Why BLP?

Benefits

  • Participation in leadership-focused one-credit-hour seminar each semester of your first two years at KU
  • $3,000 scholarship: $2,000 awarded for the first year and $1,000 for the second
  • Invitation to apply to join a short-term international program in the summer following freshmen year.
  • Academic advising and career advising from dedicated staff
  • One-on-one leadership development with the BLP director
  • Immediate network of talented, determined future business leaders

Read about BLP students

Andrew Bridges

Focus on your story and how you can continue to challenge yourself in order to develop and grow as a student, leader and person. Get involved, continue to network with as many people as possible, but also know that are resources and people to help you.

Andrew Bridges
BLP student majoring in finance and pre-pharmacy major on his advice for fellow KU students

Program curriculum

Our curriculum allows students to grow their personal, professional and career leadership skills from the onset of their academic careers though a four-semester, cohort-based series of one-credit-hour seminars. The program culminates in teams of BLP students proposing, creating and implementing projects designed to elevate the school, campus or Lawrence community. Students spend their remaining semesters implementing their projects and fulfilling their leadership goals.

    • Enrollment in BUS 200 – a four-semester seminar course with the director of the BLP exclusively for BLP participants. The first year of the seminar focuses on active career and major exploration, leadership skills growth and creating connections with fellow BLP members and mentors on campus. 
    • Guidance from a peer mentor, a third-year BLP who acts as a guide for the freshman class, providing coaching on everything from weekly writing assignments to navigating your first year of life as a student.
    • Enrollment in common ACCT 200 lab section (required course for business degree)
    • Enrollment in common BUS 150 section (required course for business degree)
    • Collaborative project with SELF Fellows of the School of Engineering
    • Creation of a personal four-year leadership plan
    • Etiquette dinner
    • Participation in campus events
    • Enrollment in BUS 200 for sophomores: The second year of the seminar focuses on creating, pitching and implementing group projects that will improve the experience of others in the school, campus or larger community. Sophomores also work to broaden their understanding of how leadership functions in the broader business world and its interdisciplinary influences. 
    • Mentorship of a freshman BLP
    • Case competition
    • Revision and continued implementation of personal leadership plan
    • Apply to become a member of BLP’s Student Executive Board or to serve as a peer mentor guiding the freshman or sophomore BLP cohort
    • Meet each semester with the BLP director to develop and implement your leadership plan
    • Meet with the assistant dean of academic programs as needed to develop and implement your academic course schedule
    • Meet with the director of Business Career Services as needed to develop and implement your career search plans
    • Receive invitations to participate in events with representatives from top companies recruiting at KU and hear lectures from top scholars
    • Participate in mentoring programs

    Share your skills with the next generation of BLP students through mentoring and guest speaking.

    Requirements for BLP students

    • Successful completion of BUS 200 in the fall and spring semesters of freshman and sophomore years with a grade of “B” or better each semester
    • Maintain a 3.0 or higher KU and KU Professional (business and micro- & macro-economic) GPA
    • Maintenance of good standing within the School of Business