Social Entrepreneurship: Igniting Social Change

3 Units

Social entrepreneurs aspire to achieve systemic impact by launching new ventures and organizations to address problems such as poverty, inequity, and climate change. They are dedicated to deeply understanding the problem, then applying entrepreneurial thinking to create innovative solutions and services that create lasting change in an impactful, scalable, and sustainable way. Through case studies, invited speakers, and classroom discussions, students will progressively develop an understanding of the broader systems in which social or environmental challenges exist in order to investigate and identify solutions that benefit both communities and society as a whole. Topics explored in this course include the various social enterprise models (for-profit, non-profit, and hybrid), social impact theory, mindsets and motivations of social entrepreneurs, Human Centered Design methodology, obtaining and managing resources, and evaluating success. Counts as a Communication Intensive course. Prereq: Academic Inquiry Seminar (AIQS) or SAGES First Seminar.