Class Descriptions

SIL501

Leading Social Change: Core Concepts and Frameworks

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
The course provides a foundational understanding of social impact efforts, including their settings, scopes, and levels. This course also introduces students to essential and diverse concepts and frameworks for social impact work, with particular focus on practical applications. The course helps students develop the capacity to design and lead social impact initiatives across diverse settings, guiding their work throughout the program and beyond.
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SIL502

Leading People, Driving Change: Human-Centered Management for Social Impact

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course focuses on the essential skills for leading and managing people in social impact organizations and initiatives. Students will explore talent management strategies for both paid and unpaid staff, techniques for managing across organizational hierarchies, and approaches to fostering inclusive organizational culture. The course examines how culture and identity shape workplace dynamics, strategies for change management, and methods for building effective teams across complex and cross-sectoral contexts. Through case studies and practical applications, students develop the relational leadership skills necessary to bring people along in social change efforts.
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SIL503

Technology for Social Good: Innovation and Ethics in Social Impact Leadership

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course examines the transformative role of technology in advancing social impact, with particular attention to current and emerging technological trends. Students will explore both the opportunities and ethical challenges posed by technology in social change work, including artificial intelligence, data systems, and digital tools for community engagement. The course emphasizes practical applications of technology in personal and organizational workflows, prompt engineering for AI tools, and understanding the community-level impacts of technological solutions. Students will develop principles for ethical use of technology that consider environmental sustainability, equitable access, and community well-being.
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SIL504

Funding the Future: Revenue, Budgets, and Financial Strategy for Social Impact

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course equips students with the financial literacy and management skills necessary to lead effective social impact organizations and initiatives. Students will learn to prepare, read, and interpret financial statements at both programmatic and organizational levels. The course examines diverse revenue strategies, including grant funding, earned income, and investment approaches, as well as budget development and financial modeling techniques. Through practical application, students develop the confidence to make sound financial decisions and engage meaningfully with financial information in their social impact work.
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SIL505

Measuring What Matters: Impact Evaluation and Storytelling for Social Change

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course equips emerging social impact leaders with the knowledge and practical skills needed to measure, analyze, and communicate impact across nonprofit, public, social enterprise, and private sector contexts. Students will examine how different sectors define and operationalize impact, drawing on research literature, theories of change, and established evaluation frameworks. The course introduces methodologies for assessing impact at program, organizational, and systems levels, including cost analyses and tools that balance mission and financial sustainability. Emphasis is placed on ethical and culturally responsive measurement, human subjects protections, and equity-centered evaluation practices. Students will gain hands-on experience interpreting and reporting impact findings through multiple formats, written reports, data visualizations, and storytelling techniques tailored to diverse audiences.
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SIL601

Impact Lab 1

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This experiential course engages students in the initial phases of year-long community-based social impact projects. Students will work through project conceptualization, planning, and early implementation while developing foundational skills in stakeholder engagement, ethical decision-making, and community accountability. Through cohort-building activities, site visits, industry mentorship, guest speakers, and facilitated reflection, students will build relationships within their cohort and broader networks while applying social impact program concepts from across the curriculum to real-world contexts. The course emphasizes understanding context, applying leadership skills, building community relationships, and helping students evolve into social impact leaders and practitioners.
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SIL602

Impact Lab 2

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This experiential, part two course, supports students in completing and communicating their year-long community-based project. Students practice adaptive leadership as they implement, iterate, and respond to real-world constraints and stakeholder needs. The course emphasizes translating program content into practice, strengthening evaluation thinking, and communicating results and lessons learned to multiple audiences. With mentorship and peer learning, students refine project deliverables and produce a credible evaluation plan to support sustainability or scaling. The course culminates in a product and a structured reflection on leadership growth, ethics in practice, and future professional direction.
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