The Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership (BOL) is only available to students on USC’s regional campuses or online through Palmetto College. It is designed for students who seek a baccalaureate degree with an applied focus on leadership and who want a solid professional foundation to enter the workforce. The degree allows students to gain the knowledge and skills to prepare them for leadership roles in a variety of community settings, including non-profit organizations, businesses, local government, and public agencies. Students may choose to pursue an area of focus in Entrepreneurship with programs by completing certain courses within the major, as outlined in the Major Requirements. 

Learning Outcomes

1. Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of skills that make successful leaders in various organizational settings. 
2. Students in ENGL 463 will demonstrate the ability to write effective prose and/or develop and give a presentation in a professional setting.
3. Students in PALM 493 will demonstrate the ability to be educated and participatory citizens of South Carolina and explain how their academic training has prepared them to be active state citizens.
4. Students in PALM 494 and PALM 495 will demonstrate the ability to apply classroom learning to real-world experience in the public or private sector.

Admission and Graduation Standards

Students may apply to the Organizational Leadership Program after completion of at least 30 semester hours of accredited, college-level work. A minimum grade point of 2.25 is required for admission (2.00 for USC system transfers). As part of the application process, a specific Program of Study is developed by the student and the student’s advisor and approved by the Program Committee. Any changes to the Program of Study must be approved by the advisor and Program Committee. All students must earn at least 30 USC hours after admission to this program. A cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 on all work attempted at USC and a minimum of 120 semester hours of accredited, college-level work must be presented to earn this degree.

Degree Requirements (120 hours)

The Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership (BOL) is designed for students who want to study organizational leadership without a major in a single discipline.

Program of Study

Program Summary

Requirements	Credit Hours
1. Carolina Core	32-44
2. College Requirements	9-12
3. Program Requirements	31-46
4. Major Requirements	33

Founding Documents Requirement

All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade in the subject areas of History, Political Science, or African American Studies that covers the founding documents including the United State Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation and one or more documents that are foundational to the African American Freedom struggle, and a minimum of five essays from the Federalist papers.  This course may count as a requirement in any part of the program of study including the Carolina Core, the major, minor or cognate, or as a general elective.  Courses that meet this requirement are listed here.

1. Carolina Core Requirements (32-44 hours)

CMW – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written (6 hours)

must be passed with a grade of C or higher

• ENGL 101
• ENGL 102

ARP – Analytical Reasoning and Problem Solving (6 hours) 

• any CC-ARP courses

SCI – Scientific Literacy (8 hours)

• any two CC-SCI courses, must include two labs​ 

GFL – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language  (0-6 hours)

Demonstration of proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the minimal passing grade on the exit examination in the 122 course is required. Students can demonstrate this proficiency by successfully completing Phase II of the Proficiency Test or by successfully completing the 122 course, including the exit exam administered as part of that course.

• CC-GFL courses

It is strongly recommended that students continuing the study of a foreign language begin college-level study of that language in their first semester and continue in that language until their particular foreign language requirement is completed.

​GHS – ​Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Historical Thinking (3 hours) 

• any CC-GHS course​ 

GSS – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Social Sciences (3 hours) 

• any CC-GSS course​ 

AIU – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding (3 hours)

• any CC-AIU course

CMS – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component¹ (0-3 hours)

• SPCH 140 or any CC-CMS course 

INF – Information Literacy¹ (0-3 hours)

• any overlay or stand-alone CC-INF course

VSR – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility¹ (0-3 hours)

any overlay or stand-alone CC-VSR course

¹

Carolina Core Stand Alone or Overlay Eligible Requirements — Overlay-approved courses offer students the option of meeting two Carolina Core components in a single course. A maximum of two overlays is allowed. The total Carolina Core credit hours must add up to a minimum of 31 hours. Some programs may have a higher number of minimum Carolina Core hours due to specified requirements.

2. College Requirements (9-12 hours)

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
PHIL 102	Introduction to Philosophy	3
Foreign Language course (only if needed to meet 122-level proficiency)		0-3
Arts and Sciences Electives (Must include two disciplines) 1		6
Total Credit Hours		9-12

¹

Please select the Arts and Sciences Electives from the approved course list. 

3. Program Requirements (31-46 hours)

Supporting Courses (27-30 hours)

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Select one of the following:		3-6
ECON 224	Introduction to Economics
ECON 221 & 222	Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics
ENGL 463	Business Writing	3
ITEC 264	Computer Applications in Business I	3
MGMT 371	Principles of Management	3
PALM 493	South Carolina Studies 1	3
PALM 494	Internship 1,2	3
or PALM 495	Service-Learning
PCAM 205	Foundations of Leadership 1	3
PSYC 350	Industrial Psychology	3
Select one of the following:		3
PSYC 220	Psychological Statistics 3
SOCY 392	Elementary Statistics for Sociologists 3
STAT 201	Elementary Statistics 3
Total Credit Hours		27-30

¹

Must be passed with a grade of C or higher

²

Students wishing an area of focus in Entrepreneurship should take PALM 494. 

³

May not also be used to fulfill the Carolina Core ARP requirement

Electives (1-19 hours)

Sufficient elective hours as needed to meet the 120-credit-hour requirement.

4. Major Requirements (33 hours)

a minimum grade of C is required in all major courses

Major Courses (33 hours)

Select 33 credits from the following lists, with at least 9 credits from each of the three categories, and at least 12 credits at the 400 level.  No more than 15 hours combined from MGMT, ACCT, and ECON may be selected.

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Employer and Employees
HTMT 344	Personnel Organization and Supervision E	3
MGMT 374	Strategic Human Resource Management	3
MGMT 376	Employee Engagement	3
MGMT 373	Entrepreneurship and New Venture Opportunities E	3
PHIL 211	Contemporary Moral Issues	3
PHIL 320	Ethics	3
PSYC 360	Applied Psychology	3
PSYC 420	Survey of Developmental Psychology	3
PSYC 430	Survey of Social Psychology	3
SOCY 304	Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality	3
SOCY 340	Introduction to Social Problems	3
PALM 401	Palmetto Senior Capstone Experience	3
Law, Policy, and Organizations
ACCT 324	Survey of Commercial Law	3
ACCT 403	Tax I E	3
ECON 363	Business Finance	3
ECON 379	Government Policy Toward Business E	3
HIST 405	The Rise of Industrial America, 1877-1917	3
HIST 469	Constitutional History of the United States	3
HIST 470	Constitutional History of the United States	3
JOUR 201	Principles of Public Relations	3
MGMT 406	International Human Resource Management	3
MGMT 473	Developing and Launching New Ventures E	3
POLI 201	American National Government	3
POLI 370	Introduction to Public Administration	3
POLI 365	State Government	3
POLI 463	The American Chief Executive	3
POLI 570	South Carolina Government and Politics	3
SOCY 300	Social Structures	3
Workplace Dynamics
ECON 406	Labor Economics	3
ECON 415	Economics of American Industry	3
MGMT 401	Negotiation and Conflict in the Workplace	3
PHIL 324	Business Ethics	3
POLI 368	Interest Groups and Social Movements	3
POLI 465	Psychology and Politics	3
PSYC 405	Cognitive Psychology	3
PSYC 501	Human Factors Psychology	3
RETL 330	Asset Protection for Retailers E	3
SOCY 311	Ecology of Human Social Systems	3
SOCY 312	Bureaucracy and Modern Society	3
SOCY 354	Collective Behavior	3
SPCH 331	Organizational Communication	3

Note: Students that wish to have an area of focus in entrepreneurship are recommended to complete at least 15 hours of the major from among a specific sub-set of courses identified as related to entrepreneurship. It is recommended that students should also take PALM 494 rather than PALM 495 to gain internship experience. PALM 494 does not count toward the 15 hours of Entrepreneurship courses. This area of focus in entrepreneurship designation does not appear on the student’s academic transcript, nor on the diploma.

E

Major courses that are acceptable for credit toward this area of focus are identified in the academic bulletin by appearing with the designation (E) after the name of the course.

Major Map

A major map is a layout of required courses in a given program of study, including critical courses and suggested course sequences to ensure a clear path to graduation.

Major maps are only a suggested or recommended sequence of courses required in a program of study. Please contact your academic advisor for assistance in the application of specific coursework to a program of study and course selection and planning for upcoming semesters.

Organizational Leadership, B.A.