Pepperdine GSEP Announces Expansion of the Masters in Social Entrepreneurship and Change Program to Washington D.C.

The prestigious Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology will launch its top-ranking Social Entrepreneurship and Change (SEC) masters program in Washington D.C., walking distance from the White House, in January 2022. The nation's first-ever Master's degree in social entrepreneurship, Pepperdine's SEC program is designed to address the challenges facing our world today and provide students with the skills to lead the way forward. Students will develop innovative solutions to pressing societal problems through a curriculum combining business, policy, and social entrepreneurship in a dynamic classroom experience that is now expanding across two coasts.

The transformative curriculum is delivered by social impact practitioners who have developed and led organizations and have been involved in top-ranking government positions led by Dr. Stephen Kirnon, chair of the program. The faculty are looking forward to having an increased presence on the East Coast and within the larger D.C. area. "The SEC program will be an asset to Washington DC's political, advocacy, and social enterprise ecosystem by educating leaders with the knowledge, skills, and experience to become successful leaders of global social change and creators of innovative, market-based solutions to our world's most complex challenges. Our graduates are change-makers in every sector, and by expanding, we will launch even more global leaders to make a change in the social issues that are currently ailing our world."- Dr. Kirnon

Pepperdine's SEC program takes a unique approach to global change, preparing students for sustainability and introducing them to social challenges from a cultural perspective. Students gain the skills and resources required to lead and inspire change in new ventures, existing organizations, local communities, and across the globe with a degree from one of the nation's most respected, forward-thinking, values-based graduate schools. Participants spend two weeks or more in a developing country working with a local organization, learning how they create change in their communities through the unique global immersion experience. Proficiency in leadership, business, and social enterprise makes this one of the most versatile and valuable master's degrees available.

Since the program launched in West Los Angeles, graduates have developed numerous ventures all over the world, making a sustainable change. From cohort #9, Christopher Donnell says, "The program, along with the professors and my fellow classmates, taught me how to be a stronger leader. After graduating, I feel equipped to make an impact coaching first-time entrepreneurs to make the change they want to see in the world. I would recommend this program to entrepreneurs wanting to improve the lives of others"

In five terms (20 months), students of the cohort-based, hybrid program will attend one synchronous online evening class per week and attend two weekends each term in person on the Washington D.C. campus with the flexibility to continue to live anywhere in the world. Students gain experiential education through the capstone project by incubating a plan and presenting a final pitch to a panel of influential social entrepreneurs with the potential to win seed money.

For more information, visit the Master of Arts in Social Entrepreneurship and Change website and schedule a call with an advisor through this link.

Contact:
Ernesto Santiago Elizondo
Enrollment Officer
Graduate School of Education and Psychology
Ernesto.SantiagoElizondo@pepperdine.edu