Earn Your Leadership Graduation Cord
You’re already building your leadership skills through Student Leadership Programs—now you can be recognized for it.
The Leadership Recognition Program rewards students who take part in leadership development opportunities throughout their college experience. Attend SLP workshops, guest speaker events, leadership conferences and other approved programs to earn digital badges along the way. Read the first drop-down below for much more info on badging.
Students who earn the Transformational Leader Badge (15+ hours) become eligible to apply for a Leadership Graduation Cord. The application gives you the opportunity to showcase your leadership experiences, reflect on your growth, and demonstrate how you’ve put your leadership skills into action. You’ll answer a few questions and upload a resume. Once we receive your application, we will schedule an in-person conversation to wrap things up.
You can apply any time (after you have earned 15 hours), regardless of when you plan to graduate. If you are graduating in December 2026, though, be sure to complete your application by November 18, 2026. Reach out to leadership-program@uwm.edu with any questions.
Your leadership journey deserves to be recognized. Start earning your badges and work toward the Leadership Graduation Cord!
Attend Student Leadership Program workshops and we will automatically track your attendance and award you badges. You can find the badges in PantherOrgs and can transfer the badges to LinkedIn!
Hours-based Badges:
Emerging Leader: 5 hours
Evolving Leader: 10 hours
Transformational Leader: 15 hours
Program-specific Badges:
Tea-spiller: Attend 4 out of 5 Tuesday Tea sessions
Pages with Purpose: Attend all 3 Pages with Purpose sessions
Leave Your Mark: Attend all 3 sessions of Leave Your Mark
Lunch & Learn: Attend all 3 sessions of Lunch & Learn
Lead the Change: Attend all 3 sessions of Lead the Change
No. You do not need to earn the badges sequentially. To be eligible to apply for a Leadership Graduation Cord, you simply need to complete at least 15 hours of qualifying leadership development programming. At least 10 of those hours need to be in our Certificate Programs (Lead the Change, Leadership Skills Lab, Leave Your Mark, Ignite, Off-Campus Leadership Conference, Strengths) and the other up to 5 can be in our Drop-in Programs.
Yes. If you earned hour-based badges during the Spring 2026 Badging Pilot, those hours count toward your total. You need at least 15 qualifying hours to apply for a Leadership Graduation Cord, but those hours do not all need to be earned during Fall 2026. Reach out to leadership-program@uwm.edu if you would like to know how many hours you earned in Spring 2026.
Which Spring 2026 programs count toward my hours?
Programs that counted toward hour-based badges during the Spring 2026 Badging Pilot included: Ignite, How I Lead, UW-Madison All-Campus Leadership Conference, Pages with Purpose, Meals with Meaning, Tuesday Tea, Strengths for Students, Leadership Level-Up, Lead the Change, WOMAN, Lunch & Learn.
No. Earning 15 or more hours makes you eligible to apply for a Leadership Graduation Cord. The cord is not automatically awarded based on participation alone.
The digital badges recognize your engagement in leadership development. The graduation cord recognizes students who can demonstrate leadership growth and application of what they have learned through their leadership experiences.
For the hours-based badging, only eligible Student Leadership Programs (SLP) count. At least 10 of the 15 hours need to be in more in-depth programs, our Certificate Programs. The other up to 5 can be in any SLP program.
For the reflection questions in the application, you may reflect on a broader list of leadership experiences in different settings, including: student organizations, employment, volunteer service, academic projects, athletics, community involvement, awards, other leadership settings
You do not need to hold a formal leadership title to demonstrate leadership. However, simply participating in an organization, job, class, or athletic team does not necessarily constitute a leadership experience. We are interested in how you took initiative, contributed to others, applied your skills, and made an impact.
Eligible students will complete an application that includes a resume highlighting their leadership experiences and reflection on their leadership growth. You will also answer two reflection questions about your leadership journey and your leadership philosophy. Finally, you will have an in-person conversation with a professional staff member from the Student Leadership Program.
The Leadership Graduation Cord application will open in October 2026 for eligible December 2026 graduates. Students will need to have completed the required 15 hours of qualifying leadership development programming to be eligible to apply. If you are graduating in December 2026, please apply by November 18, 2026.
Absolutely! This is the kind of thing employers are looking for in entry-level applicants.