Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing

Harness the power of entrepreneurship to drive social innovation

In today’s interconnected world, entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to contribute to the social good. Increasingly, businesses are incorporating social and environmental impacts into their decision-making and long-term planning. The social entrepreneurship and impact investing concentration trains future business leaders to take on these challenges directly.

Students in this concentration engage in rigorous coursework and pursue career-building opportunities through internships, fellowships, and team consulting projects, putting them in an immediate position to take their careers to the next level. Graduates of the social entrepreneurship and impact investing concentration are prepared to lead social impact initiatives across a range of contexts, from founding an organization with a social mission, to working on corporate social responsibility agendas to managing an impact investing portfolio.

Concentration Chair: Michael Appell, MA’79

Michael Appell, MA'79

“Today’s leaders in corporations and social ventures have to manage a new, ‘triple bottom line.’ Beyond the financial bottom line, they’re responding to the social and environmental returns that result from their business activities.”

Course requirements

The full spectrum of MBA core courses (52 credits)
The following specialized courses (10 credits):
- HS 228a, Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation (4 credits)
- HS 353a, Managing the Triple Bottom Line (4 credits)
- HS 342f, ESG Measurement and Impact Investing (2 credits)
Additional courses selected from the following list in consultation with a faculty advisor (2 credits)
- HS 210a, Coexistence and Conflict: Theory and Analysis (4 credits)
- HS 210f, Comparative Approaches to Global Injustice and Social Inequality (2 credits)
- HS 225a, Fundraising and Development (4 credits)
- HS 283f, Gender and Development (2 credits)
- HS 294f, Responsible Mediation (2 credits)
- HS 304a, Environmental Justice and the Human Effects of Climate Change (4 credits)
- HS 319f, Ethics, Rights and Development (2 credits)
- HS 422f, Cost-Effectiveness (2 credits)
- HS 534b, Perspectives on Economic and Racial Equity (4 credits)
- BUS 276a, Business Dynamics (4 credits)
- BUS 278f, Corporate Governance (2 credits)
- BUS 222f, Global Dexterity (2 credits)
- FIN 263a, International Portfolio Management (4 credits)
The successful completion of a Team Consulting Project (TCP) in which students consult with an organization on the assessment and improvement of its social and/or environmental impact.