The Social Innovation and Sustainability Leadership program is student-directed, community-focused, and turns passion to action.  You will collaborate with fellow classmates, faculty, and community guests from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds to individualize your degree based on your personal and professional interest.  It is an action-oriented curriculum where you can learn the skills and knowledge to create systemic change.  

Designed for busy professionals, our program is flexible and convenient:

• 33 credits
• Offered in a remote learning format
• Comprised of accelerated 8- week courses with a longer track for the capstone
• Small classes in a highly interactive setting
• Excellent networking opportunities
• Flexible time to degree completion

A total of 33 credits is required to complete the Master of Arts in Social Innovation and Sustainability Leadership.  The average completion time for the program is two years.

Required Courses (21 credits):

(SUST 650) Foundations: Leadership for Social Innovation and Sustainability
This course provides the foundation for the Social Innovation and Sustainability Leadership Program. It creates a community of reflective learners that support each other in becoming effective social entrepreneurs and sustainability change agents.  The course also explores relationships among sustainability, economic development, and social equity.

(SUST 651) Self and Natural Systems
How do we live in harmony with the natural systems of the planet in order to create wellbeing in ourselves, communities and organizations? Students explore the importance of understanding climate change, sense of place, eco-systems, indigenous knowledge systems, technology, energy, food, water, and waste.

(SUST 652) Innovation for Social and Economic Well-Being 
In this course, we consider the challenges to organizational and community change presented by global trends and by traditional socioeconomic and public policy models, and we introduce alternative models aimed at meeting these challenges: equity, ecological economics, community development, sustainable development, the sharing economy, social innovation and participatory democracy.

(SUST 751) Designing Regenerative Communities
This course offers students opportunities to explore how housing, economic development, inclusive community-based engagement and sustainable infrastructure (built and governance) might come together to more rapidly and more equitably advance wellbeing for all, in the urban context.

(SUST 752) Leadership for Organizational and Community Well-Being
This course explores examples of community and organizational practices that fulfill the vision of co-creating inclusive well-being that reflects the interrelatedness of personal well-being, organizational culture, socio-economic well-being, and the well-being of nature. Along with examples and case studies, students learn specific leadership skills that facilitate the creation of well-being in their organizations and communities.

(ORG 630) Organizational Change
Investigates the nature of change, forces for change, and the impact of change on its recipients. Introduces students to the practice of organization development with respect to change efforts in organizations as they examine their own roles and skill sets as change agents.  Students learn to choose between, and then design, appropriate interventions to transform an organization from a current state to a desired future state.

(SUST 760) Capstone A & (SUST 761) Capstone B
The Capstone courses are run as a peer-coaching learning community where each student implements a social innovation project of their choosing. Capstone A focuses on analyzing the system that the student is interested in changing, identifying a leverage point, and creating a theory of change.  In Capstone B, students implement a prototype and social impact evaluation based on the systems analysis conducted in Capstone A.  Students are encouraged to take Capstone A and Capstone B in their last two semester of the program.

Sample Elective Courses (12 credits): 

Elective credits allow students to tailor their degree to a special area of interest or deepen specific leadership skills and knowledge.  Sample elective courses may be taken from the programs listed below.  Elective courses must first be approved by your academic advisor.

• Master’s in Business Administration
• Master’s in Organizational Leadership and Change
• Master's in Educational Leadership

We encourage students to submit their application and admissions materials by the priority deadline.  However, we will continue to accept applications on a continuous basis until the start of the semester.  Applications considered complete after the priority deadline may still be considered for admission.

Priority deadline for Fall 2021:  August 1, 2021

1. Completed graduate application. This application is for students who want to pursue a Master’s degree, certificate, or take courses as a non-degree seeking student.
2. Official transcripts reflecting completion of a baccalaureate or more advanced degree from a United States regionally accredited or equivalent post-secondary institution with a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.  The cumulative grade point average is computed on the highest degree held at the time of application.  If your GPA does not meet the minimum 2.5 GPA, please contact the admissions counselor for further consultation.  Exceptions may be made in certain circumstances.
3. Contact information for two college or university professors, supervisors, and/or professional colleagues who can speak to your potential for success.
4. A written statement explaining what you hope to gain from your participation in the program, what you bring to the program, and how specific background experiences will aid in your success as a student.

Students

Program participants represent a wide variety of fields: social entrepreneurship non-profit, government, small business corporate management; economic development, planning and design; education; public health; and energy and utilities. Students enter the program at various stages of their careers. Some students have recently completed their undergraduate degrees and are looking for the skills, connections and project-based learning that will propel them into their careers. Others are already in their chosen careers, and are looking for the knowledge and skills to enhance the work they are doing by launching or furthering the social innovation and/or sustainability efforts of their current organization.

Alumni

Our alumni are making a difference in the many complex social-emotional intelligence challenges facing our world today including equity, climate change, violence prevention, education, energy policy, green building, community development, equity, land use and water quality, biodiversity protection, food security and public health. They work for a wide range of organizations including: American Family Insurance, Boys & Girls Club, Community Groundworks, Environmental Leadership Program, GDS Associates Engineers & Consultants, Group Health Cooperative, Lincoln Elementary School, Madison Gas & Electric, Sustain Dane, Trek Bicycle Corporation, UW Health, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Spotlight

Students in the Social Innovation & Sustainability Leadership Graduate Program become part of a network of professional colleagues. The program’s project-based approach and integration of regional sustainability experts into the classes, either as guest instructors or through class field trips, builds breadth of knowledge, as well as social capital. Students have the opportunity to connect with many of our partners while in the program, and we can facilitate further connections based on student interest. Visit some of our partner organizations’ web sites: