Our Mission:“Empower women+ students to become the future leaders of our local and global communities.” WILL: Women in Learning and Leadership is an academic leadership program that provides participants with curricular and co-curricular experiences designed to develop a student’s leadership over the course of their undergraduate collegiate experience at Brookdale. The program is modeled after goals and objectives outlined by the National Network of Collegiate Women’s Leadership Programs (NNCWLP). Students participating in WILL: Women in Learning and Leadership experience a transformative educational curriculum through inquiry, experiential and project-oriented pedagogy, and course work. Although WILL is focused on empowering women, we encourage students who identify as non-binary, genderqueer, or others who feel inspired by our mission and goals and seek to be a part of this community. In order to ensure we meet our mission to empower our students as future leaders and build a sense of genuine community, WILL cohorts are limited to 16 – 20 students per year. Consequently, students must apply for consideration and entrance into the program. Future and current Brookdale Students can apply to WILL regardless of their desired degree program; in other words, whatever your degree—for example, whether you’re a Business or Biology major or you’re currently undecided—you can apply to WILL. Once accepted into the program, WILL cohort members will have the opportunity to take classes with other WILL students, and participate in the WILL student organization, WILL workshops and events, as well as internships and service-learning. Students who complete the program in full receive a certificate of recognition (and have lots of experience and accolades to include on their resumes and transfer applications).
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Requirements for WILL
Requirements In Brief:
To successfully complete the program, students must meet the following objectives:
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- 6 – 9 credits in WILL assigned or approved coursework (including an optional summer internship)
- membership and participation in the WILL student organization
- 30 hours of service-learning
- Participation in approved and/or WILL co-curricular events
- WILL Colloquium presentation
Requirements in Detail:
Students accepted into the WILL Program are required to complete 6 – 9 credits in Women’s and Gender Studies coursework and 30 hours of service learning in addition to participating in the WILL student organization, attending at least 2 gender and/or leadership related co-curricular programs each semester and presenting at the WILL Colloquium. Currently, there is one WILL-only section of WGS courses offered: the introductory, HUMN 129 course (see below). In addition, students are encouraged to take advantage of WILL-specific internships available.
Required WILL-only W&GS courses (6 credits):
- HUMN 129: Issues in Women’s Studies (3 credits) Fall, Year One of Program
Fall: HUMN 129-002RL is the WILL only section for the introductory course. All new incoming WILL students are required to enroll in this course. Current students who have already taken HUMN 129 in previous semesters are exempted from this requirement and will receive credit for HUMN 129.
3 or more credits in any of the following Women’s & Gender Studies courses:
- HIST 125: Women’s History Survey
- SOCI 225: Sociology of Gender (online; Spring only)
- ENGL 229: Representing Gender (online; Fall only)
Program of Study & Sequence
- August, Year One:
- WILL Orientation (dates TBA)
- Fall, Year One:
- HUMN 129:001RL Issues in Women’s Studies (3 credits)
- Summer:
- WILL 299: Internship (3 credits)
- Fall, Year Two:
- HIST 125: Women’s History Survey (3 credits)
- Spring, Year Two:
- WILL Leadership Project
- WILL Colloquium Presentation