Engineering + Leadership

Leadership is defined as the knowledge and practice of skills necessary to lead a team. Students increase character building, develop a vision that motivates others to collaborate, increase communication and create value.

To get Leadership credit for Engineering+, you must:

1. Participate in a class or documented formal leadership training. See list of approved courses at Wichita State.
2. Then, complete an activity where you successfully lead others to an established goal. Learn more about the Leadership Activity.
3. Submit one-page summary report to your department. Learn more about the Leadership Report.

Students must first complete a college class or formal leadership training. While it is not always necessary to complete a class for college credit, we do have information below regarding opportunities at Wichita State that qualify as leadership training/instruction (Step 1).

The Office of Student Engagement and Belonging (SEB) offers three leadership development opportunties for students through their Tiered Leadership Program and Retreats (listed below).

• • Shocker Leadership Experience (SLE)
  • Immersive Leadership Institute
  • Tiered Leadership Program (Emerging, Engaging, and Evolving Leaders)

More About SEB Leadership Development

• • COMM 328. Teamwork, Leadership and Group Communication
  • ENGR 501. The Engineer as Leader
  • ENGR 501H. The Engineer as Leader for Honors Students
  • FYPH 102B FYS: Leadership & Self Discovery
  • HNRS 306J. Lead for Tomorrow (Honor's College Course)
  • HNRS 310Q. Honors Tutorial - Engaging Leaders
  • HNRS 310R. Honors Tutorial - Evolving Leaders
  • HNRS 310S. Honors Tutorial - Emerging Leaders
  • HNRS 351. Survey of Leadership
  • HRNS 398J. Leading Through Serving (BILL'S Trip)
  • ID 301. Leadership is Essential Seminar
  • IME 664. Engineering Management
  • MGMT 360. Principles of Management
  • MGMT 462. Leading and Motivating
  • PSY 413. Adaptive Leadership (cross-listed as PHS 408. Leadership in Self and Society)

Completing training prior to serving as a Wichita State Transition Mentor is also an approved form of leadership training. Training is organized as a class during the spring semester and is required of all new and returning Transition Mentors. There is also a student leadership conference the weekend after Spring Break and an overnight retreat planned in May. 

More About Transition Mentor Training

Completing training to serve as an ACE Mentor is an approved form of leadership training. Upperclassmen in the College of Engineering can serve as an ACE Mentor for one or more fall semesters. You must agree to attend a full-day training and kick-off party, participate in three leadership training sessions throughout the fall semester, meet with your mentee(s) at least once per month and submit monthly logs.

More About ACE Mentoring

Other training opportunities may also exist through the military, your place of employment or community organizations. Please obtain preliminary approval of non-course training from your department by submitting supporting documentation of the training. After you have completed formal leadership training/instruction, your leadership activity needs to occur (See next section).

After completing an approved leadership course or other formal training (Step 1), you need to complete a leadership activity where you successfully lead others to an established goal (Step 2).

Your leadership activity must be one where you have clearly demonstrated the application of the leadership skills taught in the course or formal training.

Examples of a leadership project could be: serving as President or Vice President of a student organization, serving as a Wichita State Transition Mentor, acting as an event leader for a major event on or off campus, or leading a team through a project at your job. Other activity opportunities may exist; talk to your academic or faculty advisor if you have questions about what experiences may count as your leadership activity.

Students in the Aerospace Engineering (AE) department, the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department, and the School of Computing must receive pre-approval from an advisor before completing the Leadership Activity. This is to ensure that the activity you choose to do will satisfy the requirements.

After you have completed leadership training and a leadership activity, you must submit a one-page summary report to your department. Your summary report will be assessed using a rubric. You must receive a score of '8' or better on your report in order to receive Engineering+ credit. Optionally, you may use the suggested report template to format and structure your paper.

Click here to download the Leadership Report Template and Rubric (Word Doc)

Leadership reports must be submitted, along with the Approval Form, to your department for processing.