Skills for Innovation. Credentials for Success.

The University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies’ online Social Entrepreneurship Certificate empowers you to not only pursue meaningful work but also create your own opportunities. In just four 8-week classes, you’ll gain the tools of innovation, entrepreneurship, and design thinking to turn bold ideas into transformative action for communities and society.

Details, Dates & Deadlines

Program Details

Class Format

Online, Asynchronous

Asynchronous learning means that learning takes place at all different times for students enrolled in a course.

Program Length

12 months

Credits to Complete

12 Credits

Cost/Credit Hour

In State: $769
Out of State: $994

  • Online application
  • $75 application fee
  • Official transcripts
  • 300–500 word essay
  • Proof of English language proficiency
  • CV or resume

Dates & Deadlines

Spring Deadline: December 15

Fall Deadline: July 1

 

Information Sessions

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 @ 3 p.m. 

Program Overview

The Social Entrepreneurship post-baccalaureate certificate is a 12-credit program taught online, offering maximum flexibility to accommodate busy schedules. Our curriculum provides the fundamental tools and competencies needed to move from idea to action. Graduates will leave the program prepared to harness entrepreneurial and enterprise opportunities and create transformative responses to challenges in communities and society.

12 months

Students working on their laptops

Complete in as little as one year, from anywhere.

4-stage action plan

Man explaining his business plan to stakeholders

Transform ideas into enterprise through build-it-yourself blueprints.

100% online

Male hands working on a laptop and pointing at the screen with a pen

Flexible learning, built to fit your life. 

Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, a way of seeing problems as interesting challenges that call for innovative solutions. And when those solutions also improve the human condition, you unlock a realm of possibilities for your future.

The Social Entrepreneurship graduate certificate will help you develop skills that will help you develop effective solutions to real world problems. Upon completion, you will learn: 

  • How to use the principles of human-centered design to identify societal, community, and individual needs.
  • How to apply concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship to help solve complex social challenges.
  • Working knowledge of the tools, methods, and techniques needed to evaluate the viability of new ideas.
  • Sustainable business and financing models to advance a social innovation concept.

 

Entrepreneurship is not just building new ventures or creating change in existing structures. Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, a way of seeing problems as interesting challenges that call for innovative solutions. Add in the ability to improve the human condition, and you suddenly realize a realm of possibilities for your future. The Social Entrepreneurship graduate certificate will help you develop skills in Design Thinking, Customer Discovery & Social Change Theory that will help you develop effective solutions to real world problems.

Required Courses

  • INNO 600: Foundations in Health and Social Innovation (3 credits) 
  • INNO 602: Methods in Innovation (3 credits) 
  • INNO 640: Business and Finance (3 credits) 
  • INNO 642: Marketing Strategies (3 credits) 

See Course Descriptions

  • The Graduate Research Innovation District (Grid)

    The Grid is a partnership between the UM Ventures and the University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies providing entrepreneurial support to students such as partnerships, workshops, mentoring, pitch development, coaching, funding, and career services. Its annual event, Grid Pitch, offers students the opportunity to pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of experts and investors in the entrepreneurial community.

    Learn More
  • Meet Your Faculty

    Students in this program are supported by award-winning faculty that offer a blend of academic excellence and real-world experience in social innovation. With a background in advising mission-driven organizations and developing sustainable models for social impact, Dr. Jim Kucher equips learners with practical strategies to drive change. His expertise spans nonprofit leadership, revenue generation for social ventures, and the design of effective, outcomes-based initiatives that serve communities while ensuring long-term sustainability.

    View Faculty Bios

Next Steps

Learn more about the Social Entrepreneurship certificate program or start your application today.