ACADEMICS - Graduate Certificate Program in Social Entrepreneurship
Social Entrepreneurship is about creating and leading organizations and companies that strive to advance social change through innovative solutions. Entrepreneurship is a high-risk endeavor in which 8 out of 10 new ventures are expected to fail. Yet, against these odds, social entrepreneurs are trying to accomplish some very long-term and ambitious goals: end inner-city poverty, improve public education, reduce global warming, and improve healthcare around the world, to name a few. How do successful social entrepreneurs achieve long-term, sustainable change and impact? And how do social investors pick the best of them to invest in and nurture?
The Augsburg Graduate Certificate Program in Social Entrepreneurship is designed for students interested in obtaining the skills and competencies necessary for the entrepreneurial pursuit of social impact; recognizing the unique challenges, opportunities, and qualities associated with trying to create social value. The Social Entrepreneurship Certificate will expose students to the skills, knowledge, and perspectives necessary to pursue social impact entrepreneurially, effectively, and pragmatically. The program has been designed to serve those students who aspire at some point in their lives to be social entrepreneurs, executives in social-purpose organizations, philanthropists, board members, or leading volunteers in their communities and the social sector. The certificate program will also appeal to students interested in incorporating strategies for social impact into their business and entrepreneurial careers. Simply put, if you want to change the world and need to obtain the skills and network to do it, this program will equip you with frameworks and tools you need to understand and create real change.
Program Goals
- Develop students' understanding of what social entrepreneurship is and how it may practically operate.
- Supply students with the business and leadership skills necessary to become successful social entrepreneurs.
- Position students to make a positive impact on some of the world's most pressing economic issues.
Students wishing to earn a Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship must complete a minimum of six graduate level courses. Courses include some that focus on the use of business/entrepreneurial skills for social impact in different contexts; others that focus on skills and knowledge from the MBA, Masters in Social Work or Master of Arts in Leadership that are particularly relevant for the effective pursuit of social impact; others that focus on field or industry-specific knowledge; and others that provide opportunities for students to gain practical experience in the social sector.
Category I: Leadership (Pick one):
MBA 592 - Leadership, Ethics, Service and Transformation
ML 510 - Visions of Leadership
Category II: Organizational Development (Pick one):
MBA 545 - Organization Behavior
ML 535 - Organization Theory and Leadership
SWK 667 - Organizations/Social Administration Practice
Category III: Core Courses (Required):
MBA 583 - Social Entrepreneurship I: Entrepreneurial Execution, Planning and Strategy for Social Innovation-based Ventures
MBA 584 - Social Entrepreneurship II: Advanced Topics and Practicum
MBA 538 - Non-Profit Finance, Funding and Enterprise (or MBA 530)
Category IV: Electives (Pick one):
MBA 550 - Marketing
MBA 570 - Quantitative Decision Making
MBA 595 - Strategic Management
MBA 596 - Management of Innovation/Change
ML 531 - Dynamics of Change
ML 536 - Facilitating Organizational Change
ML 545 - Decision Making and Leadership
ML 565 - Women and Leadership
ML 574 - Strategic Leadership
ML 599 - Law and Leadership in Not for Profit Organizations
Master's Degree Completion Options
Upon completion of the certificate, students who wish to continue at Augsburg and earn a master's degree will be offered degree completion options in MBA or MAL.
For MBA, five of the six classes in the certificate program will have MBA equivalencies (Category I, Category II, Category IV and MBA 585: Social Entrepreneurship II: Advanced Topics and Practicum and MBA 530 or Nonprofit Finance from Category III). Thus, a student wishing to complete a full MBA after earning a social entrepreneurship certificate will need to complete an additional 8 MBA classes.
In MAL, five of the six courses above will count toward degree electives. Thus, a student wishing to complete an MAL degree after earning a certificate will need to take the four required MAL classes and two additional electives.
