With leadership skills gaining prominence in the modern managers skill portfolio (alongside the tried and tested skills of organization, planning & feedback), it comes as no surprise that leadership degrees are becoming more popular than ever.

Leadership Degrees typically come in 3 different varieties:

Variety 1: ‘Pure’ Leadership Degree.

These are the rarest and most specialised forms of leadership degrees. These are created, taught and delivered by leadership specialists, with the number one learning priority being to instill leadership knowledge into students over a 3 year bachelors degree.

“Leadership is a new business major that a decade ago was not taught at graduate schools,” says Vicky Phillips, GetEducated.com’s Chief Online Education Analyst.

“Today, companies seek managers who are trained not just in business but in the complex art of human leadership“

Leadership degrees are fantastic from a personal development point of view, because the sheer amount of leadership knowledge imparted, one would hope, will ‘rub off’ onto the students. If the degree involves practical activities which reinforce these teachings, or examine the students application of them – this adds a considerable premium onto the value of the degree, and what you will draw from it.

When looking for leadership degrees, consider the balance between academic learning and physical application. Building up a substantial portion in real-world application is difficult for any degree type, so even a 10% portion is of merit.

Where Can I Research ‘Pure’ Leadership Degrees?

If you’re looking to study in the UK, try the UCAS Course Search Function.

Variety 2: Online Leadership Degree

We’ve research deeply into the world of online leadership degrees, and have revealed our results (including a great guide to spotting scam websites) on our online leadership degree page.

Variety 3: Modular Leadership Degree

This is the most common form of leadership degree. Business studies, economics and accounting & finance students will frequently be given the option to elect to be taught a leadership/entrepreneurship module within their bachelors degree. The number of credits awarded will depend upon the university in question, but these can vary from 1/16th of a degree, to 1/3rd, whereby ‘leadership’ effectively becomes a minor.

Where Can I Research ‘Modular’ Leadership Degrees?

You have an excellent choice of business-related degrees if you choose to go down this route. Therefore I’d recommend you check out the Financial Times’s European Business School Rankings to help you find a top quality business degree. Note that not all of these degrees will allow you to select leadership modules, so do remember to look into the detail!