Skip to main content
Penn State Berks
Hotline Give Apply Visit
  • Admission
  • Academics
  • Campus Calendar
  • Information For
    • Future Students
    • Parents & Families
    • Current Students
    • Adult Students
    • Alumni
    • Faculty & Staff
Full site navigation menu

This dialog contains the full navigation menu for this site.

Penn State Berks
Enter the terms you wish to search for.
Search type:
Hotline Give Apply Visit
  • This is Penn State
    • Campus Leadership
    • Chancellor's Welcome
    • Penn State Berks at a Glance
    • Our History
  • Academics
    • Baccalaureate Degrees
    • Registrar
    • Course Schedule
    • Academic Advising Center
    • Thun Library
  • Admission
    • First Year Students
    • Visit Us
    • En Español
    • Adult Learners
    • International Students
  • Tuition & Financial Aid
    • Scholarship Eligibility
    • Tuition & Cost Calculator
    • Paying Your Bill
  • Continuing Education
    • Adult Students
    • Services for Organizations
    • Summer Camps
    • Workforce and Professional Development
  • Student Life
    • On-Campus Housing
    • Residence Life
    • Moving In
    • Clubs and Organizations
    • Family and Homecoming Weekend
    • Student Events Calendar
  • Athletics

Find Information For:

  • Future Students
  • Parents & Families
  • Current Students
  • Adult Students
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Staff

Helpful Links

  • Canvas
  • First Year Seminar
  • LionPATH
  • Driving Directions
  • Educational Equity and Diversity Programs
  • Faculty Directory
  • Staff Directory
  • University Police and Public Safety

Connect With Us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram
  1. Home
  2. Continuing Education
  3. Workforce & Professional Development Programs

Foundations of Organizational Leadership Certificate

This 12-credit certificate will provide a solid foundation in leadership concepts and employment relations that can enhance student leadership and managerial skills. The Foundations of Organizational Leadership certificate provides an introduction to key leadership concepts and practices and provides students with the knowledge and skills that are characteristic of effective leaders. Certificate programs focus on a specific skill set, allowing you to earn this Penn State credential in a relatively short time. The courses can be applied to the bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership.

An education that fits your life

Specifically built for adult learners, students will learn with a Penn State instructor and other adult learners. Accelerated evening courses meet once a week for seven weeks in-person or via live video instruction with online learning components. As a participant either in the classroom or via video technology, students can communicate with the instructor and interact with other students. Certificate features the ability to:

  • Complete a Penn State 12-credit certificate in one year, during the fall and spring semesters of one academic year.
  • Increase your leadership and management skills while gaining skills that are characteristic of effective leaders.
  • Gain specialized knowledge on workplace and employment issues from both the employee's and employer's perspective.
  • Build your resume to advance your career, quickly.

Career potential

Open positions for employment relations and leadership skills can generally be found in human resources or as managers, coordinators or supervisors in a variety of industries including healthcare, education, manufacturing and real estate.

Source:  Burning Glass Technologies’ Labor Insight™ Real-time Labor Market Information tool.

Certificate requirements and curriculum

Students seeking the Foundations of Organizational Leadership Certificate must complete 12 credits earning a minimum of a “C” grade in the following course work:

OLEAD 100 (3 credits) - Introduction to Leadership

Introduction to key leadership concepts and practices to show students the knowledge and skills that are characteristic of effective leaders. This course is designed to increase your ability to:

  • Describe fundamental principles of leadership and how they relate to becoming an effective leader
  • Apply leadership concepts to case studies, self-assessment questionnaires and common leadership challenges
  • Embrace diversity and inclusion
  • Address ethics in leadership

OLEAD 201 (3 credits) – Organizational Theory and Functions for Leaders

Explores the various functions of organizations laying strong foundations for future coursework including leadership, financial, communications, technology, production and sales. This course is designed to increase your ability to:

  • Define organization, organizational theory, and organizational behavior.
  • Describe the major functions of an organization (leadership, communication, teamwork, operations, etc.).
  • Describe the major organizational behaviors (motivation, job performance, effectiveness, etc.).
  • Determine the interconnections among organizational functions and behaviors.

OLEAD 210 (3 credits) – Evidence-Based Leadership

Utilization of strong information and facts to increase the likelihood of success of leadership in organizations. This course is designed to increase your ability to:

  • Recognize different types of evidence.
  • Evaluate quality of evidence.
  • Locate strong factual evidence.
  • Interpret evidence.
  • Use evidence to make leadership decisions.
  • Implement evidence-based strategies (interventions).

OLEAD/LER 465 (3 credits) - Collective Decision Making

Application of theories of decision making to work-related issues in groups and organizations requiring collective resolution and action. This course is designed to increase your ability to:

  • Develop an appreciation of the processes (single-motive and mixed-motive) by which those in positions of authority, groups, and organizations make consequential choices.
  • Become familiar with what distinguishes good decision making (rational) from poor decision making (non-rational and/or irrational).
  • Learn, as well as develop skill in, what one can do to enhance the likelihood that decisional outcomes will be optimal rather than suboptimal.

Workforce & Professional Development Programs

  • 2D / 3D CAD Certificate
  • Advanced 3D with SolidWorks Certificate
  • Building Systems - Design & Construction Certificate
  • Craft Brewing Certificate
    • Brewing Course Descriptions
  • Construction Management Certificate
  • Enterprise Resource Planning Certificate
  • ERP with SAP Certificate
    • How to Apply - ERP with SAP Certificate
  • Foundations of Organizational Leadership Certificate
  • Fundamentals of Cybersecurity
  • Industrial Electricity Certificate
  • Introduction to Business Management Certificate
  • Introduction to Corporate Communication Certificate
  • Introduction to Revit
  • Leadership Development Certificate
  • Mastering Additive Manufacturing Certificate
  • Microsoft Project Class
  • PLC for Industry Certificate Program
  • Process Instrumentation and Control
  • Project Management Certificate
  • Spanish in the Workplace
  • Supply Chain Management Classes
  • Winemaking Certificate
    • Wine Certificate Program Course Numbers & Descriptions
  • Winery Business Development

Contact Continuing Education

Kathy Cavanaugh
Education Program Coordinator
[email protected]
610-396-6220

Request More Information
Contact Continuing Education
Locations of Penn State's campuses throughout Pennsylvania with Penn State Berks highlighted

Penn State Berks

Nestled on 258 beautifully landscaped acres in Berks County and easily accessible from anywhere in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram
Give Apply Visit
  • This is Penn State
    • Chancellor's Welcome
    • Penn State Berks at a Glance
    • Campus Leadership
    • Advisory Board
    • Our History
    • Freyberger Gallery
  • Academics
    • Baccalaureate Degrees
    • Registrar
    • Course Schedule
    • Academic Advising Center
    • Thun Library
  • Admissions
    • First Year Students
    • Visit Us
    • En Español
    • Dual Enrollment
    • Adult Students
    • International Students
  • Tuition & Financial Aid
    • Scholarship Eligibility
    • Tuition & Cost Calculator
    • Paying Your Bill
  • Research
    • Undergraduate Research
    • Research in Engineering, Business & Computing
    • Research in Humanities Arts and Social Sciences
    • Research in Science
  • Continuing Education
    • Adult Learner Admissions
    • Practical Nursing Program
  • Resources
    • Canvas
    • First Year Seminar
    • LionPATH
    • Driving Directions
    • Faculty Directory
    • Staff Directory
    • COVID Information
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • University Police and Public Safety
Penn State University
Tulpehocken Road, Reading, Pennsylvania 19610 610-396-6000

Footer Legal Menu

  • Privacy
  • Non-discrimination
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Accessibility
  • Copyright
  • The Pennsylvania State University © 2023
  • We Are Penn State