One of the primary goals of College Nine is to help students actively engage in the college community and build leadership skills that reflect our theme of “International & Global Perspectives.” To formally recognize your leadership contributions and experiences, qualifying graduates will receive an International & Global Perspectives Leadership Certificate and a special stole to highlight their achievements.

To formally recognize your leadership contributions and experiences, the is presented at commencement for qualifying graduates and recipients will receive a special stole to highlight their achievements. This is a tangible honor that can be highlighted in your resume and graduate school applications and is available to all College Nine affiliates, regardless of whether you entered College Nine as a first-year or as a transfer student. Graduates who are not affiliated with our colleges can also be eligible if they held leadership positions at College Nine and John R. Lewis College.

The International & Global Perspectives Leadership Certificate is awarded to students who participated in leadership related to College Nine’s theme during roughly half of their time at UCSC (approximately one year’s worth for transfers and two years' for non-transfers). This leadership can be either over a span of multiple years, or one very leadership-packed year, as long as all experiences can add up to the minimum requirements.

Please make a copy and fill out the College Nine Leadership Nomination Form to nominate yourself for the Leadership Certificate. Once it’s complete, send the PDF to coco@ucsc.edu.

The Leadership Nomination Form must be received by the Friday of Week 5 in the Spring Quarter of the academic year you intend to graduate to be eligible for the full honor. This means, if you are graduating in 2023-2024: complete the form by Friday, May 3rd, 2024.

We encourage you to fill out this form even if you are unsure if you qualify and we will follow up with you. Even if you do not qualify for the Leadership Certificate, you may still qualify for a College Nine Service Award recognizing significant student leadership on our campus and at our college. If you have any questions please contact coco@ucsc.edu.

To learn more about other College Honors and to apply for the College Nine Pathway to Academic Distinction please visit the College Nine website.