Curricular

MBA skills are becoming seen as valuable and even very much needed in the social sector, and the core MBA program should provide a strong foundation for any student looking to become a successful social sector leader. To complement the core, and provide opportunities for both classroom and field-based learning, CASE offers the following curricular activities.

Social Entrepreneurship Elective
CASE’s primary course provides an introduction to the social sector that offers a blend of theoretical and practical knowledge. Through case discussions, conceptual frameworks, and guest speakers from the field, CASE Faculty Director Greg Dees’s Social Entrepreneurship elective explores the efforts of private citizens to create effective responses to social needs and innovative solutions to social problems.

Experiential Learning
Recognizing the value of hands-on experience in the field, CASE collaborates with Fuqua’s Small Business Consulting and Mentored Study in Entrepreneurship courses to ensure that opportunities to work with social sector organizations are available.

Independent Studies
Students with specific areas of interest may pursue them via independent studies. In recent years, students have completed independent study projects on topics ranging from developing a case study on Latino Community Credit Union to creating a strategic plan for a new private school in a disadvantaged community to researching the scalability of microenterprise development programs in the United States. Interested students should contact Beth Anderson with ideas or questions regarding independent study opportunities.

Recommended Electives
CASE has compiled a list of recommended electives for students considering careers in social entrepreneurship or active volunteer leadership in the social sector. This list includes some relevant non-Fuqua courses offered at Duke, as well as information about taking courses at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Center for Sustainable Enterprise, which is just 11 miles away.