Program Overview

Nonprofit Management (BA)

The Bachelor of Arts in Nonprofit Management from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) builds knowledge and skills for application in nonprofit settings, especially within administrative, supervisory, and managerial positions. This program intentionally helps students integrate liberal arts learning, inquiry, and critical thinking skills with a professional specialization. In this program, students have the opportunity to earn credit from prior learning from experience.

Program Overview

This major advances students' foundational management knowledge and skills in a range of areas critical to nonprofit organization, especially project management, program development and evaluation, fundraising, human resources, risk management, leadership, workplace law, ethical conduct, data analytics, finance, and professional communications. With a range of courses in the major offered as electives, students may choose courses and specialize in areas of particular interest to them.

Program Requirements

• Total hours required: 192
• College Core Requirements: 78
• Major Requirements: 72
• Open Electives: 42

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Analyze and apply knowledge and theories of nonprofit management and change to real-world problems within a nonprofit context
• Apply ethical principles in context
• Investigate problems using qualitative and quantitative methods
• Apply various methods of communication to multiple settings
• Analyze data and apply skills for effective decision-making in nonprofit organizations
• Analyze and apply different liberal arts perspectives to nonprofit management

College Core (78 credits, 20 credits in residence)

Lifelong Learning Requirements (32 credits, 16 credits in residence)

• LL 201: Reflective Learning 1
• or RPL 101: Prior Learning Assessment
• LL 305: Active Citizens: Making a Difference in the Community, Workplace World
• LL 205: Quantitative Reasoning
• or LL 206: Advanced Math for Professional Studies
• LL 261: Essay Writing
• LL 270: Critical Thinking
• LL 290: Research Writing 1
• LL 301: Research Methods 1
• LL 302: Experiential Learning Practicum 1

Liberal Learning Requirements (46 credits, 4 credits in residence)

• Liberal Arts in Action Requirement: CCA 281, CCH 281, CCS 281 or courses with LA1 designation, 6 credits
• CORE CURRICULUM ARTS & IDEAS, courses with the CCA, AL, PI, or RD requirement designations, 12 credits
• CORE CURRICULUM HUMAN COMMUNITY, courses with the CCH, SCBI, or HI requirement designations, 12 credits
• CORE CURRICULUM SCIENTIFIC WORLD, courses with the CCSW, SI, SILB, or SISK requirement designations, 12 credits
• IN 307: Integrative Learning, 4 credits

Major Requirements (72 credits)

40 credit hours must be completed in residence in the major, including FA 199 and LL 303.

Professional Studies Core (20 credits, 8 credits in residence)

• FA 199: Career Assessment and Planning 1
• DCM 330: Professional Communication in the Workplace
• Ethics or Social Justice, courses with the PSES requirement designation
  • DCM 317: Ethics in the Professions
  • DCM 318: Social Justice in the Professions
• Creativity or Innovation, courses with the PSCI requirement designation
  • CCA 170: Creativity and Entrepreneurship
  • DCM 319: Creativity and Innovative Thinking
• Global Perspectives, courses with the PSGP requirement designation
  • CCH 283: Global Perspectives of Work & Family
  • CCH 300: Globalization and Professional Practice
• LL 303: Capstone Project 1

Nonprofit Management Core (40 credits)

• DA 200: Data Analytics
• BADM 223: Accounting and Finance Principles
• DCM 301: Effective Leadership in a Changing Professional Environment
• BADM 335: Risk Management in the Workplace
• PPS 318: Program Development and Evaluation Nonprofit Organizations
• PPS 208: Introduction to Nonprofit Organizations
• PPS 319: Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations
• PPS 322: Fundamentals of Human Resource Management
• PPS 329: Strategic Management and Planning
• PPS 346: Advocacy and Lobbying

Nonprofit Management Major Electives (12 credits)

Students are encouraged to use their major elective credits to complete a thematic cluster of courses relevant to their professional goals. Examples include:

• Environmental studies courses for those interested in environmental issues
• Public health courses for those interested in health organizations
• Courses concerning Latino, African American, or LGBTQ Studies for those interested in serving specific communities

Open Electives (42 credits)

Open Electives can be fulfilled through courses taken in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies and other DePaul colleges, transfer courses, assessment of prior learning (PLA), and independent studies.