O'Neill School Of Public and Environmental Affairs
Graduate
Certificate Programs
Innovation and Social Change
The Graduate Certificate in Innovation and Social Change is a 15 credit hour program of study designed to teach students how to deal with large-scale, fast-moving change and innovation in public and common service delivery.
Leading and managing organizational change has been identified as critical challenge for the management of any organization; especially in light of the fact that only 30 percent of all change initiatives are successful. Organizations need employees who are prepared to adapt to a changing environment and successfully adopt and implement new practices or technologies.
This certificate offers students the opportunity to critically review, debate, and examine the theory and practice of social entrepreneurship. It is designed to provide current and future managers and leaders with an overview of important topics in this emerging field and begin to prepare them to develop and lead socially entrepreneurial ventures and initiatives.
Admission Eligibility
The student must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university to apply.
Application
An online application and information may be obtained here. Application deadlines for the certificate programs are May 15 for the fall semester, September 15 for the spring semester, and March 15 for summer sessions. Students must pay a nonrefundable application fee.
Program Restrictions
- Students admitted to a O'Neill graduate degree program are not eligible for admission nor awarding of a certificate in the same concentration of their graduate degree.
- Transfer credit, course substitutions, or course waivers are not accepted for fulfilling the certificate requirements.
- Students enrolled in a certificate program can only confer the certificate with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (B) in all required coursework.
- A student may be dismissed if, after 9 credit hours of coursework, the GPA is below a 3.0.
- Admission to or successful completion of a certificate program does not guarantee subsequent admission to an O'Neill graduate degree program.
- Students enrolled in a certificate program who apply to an O'Neill graduate degree programs must meet all existing admission requirements, or may request a waiver if they complete at least three classes towards the certificate with a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Certificate Requirements (15 credit hours)
Required Courses (12 credit hours)
FOUR of the following courses:
- SPEA-V 502 Public Management
- SPEA-V 512 Public Policy Process
- SPEA-V 513 Managing Change and Organizational Development
- SPEA-V 521 The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector
- SPEA-V 559 Principles and Practices of Social Entrepreneurship
- SPEA-V 560 Public Finance and Budgeting
Elective (3 credit hours)
ONE additional O'Neill graduate public affairs course from the following list:
- SPEA-V 550 Environmental Justice
- SPEA-V 510 Advocacy and Government Relations
- SPEA-V 511 Collaborative Governance
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this certificate program, students shall:
- understand and be able to explain the various elements of social entrepreneurship, as articulated by various scholars and writers, including the particular challenges of applying various entrepreneurial approaches to create social change
- understand and be able to articulate the relationship between social entrepreneurship and other organizational functions, and explain if and how social entrepreneurship can contribute to sustained organizational performance and effectiveness of nonprofit organizations
- understand and be able to articulate the primary theoretical frameworks by which different scholars explain and apply the construct of entrepreneurship
