Graduate Degrees for Social Entrepreneurs

A different type of social entrepreneurship story is told by Sasha Chanoff, founder and executive director of Mapendo International, a not-for-profit organization which identifies and resettles those refugees who are in the most extreme danger.

"Social entrepreneur is a term that is used quite a lot and I guess I do define myself as one," he says.

"When I started working with refugees I had a very specific job. However I was always trying to think of things I could do outside that job to help. Mapendo has become the solution to the problems I was thinking about."

Chanoff decided to return to full-time education to prepare himself for the challenges of setting up his own organization. He chose a Masters in Humanitarian Assistance at Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Friedman School of Nutrition, Science and Policy, a joint degree program through the Tufts Feinstein International Famine Centre.

"I was attracted by the NGO management and social entrepreneurship degrees, and I finally decided on this program because it was one of the most cutting edge. It helped to give me a better l understanding of all the work I had done for the past decade.

"I got access to people who had created organizations themselves or who had led organizations such as Oxfam America, UNICEF or the Red Cross. On top of this I had access to all the colleagues on the program who had a great deal of experience."

A third non-MBA master's path is to seek out programs that allow you to enter existing public-sector or third-sector organizations which are active in the facilitation or financing of social entrepreneurship.

Dr. Audrey Selian has an MSc from the London School of Economics, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, and a PhD from Tufts University Fletcher School of International Affairs.

She argues, "Non-MBA degrees can actually foster a far more 'out of the box' approach, although the skill-set of knowing your numbers is always vital to attract any serious amount of funding."

"For example, for those working on developing portfolios of investee companies in a country such as India, more diverse skill-sets are vital. These portfolios tend to be comprised of small and growing businesses led by social entrepreneurs and you have to be commercial, but the tool kits of an investment-banker MBA don't always go far enough."

The three case studies show the importance of graduate school in first enhancing hard transferable skills, such as an engineering specialization.

Those with experience in the relevant field, such as Chanoff, can then use a carefully chosen social-entrepreneurship or NGO management qualification to give them the theory, contacts and opportunity for reflection they need to become successful social entrepreneurs.

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