Community Leadership: A Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Framework

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The Community Leadership micro-credential will provide students with a complementary set of skills and experiences from Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) that will enable them to create positive social change within their communities. In particular, students completing this micro-credential will develop their abilities to analyze social problems from multiple perspectives, productively resolve conflicts, and engage diverse groups of people, all in order to devise sustainable solutions to those problems. Students will also put those skills into practice by completing a community engagement project under the mentorship of a PPE faculty member. By the end of this micro-credential, students will have the confidence and experience to better understand and more productively confront complex social issues affecting their communities.

Visit the Philosophy department page for contact information, a brief overview of the department and the curricular options.

For more information visit the Office of Micro-Credentials

Admission Criteria

Current UB students interested in pursing the Community Leadership: A Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Framework micro-credential should complete the Micro-Credential Application Form.

Course Requirements

Community Leadership Core (9 Credits)

PHI 103LEC - Introducing Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE): Ideas That Shape Your World Credits: 3
PHI 353LEC - Negotiation & Conflict Resolution Credits: 3
PHI 498TUT - Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Credits: 1-8

Additional Requirements:

Students must also complete at least 25 hours of volunteer service, to be monitored by UB’s Office of Community & Civic Engagement.
As a part of, and in conjunction with, PHI 498 (Undergraduate Research Activity), students will assist in completing a community engagement project that involves a diverse group of stakeholders in Western New York. The details of the particular project, along with the relevant group of stakeholders, will be worked out between the students and the instructor of PHI 498. (To illustrate, such a project might involve organizing a deliberative community forum on Buffalo’s role as a sanctuary city for immigrants and refugees.)
As part of their final “artifact”, students will create a final report (in the form of a slide deck in, e.g., PowerPoint) detailing the results of that community engagement project along with the lessons learned from it.

Total Credits Required for Micro-Credential: 9

Academic Requirements

To earn a micro-credential, students must have a minimum of a B grade in all required courses.

Learning Outcomes

After completing the micro-credential in Community Leadership: A Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Framework, students will be able to:

Apply concepts and models from Philosophy, Political and Social Science, and Economics in order to address challenges affecting their communities.
Moderate (potentially difficult) conversations between different members of their communities.
Work with local organizations in Buffalo and Western New York.
Engage a diverse group of stakeholders to resolve real-world challenges.
Create a report based on stakeholder engagement activities to generate lessons learned.