Minor in Social Entrepreneurship Curriculum Elective Options

There are over 45 courses across Grounds that you can choose to count as electives toward your Social Entrepreneurship minor. Two electives (6 credits) are required as part of the minor curriculum. While there are electives offered by every school of enrollment, allowing you to chart your own path of interest through the minor, many students in the social entrepreneurship track find the classes offered by Batten particularly compelling. Each year, Batten offers electives specific to the topic areas of social entrepreneurship, impact investing, and innovation. Here’s what we have available this year:

You can find the full list of all available electives on the UVA McIntire School of Commerce's website.

J-Term Electives

• LPPP 3500: SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • Impact Investing in Action: Appalachia January Term, Taught by Stephanie Randolph This immersive J-term class and fellowship give students the opportunity to learn about the growing field of impact investing, and to experience the challenges and opportunities of investing in rural communities. 

Summer Session I Electives

• LPPS 4550 / 5550 or COMM 4589: UVA IN DOMINICA UVA’s Dominica Field Experience is a 3-credit course focused on social entrepreneurship on the Caribbean island of Dominica. This incredible course gives students the opportunity to explore Dominica, meet with local entrepreneurs, and understand how resources and policy support entrepreneurship. Students will not only learn from numerous live case studies but will also be invited to help problem solve and use critical thinking skills to explore alternative approaches in addressing local challenges with entrepreneurs and government representatives. To learn more, fill out our interest form.   
• LPPP 3500: Impact Investing in Action: Appalachia

Electives Spring 2021 

• LPPS 3290: SOCIAL INNOVATION IN EMERGING MARKETS Thursdays, 2.00-4.30 Taught by Bala Mulloth This is an introductory course, aimed at exposing students to modern Indian and South Asian society, culture, business and policy through a variety of materials. The course may be particularly important due to the rising stature and importance of India and more generally, South Asia, in the global economy.
• LPPS 3410: INNOVATION AND SOCIAL IMPACT Wednesdays, 3.30-5.00 Taught by Bala Mulloth This course introduces students to the strategies and processes required in the contemporary economy to leverage innovation in order to maintain overall competitiveness and make a difference. Students will examine several firms, and individuals who have catalyzed positive social change through different organizational platforms in the market, in government, within the nonprofit sector, and increasingly in the space between these three sectors.

• LPPP 3500: SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Tuesdays, 3.30-6.00 Taught by Kathryn Babineau Businesses provides a lot of things that we need, and are designed to generate profits. In exchange for making profits, businesses also have responsibilities. What are those responsibilities, and how do societies around the globe ensure that the responsibilities are respected? This class will provide an introduction to issues of responsible business, from a variety of perspectives. We will cover the broad, multi-disciplinary research field of corporate social responsibility (CSR), as well as the closely related study of business and human rights (B&HR), stakeholder theory, global value chains, and other works.  
  • DESIGNING A LIFE OF PURPOSE Tuesdays, 5.00-7.30 Taught by Christine Mahoney Previously offered only as a University Seminar, this immensely popular course returns this spring, taught by Christine Mahoney. “How do I find a job that I like or maybe even love? How do I balance my career with my family? How do I create space for creativity? How do I make a difference in the world?” These are critical questions for us all to answer if we want to design a thriving, joyful life. This course uses Design Thinking and mindfulness methodologies to help you discover and articulate your life philosophy, your work philosophy, and how to create more space for the kind of work in which you thrive. 

• LPPS 4730: IMPACT INVESTING Mondays, 5.00-7.30 Taught by Paul Nolde Impact Investing is the proactive deployment of financial resources to organizations for a positive return on investment and an additional, intentional social impact beyond financial returns. Impact Investing explores how funders (grant funders, investors, and policymakers) deploy capital to support social entrepreneurs. This course provides an introductory understanding of utilizing finance as a tool for solving social problems worldwide.