Aspiring leaders apply to join the Spring 2026 Coury Leadership cohort in Fall 2025. If you are a first-year student (freshman or a transfer student) and want to develop your confidence, character, and courage, this program is for you. Application will be available in Fall 2025!
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"The Coury Program has changed the trajectory of both my time at USC and future career for the better! Truly reflecting on my values and strengths has allowed me to reorient my commitments to better align with those."
-Connor Duncan
"Participating in the Robert J. Coury Applied Leadership Program was one of the best decisions I made freshman year. This program enabled me to leverage my strengths and feel more confident in presentations, interviews and meeting new people.”
-Talitha Newsom Callan
Program:
First-year students (freshman and transfers) participate in highly interactive seminars and skill-building cohort meetings throughout the spring semester in an effort to identify and develop their strengths and values as leaders. The program culminates in a leadership capstone experience led by students from the Marshall Masters of Business for Veterans program. Program sessions are facilitated by experienced Marshall faculty, staff, and Student Mentors. Upon successful completion of the program, participants will receive a digital badge.
Leadership Team:
Rebecca ' Becky' Heino, Ph.D.
Academic Director, Robert J. Coury Applied Leadership Program
Cyrus the Great Teaching Chair in Timeless Leadership
Professor of Clinical Management and Organization
Ani Hakobyan, M.Ed.
Administrative Director, Robert J. Coury Applied Leadership Program
Student Mentors:
Upon completion of the program, all participants are eligible to apply and become a paid Student Mentor. Student mentors are sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are trained to help program participants realize their strengths as a leader and manage crucial conversations in both the business world as well as personal life.
Contact Us:
Frequently Asked Questions:
The Robert J. Coury Applied Leadership Program was founded with the mission of educating, inspiring, and mentoring a new generation of student leaders. In a competitive world, we often find ourselves trying to mimic the actions and leadership of other people to reach the top as soon as possible. The reality is that no two people have the same skills and experience. The Coury Program is designed to combat this idea and create an individualized and strengths-based approach to leadership that will help you to better understand yourself as an individual and a leader. In building your confidence, character and courage, the skills you learn will be beneficial to you in the present on campus as well as in your professional endeavors as future leaders who will make a difference.
First-year, full-time Marshall and Leventhal majors (spring admits and transfers welcome)
No, there is no GPA requirement to apply.
The program is free for all participants.
Upon the completion of the Coury Program, students will receive a digital badge. The program does not count as course credit.
The Robert J. Coury Applied Leadership Program takes place in the spring, from the beginning of February through the end of April.
This program is intentionally designed to introduce you to theories of leadership and positive psychology. Led by the Academic Director and Student Mentors, you will participate in various seminars, workshops, meetings, and mentoring sessions and learn to hone your leadership skills and apply them to your daily life.
Clifton Strengths is an online personality assessment developed by American psychologist Don Clifton. The assessment focuses on 34 themes and 4 domains that provide the test-taker a tailored, individualized look at their strengths, which can be used for growth and self- development in their academic, personal, and professional lives.
The VIA Survey is a personality test that measures an individual’s character strengths. The survey consists of 24 character strengths, which participants will discover and eventually apply to work toward their goals and plans.
According to the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, positive psychology is the scientific study of strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive, and was founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. Positive psychology as an area of study was promoted by American psychologist Martin Seligman during his term as president of the American Psychological Association.
We will provide a carefully-crafted and designed curriculum that gives you the opportunity to apply what you are learning in your academic, personal, and professional lives. Through this program, you will learn your strengths, how to have crucial conversations, activate your active listening skills, and wrap up the program in a highly-engaging capstone experience facilitated by Master of Business Veterans students.
All participants are required to attend all events in their entirety. For accommodations related to religion, illness, and / or unforeseen events, participants should notify the Administrative Director as soon as possible at CouryLeadershipProgram@marshall.usc.edu
The Robert J Coury Applied Leadership Program meets 5-7 times in the spring semester. The two main sessions and the capstone session run from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. on Fridays with breaks and food. The two cohort meetings with your student mentors are catered to your availability during the week, and run for 90 minutes.
Before the two main sessions, we ask that you complete a self-assessment. The first assessment is the Clifton StrengthsFinder survey, where you will discover your Top Five talent strengths and complete a short reading assignment to better understand your strengths. The second assessment is the VIA Character Survey where you will explore your values and read the descriptions included in your evaluation. Each of these tasks should take no longer than an hour of preparation. Since the program is very much hands-on, we expect you to apply what you learn to the activities you engage with around campus. For example, you should be leveraging your strengths in your next project team meeting or student organization event to develop your confidence in leading and influencing others. Overall, the program will require a time commitment of about 25-30 hours throughout the spring semester.
Student mentors are sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have already completed the program previously and have received intensive training on coaching, mentorship, and leadership. Student mentors are paid student workers who lead sessions at seminars, mentor student participants 1:1, and support the Academic and Administrative Directors with programming.
To be eligible to become a student mentor,students must have participated in the program previously.
While learning about your strengths and developing leadership skills will help your resume and cover letter stand out, we do not review resumes and / or cover letters. For assistance, please contact the Marshall Undergraduate Career Services at ugcareers@marshall.usc.edu
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at CouryLeadershipProgram@marshall.usc.edu . You can also stay in touch by following us on Instagram and LinkedIn!
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