University of Richmond - Jepson School of Leadership Studies

What University of Richmond - Jepson School of Leadership Studies does

The Jepson School of Leadership Studies is a nonprofit academic school within the University of Richmond, founded in 1992 as the nation's first undergraduate school of leadership studies. It offers a leadership studies major and minor built on an interdisciplinary curriculum spanning history, philosophy, political science, social psychology, and sociology, delivered by 17 tenured and tenure-track faculty representing 10 disciplines. The school serves 272 declared leadership studies majors and minors and operates signature programs including the Jepson Leadership Forum (public lecture series), the Gary L. McDowell Institute (free inquiry and civil discourse), Jepson at Cambridge (international summer program), and the Science Leadership Scholars Program. Career and experiential offerings include the Jepson EDGE Institute for professional development, the Jepson Scholars Program (full Oxford master's scholarships), and the Robert L. Burrus Jr. Fellowships supporting credit-bearing internships at nonprofit and public-interest sites.

The school's business model is a hybrid of tuition revenue (collected by the University of Richmond and allocated internally) and philanthropic fundraising through initiatives such as UR Here Giving Day and endowed scholarships. Student acquisition is event-driven, flowing through the University of Richmond's standard admissions process and reinforced by public programming, alumni networks, and direct partnerships with the University of Oxford (Jepson Scholars Program) and the University of Cambridge (Jepson at Cambridge at Emmanuel College). The school is governed by Dean Sandra J. Peart and supported by an Executive Board of Advisors with 25+ named alumni members. Geographic reach is concentrated in the United States with select international exposure via the United Kingdom partnerships.

Jepson's core technology is its interdisciplinary curriculum, not a software platform. The school has no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, no commercial product, and no proprietary technology stack beyond standard university systems (Workday ERP, Canvas LMS). Distribution is exclusively through the University of Richmond admissions funnel and direct international program enrollment. Customer segments are undergraduate students (primary) and alumni (secondary engagement segment), with the school's reputational position as a first-mover and its dense alumni/fellowship ecosystem serving as the principal competitive differentiators.

Name

University of Richmond - Jepson School of Leadership Studies

Legal name

Jepson School of Leadership Studies - University of Richmond

Website

https://jepson.richmond.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Jepson School of Leadership Studies is a nonprofit academic school within the University of Richmond, founded in 1992 as the nation's first undergraduate school of leadership studies, serving 272 declared majors and minors through an interdisciplinary curriculum and signature international partnerships with Oxford and Cambridge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education - Leadership Studies

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAFAD

Educational Leadership & Administration Programs

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Teacher Training Colleges (Education Schools)

SECONDARYEDAHAHAK

Public Policy, Public Administration & Nonprofit Management Schools (within Business Schools)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Business Schools & Management Institutes

SECONDARYEDAHAHAN

Executive Education & Corporate Programs (Non-degree)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Business Schools & Management Institutes

Keywords

• Leadership studies education
• Undergraduate academic programs
• Interdisciplinary leadership curriculum
• Liberal arts higher education
• Professional development workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

University of Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue generated through undergraduate tuition and fees for the leadership studies major and minor programs at the University of Richmond.
2. Philanthropic Donations: The school raises funds through UR Here Giving Day and alumni donations, including endowed scholarships like the Evan and Beth Baum Scholarship.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Jepson School of Leadership Studies is the nation's first undergraduate school of leadership studies, offering an interdisciplinary curriculum that investigates leadership as a position, process, and relationship among people. It delivers undergraduate major and minor programs in leadership studies, supplemented by signature programs such as the Jepson Leadership Forum, Gary L. McDowell Institute, Jepson at Cambridge summer program, Science Leadership Scholars Program, Jepson EDGE Institute professional development, and the Jepson Scholars Program (Oxford master's scholarships).

Product overview

The Jepson School of Leadership Studies is the nation's first undergraduate school of leadership studies, operating as a single unified academic program within the University of Richmond. The school offers a leadership studies major and minor, supplemented by signature programs including the Jepson Leadership Forum (public lecture series), the Gary L. McDowell Institute (for free inquiry and civil discourse), Jepson at Cambridge (international study), and the Science Leadership Scholars Program. Career-focused offerings include the Jepson EDGE Institute (professional development), Jepson Scholars Program (Oxford scholarships), Robert L. Burrus Jr. Fellowships (internship funding), and The Jepson Corps (alumni community). The McDowell Student Fellows Program provides co-curricular philosophical discussions. Together, these programs constitute an integrated approach to leadership education combining academic rigor with experiential learning and global engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Leadership Studies Major and Minor
• Jepson Leadership Forum
• Gary L. McDowell Institute
• Jepson at Cambridge
• Science Leadership Scholars Program
• Jepson Scholars Program
• Jepson EDGE Institute
• Robert L. Burrus Jr. Fellowships
• McDowell Student Fellows Program
• The Jepson Corps

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through the Jepson Scholars Program offering all-expenses-paid scholarships to master's programs at Oxford for outstanding graduating seniors. Five Class of 2026 Jepson Scholars received full scholarships to attend Oxford master's programs including digital health, higher education, comparative social policy, and higher education tracks.
• WorkdayminorOthersWorkday software system vendor relationship. The University of Richmond officially adopted and launched Workday in January 2025. Alumnus Evan Baum, '03 works as director of strategic customer engagement at Workday.
• The Legal Aid SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternship placement partner where Jepson students complete credit-bearing internships in legal services, including investigative work for criminal defense cases in Queens.
• Legal Aid Justice CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit internship partner in Richmond, Virginia where Jepson students intern on public interest law issues including geriatric parole, jury fees research, and record-sealing requests.
• University of Cambridge (Emmanuel College)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJepson at Cambridge program partnership offering a summer program at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge where students study law and leadership in an international context for five weeks.
• TNTPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation nonprofit where Jepson Burrus Fellows complete internships researching education systems and writing policy briefs.
• Virginia Poverty Law CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner where Jepson students intern on state policy advocacy and individual client issues including predatory lending, housing affordability, and welfare access.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Furman University: Private liberal arts university with a leadership studies minor and signature ethics-and-civic-engagement programs, serving a comparable market segment and competing in similar admissions pools.
• Hendrix College: Private liberal arts college with a leadership-focused curriculum integrating interdisciplinary coursework and experiential learning, structurally analogous to Jepson's undergraduate-only niche.
• Loyola Marymount University: Mid-sized private university with interdisciplinary leadership programs combining ethics, philosophy, and social sciences; competes in the same undergraduate leadership-curriculum category as Jepson.
• Gonzaga University: Comparable private, faith-affiliated university offering an interdisciplinary leadership studies program combining ethics and social-justice focus, mirroring Jepson's small-school signature-program model within a larger university.
• James Madison University: Closest direct peer; James Madison University operates one of the few other dedicated undergraduate leadership studies programs in the U.S., sharing the niche interdisciplinary leadership curriculum positioning that Jepson pioneered.
• Centre College: Highly ranked private liberal arts college with strong leadership and ethics programming embedded in its core curriculum, competing for the same academically minded undergraduate leadership-focused students.

Broad incumbents

• Stanford Graduate School of Business: Incumbent leader in graduate leadership and management education; relevant benchmark for Jepson's aspiration to develop future business and public-sector leaders through interdisciplinary training.
• Harvard Kennedy School: The defining graduate-level incumbent in leadership studies; relevant not as a direct competitor but as the ultimate destination credential whose reputation frames demand for undergraduate leadership pathways like Jepson's.
• McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University: Top-tier business school where leadership studies is housed within a broader business and policy portfolio, illustrating the alternate model (leadership embedded in business) against which Jepson's stand-alone school must compete.

Emerging players

• Center for Creative Leadership: Independent leadership development institution that complements formal undergraduate offerings with applied executive training; relevant as a model for how Jepson's EDGE Institute could evolve or partner externally.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/JepsonSchool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jepson-school-of-leadership-studies
• Instagraminstagram.com/jepsonschool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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