Program Overview

Program Overview

The Social Entrepreneurship Certificate at the LBJ School of Public Affairs is an opportunity to transform your approach to social impact from the inside out, providing you with the knowledge and tools necessary to think like a social entrepreneur. Over the course of 8 months, gain insights from experts, practitioners, and peers on enhancing social impact within your organization and career.

Program Details

• Duration: 8 months
• Format: 11 sessions between October 31st and June 12th, Fridays 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Location:
  • Fall term: LBJ School of Public Affairs
  • Spring term: To be determined
• Cost:
  • $1,595 for Executive Education students
  • $249 for graduate students
• Payments: Due by the first class on October 31 (plus processing fees)
• Scholarships: Limited scholarships are available for Executive Education students who would otherwise be unable to participate in the program

Curriculum

The program offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to equip you with essential skills for driving social impact. Participants will develop a toolkit of best practices and skills in:

• Strategy Development
• Storytelling Techniques
• Methods for Measuring Social Impact
• Financial Models for Social Impact
• Ways to Scale

Course Schedule

• October 31, 2025: Kick-off & Entrepreneurial Culture
• November 21, 2025: Strategy
• December 12, 2025: Storytelling
• January 23, 2026: Design Thinking
• February 13, 2026: Social Innovation
• March 6, 2026: Social Marketing
• March 27, 2026: Social Impact
• April 17, 2026: Social Enterprise
• May 8, 2026: Legal, Operations, & Finance
• May 29, 2026: Scaling
• June 12, 2026: Corporate Social Responsibility

Admission Criteria

This program seeks to represent a wide array of experience in the social impact sector. We expect the program will have content that resonates to participants from multiple sectors and stages of their career.

Attendance Policy

You can miss up to two class dates and still receive the certificate. If you miss more than two sessions, you’ll receive recognition for participating but not certification.

Program Inclusions

• 11 sessions of instruction (33 total contact hours)
• Complimentary on-campus parking pass for each class day
• Printed copies of all class materials
• Physical certificate upon graduation
• Faculty office hours
• Supported networking opportunities, including:
  • A private LinkedIn group for the cohort
  • Outside-the-classroom meetups and educational support

Instructor

• Suzanne Smith: Founder & CEO of Social Impact Architects
  • Suzanne has a deep belief that everyone is a change-maker. As a serial social entrepreneur, she strives to harness the powerful force of organizations, including nonprofits, foundations, and socially responsible businesses, and individuals, especially students and young entrepreneurs, to maximize the potential of the social sector to create real, scalable impact.
  • Suzanne holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where she was selected as the CASE (Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship) Scholar. Nationally, she was selected as a member of Peter Senge’s Society of Organizational Learning and has served on the national board of the Social Enterprise Alliance. She has advised many federal agencies on their efforts on social entrepreneurship and system change.