Kellogg’s Impact Approach – Broad and Deep

When we consider social impact, we include areas across the globe, across disciplines and across sectors. We bring structure to our application of social impact learning, experience and support across Kellogg by focusing on the following impact areas:
What is social impact?


Kellogg’s social impact offerings are designed to equip the next generation of business leaders to serve as socially responsible leaders — whether in nonprofit, for-profit or governmental organizations.

We characterize these leaders not by their line of work, but by their management philosophies and leadership styles. They have strong principles and a sense of purpose. They think responsibly and act authentically. They fuel growth in people and organizations to support our economy, community and planet.

Here is how Kellogg educates and inspires these leaders.

Curricular Offerings

Kellogg’s course offerings in the area of social impact are relevant to all leaders, whether in full-time impact careers or leading with values in an industry role.

Our Social Impact Pathway invites students who want to build their expertise and knowledge to choose from an array of impact themes and approaches. Students can sample from Kellogg’s foundational courses on social impact topics, or take a deep dive into specific topics and approaches by pursuing our Policy, Nonprofit or Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship tracks. Students can also complement their classroom learning by participating in labs or experiential learning opportunities both domestically and internationally.

Student Experience

Students can choose from a number of club, experiential, event, competition and other offerings to deepen their social impact experience in policy, education and service areas, including these examples:

Kellogg’s Net Impact Club

Kellogg’s Net Impact Club is a four-time winner of Net Impact’s Graduate Chapter of the Year award. In fact, over 75% of all Kellogg students belong to one of Kellogg’s 12 social impact clubs.

Golub Capital Board Fellows Program

Each year, 50 student fellows are provided firsthand experience sitting on a Chicago-area nonprofit board of directors.

Events

Kellogg hosts dozens of speakers, competitions and events each year, including dedicated pre-term Social Impact Days and Kellogg’s Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge.

Experiential Learning

Kellogg’s Social Impact Pathway offers a number of labs and opportunities to help students gain real-world experience in socially impactful work. In addition, career treks, student-led pro bono consulting projects and other experiences invite students to step into impact roles and projects during their MBA journey.

Faculty and Research

The courses in the Social Impact Pathway are taught by a team of distinguished scholars representing a variety of disciplines, interests and expertise areas across socially responsible practice. These faculty members are widely known for their scholarship and thought leadership in political economy, social enterprise, social psychology, public policy, social enterprise and nonprofit management.

Career Opportunities

Kellogg’s social impact offerings prepare students for careers with impact. Graduates apply their social impact preparation to careers in management consulting, corporate social responsibility, social enterprises, consumer products and financial services, among others. Kellogg’s Career Management Center and Social Impact faculty and staff guide students through the process of securing summer internships and full-time roles in their sectors and specialties of choice. Kellogg graduates in recent years have gone on to work for impact consulting firms, in social start-ups, international development, impact investing, nonprofit leadership, educational innovation, corporate sustainability and more.

Because educational debt can sometimes limit graduates from pursuing positions with the public and nonprofit sectors, Kellogg has a dedicated Loan Assistance Program which eliminates a portion of the graduate’s debt burden. There are also funding opportunities available for students who are starting their own social ventures or want to pursue summer internships with social enterprises.

Alumni

Many Kellogg alumni hold leadership and executive roles dedicated to social impact, while others contribute to various causes by serving as board members, volunteers, solicitors or donors for a wide variety of organizations. Kellogg alumni in the impact space pride themselves on being accessible, supportive and helpful to students and graduates as they forge their own paths. Read more for stories of some of Kellogg’s impact alumni.

History

Kellogg has been committed to the social impact space since the 1970s, with programs that have grown from an initial focus on nonprofit management, to include international development, impact investing, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship.
social impact days

When you have young, talented people focused on social impact who are energetic and innovative, tackling some of our society's biggest problems, it can lead to really big change for our communities.

Jordan Hmaidan ‘18