Program Overview

Overview

The graduate certificate in social innovation trains students to be social innovation catalysts and maximize their social impact in a world that rewards professionals comfortable with change, experimentation, and working across disciplines. Its two required classes are taught by faculty in business and the social sciences and with a focus on designing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining solutions to society's most pressing problems.

Requirements

The certificate requires successful completion of two graduate methods courses (6 credit hours) and one elective graduate course in a substantive area (3 credit hours) with a grade of B or higher. The required methods classes are MBAX 6130 and a 5000-level version of SOCY 4160.

• Electives:
  • ANTH 5700: Practicing Anthropology (3 credit hours)
  • ANTH 7000: Seminar: Current Research Topics in Cultural Anthropology (Anthropology of Policy) (3 credit hours)
  • ATLS 5519: Adv Topics (Venture Capital and Private Equity; limited to 5 students.) (3 credit hours)
  • BMEN 5117: Anatomy and Physiology for Biomedical Engineering (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 5301: Queer(ing) Topics in Education (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 5010: Race and Equity in Higher Education (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 5075: Sociology of Education (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 6245: Latinx Education Across the Americas (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 6211: Education Law and Litigation Workshop (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 6220: Gender Issues in Education (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 6240: African American Education in the United States (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 6260: Transnational Migration, Education, and Citizenship (3 credit hours)
  • EDUC 7446: Policy Issues in Education (3 credit hours)
  • EMEN 5020: Finance for Engineering Managers (3 credit hours)
  • EMEN 5030: Fundamentals of Project Management (3 credit hours)
  • EMEN 5052: Leading Others (3 credit hours)
  • EMEN 5215: Applied Sustainability for Engineering Managers (3 credit hours)
  • EMEN 5220: Product Design for the Circular Economy (3 credit hours)
  • EMEN 5225: Sustainable and Resilient Operations and Supply Chains (3 credit hours)
  • EMEN 5230: Resilience Engineering and Leadership in Crisis (3 credit hours)
  • ENVM 5050: Social Innovation and Sustainable Cities (3 credit hours)
  • ENVS 5340: Conservation Biology and Practice in Brazil's Atlantic Forest (4 credit hours)
  • ENVS 5750: Climate Politics and Science-Policy (3 credit hours)
  • ENVS 5820: Energy Policy in the 21st Century (3 credit hours)
  • ENVS 6301: Environmental and Energy Economics (3 credit hours)
  • ENVS 6305: Reducing the Environmental Impact of Food Systems: Evidence-Based Solutions (3 credit hours)
  • JRNL 5812: Science Writing (3 credit hours)
  • JRNL 5822: Reporting on the Environment (3 credit hours)
  • JRNL 7021: Science Communication (3 credit hours)
  • JRNL 7030: Media Sociology (3 credit hours)
  • JRNL 7034: Health Communication (3 credit hours)
  • PHIL 5120: Philosophy and Animals (3 credit hours)
  • PHIL 5150: Topics in Applied Ethics (3 credit hours)
  • PHIL 5210: (3 credit hours)
  • PHIL 5230: Bioethics and Public Policy (3 credit hours)
  • PHIL 5240: Seminar in Environmental Philosophy (3 credit hours)
  • PHIL 5290: Topics in Values and Social Policy (3 credit hours)
  • SLHS 7550: Prevention of Hearing Loss from a Public Health Perspective (subject to availability) (3 credit hours)
  • SOCY 7171: Special Topics (Work and Organizations) (3 credit hours)

Plan(s) of Study

Plan of Study Grid Year One

• Fall Semester:
  • SOCY 4160: Designing Social Innovations (3 credit hours)
• Spring Semester:
  • MBAX 6130: Sustainable Venturing (3 credit hours) Year Two
• Fall Semester:
  • LAWS 7271: Venture Capital and Private Equity (3 credit hours)

Learning Outcomes

By the completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Understand the different forms of social innovation.
• Cultivate the mindset and values of a problem solver.
• Illuminate the various contexts within which social innovation occurs.
• Appreciate the role of empathy in innovation.
• Grasp the different approaches to problem solving.
• Develop and critically assess a novel design for social change.
• Master a set of skills for operationalizing and implementing social solutions.
• Learn tools for critically evaluating the success and sustainability of solutions.