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Applications Open

Apr. 16, 2026

Applications Close

Sept. 9, 2026 at 5 p.m.

Applying to the Program

Thank you for your interest in the JCPenney Leadership Program! This program is designed for high achieving students that demonstrate or show potential for leadership. This program is devoted to cultivating students' leadership qualities and therefore requires a commitment of 5-10 hours from each associate every month with a larger commitment during the Candidate Associate process. Please be sure you can commit your time to this program before applying.

Elegibility Requirements

  • Applicants MUST attend a Prospective Associate Information Session. These sessions will be offered both at the end of the Spring semester and beginning of the Fall semester. RSVP for an info session by clicking here: https://ou.campuslabs.com/engage/submitter/form/start/670707
  • Applicants must have attended college two full semesters or have earned at least 30 hours of credit with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher.  (You must have sophomore standing within Price College at OU)
  • Applicants must be enrolled full-time (12 hours) and maintain status as a Price College undergraduate major.
  • Applicants must have no less than four full semesters remaining before earning an undergraduate degree. (Students graduating prior to May 2028 are not eligible to apply)

Essay Responses

There are two essay questions on the application. Please draft your answers prior to beginning the application as you must fully complete the application when you begin filling it out.  Responses are to be between 300-500 words in length, about 600-1000 characters. The questions are:

Essay Question #1- What is the most crucial issue facing the business world today and why?

Essay Question #2- What non-fiction book have you RECENTLY read that has taught you an important leadership lesson? What is the lesson that you learned from this book and why is this lesson important to you?

Letters of Recommendation

Students must submit two letters of recommendation. Ask your two references to submit their letters through our online recommendation form found at the following link: https://ou.campuslabs.com/engage/submitter/form/start/425249

  • Your letters of recommendation must be received by the application deadline of 5pm on Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
  • Your recommendation letters should attest to your good character as well as to your leadership ability and/or other qualities that indicate acceptability for admission to the program. Letters should be from individuals who have personal knowledge of your character and ability and should attest to the extent that you are a high-potential, high-performance business student and leader in the tradition of the Leadership Program.
  • Freshmen with Sophomore standing (30 credit hours): one letter must be from a high school teacher or, preferably, from a professor with whom you earned concurrent credit
  • Sophomores: one letter must be from OU faculty who has worked with you in an academic setting (any)
  • Juniors: one letter must be from Price College faculty someone who has worked with you in an academic setting
  • Transfer students: one letter must come from a faculty member at your previous college someone who has worked with you in an academic setting
  • Failure to submit two (2) letters of recommendation will disqualify you from consideration

General Advice on Selecting Recommenders

  • We are unmoved by generic letters from people with recognizable names. A well-written letter with specifics from an Associate Professor is always better than a letter from a big-name tenured professor who only saw you in a large introductory class setting
  • Letters do not need to all come from faculty members or be written in an academic style.  It is quite welcome, and often preferred, to have non-university personnel write letters to discuss a candidate's leadership or service. These letters should help us see different aspects of your leadership or service ability
  • Recommenders should have had recent contact with the student. Letters from high school are rarely persuasive, and letters written for college admission are not appropriate
  • Provide recommenders with draft copies of the relevant essays. If that is not possible, please provide recommenders a resume. Make sure the letter writer understands the main points you want them to convey.  It is always disappointing when a letter fails to mention things that are clearly significant to the applicant
  • Request the letter as early as possible and be clear about when the letter is needed and to whom it should be sent. Don't forget to send them the submission link
  • We strongly encourage applicants confirm that both letters of recommendation have been received by the application deadline

Interviews

If you are selected to move on in the application process, you will be contacted to come into the JCPenney office and sign up for an interview time. 

  • Not every applicant will be invited to interview. 
  • Interview dress is business professional.
  • Interviews are conducted with a panel of interviewers that consist of the Director of the JCPenney Leadership Program, a faculty or staff member, and a JCPenney associate who serves on the internal leadership team.

If you are admitted into the program:

  • Successful applicants are REQUIRED to attend Candidate Associate Kick-Off after being accepted. This event is scheduled for Friday, September 26th from 2-7pm.
  • Fully inducted new associates are responsible for the $100.00 membership dues by November 15th, 2026; however, scholarships are available for students who need financial assistance.

Engagement

Price College of Business
307 West Brooks
Norman, OK 73019-4004
Updated 2/27/2026 by Price College of Business: pricecollege@ou.edu