Center for Leadership Education
The Center for Leadership Education (CLE) is home to a variety of minors and programs that offer students an opportunity to gain real-world experience in innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
More detailed requirements for students enrolling at JHU for Fall 2025 will be available on this page when the JHU e-Catalogue is published in early July.
Overview
The primary goal of the Center for Leadership Education (CLE) is to provide Hopkins students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become leaders in public and private for-profit and non-profit enterprises. This is accomplished by focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship from a multidisciplinary viewpoint and offering students a diversified learning experience that emphasizes the concepts, practices, and skills necessary for effective leadership. In addition, the CLE administers several minors: Accounting and Financial Management; Entrepreneurship and Management; Leadership Studies; and Marketing and Communications (many students choose to double minor). Furthermore, the CLE boasts a talented and dedicated faculty with many years of private enterprise experience in their respective fields. These faculty also advise a variety of experiential learning programs supported by the CLE.
The CLE is focused on meeting student needs, whether a student wants to enter the corporate world; start a new venture; work in consulting or financial services; or pursue a professional graduate degree. Engineering students often find that a background in innovation, entrepreneurship, and communications is crucial for professional advancement. Employers are particularly interested in engineering students who have taken a variety of courses in innovation and entrepreneurship and demonstrate the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams. All undergraduate courses and minors offered by the CLE are open to students in the Kreiger School of Arts and Sciences, the Whiting School of Engineering, the School of Public Health, and the Peabody Institute.
At the graduate level, the CLE directs the Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM) and the Master of Science in Global Innovation and Leadership through Engineering (MSIL) programs, which bridge the gap between technology and enterprise by equipping students with the technical expertise and leadership skills they need to advance their career in the fast-paced world of technology. Typically, selected Hopkins undergraduates can complete a concurrent BS and MSEM degree in five years and receive a 50 percent tuition fellowship for their MSEM degree.
In addition to academics, the CLE offers many experientially based programs to help students gain valuable real-world experience. Student groups and events include the Marshal Salant Student Investment Team, HopStone Capital, Nest Strategies, the annual HopStart: Hopkins New Venture Challenge, CLE Connect, and professional internships for academic credit.
Programs
Minor in Accounting and Financial Management
The Accounting and Financial Management (A&FM) minor offers Hopkins students a focused, quantitative minor that will prepare them for careers in small companies, major corporations and consultancies, as well as acceptance into professional graduate programs. This minor enables students in all disciplines to complement their major fields of study with the academic training necessary for them to compete within the expanding marketplace. Requirements for the minor can be found on the Accounting and Financial Management minor page of the e-catalogue.
Minor in Entrepreneurship and Management
The Entrepreneurship and Management (E&M) minor provides Johns Hopkins Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Peabody students with the fundamentals of marketing, finance, accounting, management, law, and leadership. The minor’s three core courses provide a strong foundation in the fundamentals of entrepreneurial enterprises, and the minor’s upper-level electives provide students with the skills necessary to advance in public and private sectors. The courses in the E&M minor are engaging and challenging with a focus on enterprise-related issues with practical applications. Requirements for the minor can be found on the Entrepreneurship and Management minor page of the e-catalogue.
Minor in Leadership Studies
The Leadership Studies minor helps students position themselves as leaders among their peers in entrepreneurial ventures in private industry, government, and academia. Through a multidisciplinary approach, students will learn about transformational leadership, contributing to community growth and coalition development, building relationships with a range of stakeholders, managing brands and messaging, and establishing and managing social enterprises. Requirements for the minor can be found on the Leadership Studies minor page of the e-catalogue.
Minor in Marketing and Communications
The Marketing and Communications (M&C) minor offers students a broad array of courses designed to equip them to lead in the fields of marketing and communications and complements major courses of study in departments across campus. Students will begin with the minor’s four core courses, which will provide them with a foundation in the fundamentals of entrepreneurial enterprises. Students will then select four upper-level electives from a variety of courses preparing them for careers in product or marketing management at a large-scale enterprise or in the creative side of the marketing field, including areas such as advertising, public relations, and social media. Requirements for the minor can be found on the Marketing and Communication minor page of the e-catalogue.
Activities
The CLE supports a number of enterprise-focused student associations and professional societies including the Women in Business, the JHU Chapter of the American Marketing Association, the Marshal Salant Student Investment Team, consulting groups for non-profit and for-profit organizations, and organizations that foster student entrepreneurship. For more information about these organizations, please visit the Center for Leadership Education student organizations page.
Getting Started
As a starting point, there are several courses available to first-year students who wish to build a foundation for entrepreneurship and communications:
- 660.105 Foundations of American Enterprise
- 660.203 Financial Accounting
- 660.250 Identifying and Capturing Markets
- 661.110 Professional Writing and Communications
- 661.250 Oral Presentations
Courses are open to all students regardless of whether they choose to declare a minor or not.