At Yale SOM, we’ve been thinking about “social impact” since before most people had heard the term.
Mission-driven
Our founding mission of educating leaders for business and society has meant that every initiative at the school considers how business and market forces can improve the world. You could say that social impact is in our DNA. It’s wound into our curriculum, it’s the passion that animates our students, and it’s the focus of faculty inquiry.
In the Social Entrepreneurship Lab course, students from across Yale form teams to develop potential solutions to social and environmental challenges.
Through impact investments, we can put our money into good use and create more long-term sustainable positive impact for our world. We can help people. We can help our communities.
When we teach the fundamentals of management and leadership, we include thinking that goes beyond the bottom line. In the MBA core, for instance, each course includes material that can be explicitly described as related to social and environmental issues. This material amounts to more than a quarter of classroom hours. But that’s only the beginning—social impact also comes up in discussions every day, since these are issues our faculty and students care deeply about.
Sample courses
MBA core courses
State and Society
The Executive
Sample electives
Business and Environment: Management and Strategy
Business Ethics
Education Policy
Ethical Choices in Public Leadership
Financing Green Technologies
Global Social Entrepreneurship
Inclusive Economic Development Lab
Inequality and Social Mobility
Managing Sustainable Operations
Modern Philanthropy: Perspectives and Challenges
Natural Capital: Risks and Opportunities in Global Resource Systems
A case about a novel effort to revitalize a New Haven neighborhood brought together students and faculty studying economic development and commercial real estate.
Opportunities for students
Yale SOM Conferences and Events
Major student-led conferences each year bring experts and innovators in philanthropy, education, economic development, and healthcare for conversations about how to drive beneficial change. Students organizers deepen their own leadership skills and knowledge of their chosen field.
Each year, as part of a for-credit course, teams of students work with global organizations to solve real challenges and impact lives. Students act as consultants and travel to their client’s home country as part of the project.
Committed students and faculty sit down with a visiting expert each week to discuss leading-edge ideas for creating positive social and environmental change.
One of the school’s longest-running and most popular clubs, Net Impact serves as an umbrella organization for students interested in social impact. The club hosts talks, organizes job treks, and catalyzes interest in critical topics.
Yale SOM had all the elements I was looking for in a top MBA program. I wanted a global perspective and diverse classmates who were passionate about the school’s mission to educate leaders for business and society.
Social Impact Landscape at Yale SOM
Numerous student groups, faculty-led centers, and other institutions at Yale provide opportunities to engage and learn about social impact.
Many other student clubs address aspects of social impact. View the full list.
Listen in
Faculty- and student-produced podcasts can give you insight into the conversation around impact that's always happening at the school.
CitySCOPE
A podcast about cities and inclusive economic development from Kate Cooney and her students at the Yale School of Management.
Impact & Innovation
Social entrepreneurs from around the world come to Yale SOM to share the challenges they are grappling with and the insights they are gaining in the field.
Mission-driven
Yale SOM alumni, faculty, and students live out our mission of educating leaders for business and society by utilizing the tools of business to improve lives. They do so in roles across industries, sectors, and regions.
