ECG Apprenticeship in Virtue-Rooted Leadership
Do you want to be a good leader?
We believe the best leaders are formed through experiences that connect theory and practice. At a foundational level, we believe good leadership is rooted in virtue — that by cultivating intentional habits, we can actually become good leaders capable of leading others in pursuit of the common good. The best leaders know how to steward their influence well, and to do so toward good ends.
That’s more than just a theory to us; we think good leadership is a way of life. It shapes our motivations and disposition toward others, it challenges our aspirations, and it informs the way we understand our own calling and purpose. The Apprenticeship will help you examine these critical questions — not just theoretically, but in practice.
This program will help you grasp the fundamentals of good leadership and live them well right now. It’s designed to help you gain vision and develop the tools you will need to be a good leader in any arena throughout your life. The world needs people committed to becoming that kind of leader. We are excited to be in this work together.
Rising sophomores and rising seniors are eligible to apply for the ECG Apprenticeship.
Apprentices:
- Participate in weekly sessions focused on developing a leadership ethos (our ethos is the way our emotions, habits, and decisions move us through the world). Over the course of the year, apprentices also explore the intersection of leadership and their particular sense of calling and purpose. Sessions are on Friday afternoons; full participation is a condition of acceptance.
- Lead a Common Good Life Circle, a first-year mentoring program. Apprentices identify and invite a small group of first year students to participate in a bimonthly group focused on compelling questions about virtue, and virtue ethics, in everyday life.
- Attend two retreats focused on community building, reflection/contemplation, and topics related to the personal life of a “common good leader.”
- Second year program: Students who complete the Apprenticeship are eligible to apply for second year Apprenticeship leadership opportunities. (Examples include leadership within the first year Apprenticeship program, TA responsibilities for ND courses on virtue and leadership, leading the Good Stewards.)
Rising juniors (even if abroad for a semester) are eligible to apply for the Good Stewards program.
Good Stewards
Good Stewards takes the essential ideas of the Apprenticeship to the rest of campus. It is a yearlong, student-driven, hands-on leadership experience focused on designing events, fostering collaboration and building community at Notre Dame in ways that cultivate our commitments to the common good. If you are interested in helping us engage the campus community with critical conversations around the big ethical questions of our era, this is an opportunity to consider.
The application period for 2026-27 ECG Apprenticeships is now closed. Please check back at a later date for information regarding the next application period.
