Leadership course?

    No. You do not need to be admitted to the certificate in order to take Mentoring & Leadership courses. Anyone in the following groups may enroll in Mentoring & Leadership courses:

    • Non-degree Seeking, Post-Bac
    • Graduate Students
    • Post-Doctoral Fellows
    • Community members
    • UAB employees

    *** Please note that if you are not a current degree-seeking student, you should apply as a non-degree student in order to take individual courses. If you want to earn the certificate, apply as a degree-seeking student and choose the Mentoring & Leadership certificate.

    Can UAB employees use the tuition benefit to pay for Mentoring & Leadership courses?

    Yes, current UAB employees may use their tuition benefits to take Mentoring & Leadership courses.

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