Hone Your Leadership Skills for Dynamic Business Environments

The Business Leadership Certificate helps students develop their unique leadership style while building strong professional relationships to inspire teams and drive business success. Through courses on influencing others, driving strategic change, negotiation and conflict management, leading teams and technology leadership, students learn to thrive as leaders in dynamic business environments.

The program equips students with practical tools to navigate challenges, foster collaboration, and create positive organizational cultures.

This certificate program is best for: Early- to mid-career professionals who want to develop advanced leadership skills within a professional context.

What Makes this Program Unique?

• Diverse Course Offerings: Tailor your program with a range of elective options – from negotiation and conflict management to leading teams and technology management – to meet your specific leadership goals.
• Personalized Leadership Development: Become an authentic and effective leader through course options that focus on real-world challenges, today’s dynamic business environments and global perspectives.
• Hands-on Leadership Challenge: Assess your leadership abilities and tackle a personalized leadership project for professional growth through an optional leadership challenge course.

Curriculum

To earn the NC State Business Leadership Certificate, students need to complete 12 credit hours* as outlined in the Plan Requirements below.

*One credit hour represents approximately one hour of direct faculty instruction (delivered in person or online) and at least two hours of additional student work per week.

Required Courses

Plan requirements vary depending on your Poole College program affiliation:

Jenkins Online MBA (Residency, online, and hybrid)

• MIE 531 Leading People 1 – Residency (2 cr) Fall and Spring
• MIE 532 Leading People 2 – Residency (2 cr) Spring and Summer
• MIE 519 Think and Do: The Leadership Challenge (1 cr) Fall and Spring

Jenkins Full-time MBA (online and hybrid)

MIE 530 Leading People – in person (3 cr) Spring

Non-MBA* (online only)

MIE 530 Leading People – Online (3 cr) Fall

*includes all non-degree-seeking students and other NC State Graduate Students

Elective Courses

Students will need to complete the following number of elective credit hours according to their Poole program affiliation:

• Jenkins Online MBA (7 elective credits)
• Jenkins Full-time MBA (9 elective credits)
• Non-MBA (9 elective credits)

One-credit courses

• MIE 516 Influencing Others (online and hybrid)
• MIE 517 Toxic and Destructive Leadership (online)
• MIE 519 Think and Do: The Leadership Challenge (online) *this elective is only for Non-MBA and Full-Time MBA students
• MIE 581 Driving Strategic Change (online)

Three-credit courses

• MIE 533 Negotiation and Conflict Management (online and hybrid)
• MIE 534 Core Concepts of Human Capital Management (online)
• MIE 535 Leading Teams in Dynamic Environments (online)
• MIE 536 Technology Leadership (online)

Global Offerings

• MIE 590 Managing Megatrends (study abroad)
• MIE 591 Global Leadership (study abroad)

Student Resources

Students earning graduate certificates have access to many of the same resources as students in our degree programs, including:

• Wolfpack One Card: The Wolfpack One Card (student ID) provides access to student resources, including the university library. For more information, visit Wolfpack One Card Services. 
• Campus Resources: Certificate-only students have access to resources such as the Writing Center, wellness programs and entrepreneurship support.

Meet the Program Director

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