North Columbus News

The Ohio State University is introducing a new interdisciplinary leadership major in the College of Arts and Sciences, available to students starting in spring 2025. The initiative, spearheaded by Scott Levi, chair of the Department of History at Ohio State, aims to provide students with skills applicable across various fields.

“History majors in disproportionate numbers end up finding their ways to leadership roles,” said Levi. He explained that history and liberal arts disciplines teach students critical thinking skills essential for success in diverse careers such as law, politics, and business.

Levi's vision for a leadership program has grown into a comprehensive major encompassing 12 credit hours of core requirements. Students can specialize in areas like politics and law, business and markets, social justice and civil rights, among others. This structure reflects the strengths of Ohio State's College of Arts and Sciences.

“What you have here,” Levi stated, “is the full representation of the strength of the College of Arts and Sciences.”

The program also includes practical experiences through internships or ROTC deployments. “It’s an opportunity for students to get credit for co-curricular activities,” Levi said.

A senior capstone project will allow students from different specializations to collaborate on independent research projects. “They’ll be in small seminar groups,” Levi noted.

Ohio State's motto – disciplina in civitatem – resonates with this new major’s mission. “‘Education for citizenship,’ this is what we do,” Levi affirmed.

Levi hopes other universities will follow Ohio State’s lead: “I want them to copy us.” The university already offers several leadership programs across its colleges.