The Doctoral Student Leadership Institute: Learning to Lead for the Future

The purpose of this article is to describe the Doctoral Student Leadership Institute, an initiative developed to hone the leadership skills of doctoral students from a wide range of disciplines. The components of the Institute and preliminary assessment measures with findings are discussed. We particularly were pleased with the outcomes of the Fellows through examination of their leadership assessments (especially the portfolios), the evaluation of the leadership course, and their success with the community service project. We hope this article will inspire other institutions to be forward-thinking in how they can best meet the leadership needs of their current and future graduate students.