Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good

Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good Co-Concentration

The Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good co-concentration is jointly sponsored by the Business Law and Society, Information Systems and Marketing departments. It is designed to be a second concentration for Carroll School of Management undergraduate students, who must first choose a primary concentration such as Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Management & Leadership, Marketing, or Operations Management.

Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good aims to provide Carroll School students with a well-defined, interdisciplinary co-concentration focused on analyzing the multifaceted impacts of today’s global corporations and understanding the personal and professional challenges of managing organizations to foster sustainability and the public good.

In successfully completing this co-concentration, students will:

  • Develop a theoretical and practical understanding of the extended social impacts of global corporations and why responsible enterprise values and the public good are relevant for all stakeholders
  • Learn to apply research and critical thinking to understand the challenges, benefits and current practices in Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Explore the philosophical, ethical, legal, economic and ecological implications of the decisions made by corporate and public sector global leaders through case studies, readings and class discussions
  • Understand the challenges, available tools and innovative models for measuring social impacts and balancing stakeholder value in a variety of corporate, nonprofit and public sector organizations
  • Develop and articulate a personal vision for integrating moral decision-making, social justice, citizenship and responsible management in their future professional lives

Course Requirements

This co-concentration requires 4 courses (representing at least 12 credits), 2 of which are required and 2 of which are electives. In accordance with the interdisciplinary nature of Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good, students in this co-concentration will select their 2 electives from a list of courses jointly approved by the Carroll School of Management and participating departments in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. The MCAS elective courses taken for credit toward completing this co-concentration cannot be counted toward fulfilling other concentration, minor, or core requirements.

The following two Carroll School courses are required:

BSLW3345 Managing for Social Impact (fall/spring)
BSLW6001 Leading for Social Impact  (spring of senior year)

In addition, students must take two approved elective courses outside the Carroll School (for a total of at least 6 credits). See the list of approved electives.

Elective credit will only be granted for courses taken from the approved electives list. Students who would like to inquire about the possibility of receiving elective credit for a course that does not appear on the electives list must submit obtain approval from the Managing for Social Impact Program Directors prior to enrolling in the course.

Requests are reviewed during the Fall and Spring semesters. There is no guarantee that requests will be granted.

Study Abroad

One elective towards the co-concentration can be taken abroad if the course content is comparable to that of a Boston College elective. Credit for study abroad requires pre-travel approval and post-travel course approval from the Directors of the Managing for Social Impact program. Students must submit  to begin the pre-travel approval process before going abroad and enrolling in the course.

Pre-travel approval requests are reviewed during the Fall and Spring of the Academic year. There is no guarantee that requests will be granted.

If pre-travel approval is granted, credit for courses taken abroad will only be granted upon the student’s return from the program, based on the graded work completed for the course.

Declaring the Co-Concentration

Students interested in the co-concentration can declare it at the undergraduate dean's office after filling out the interest form below. Students must declare the co-concentration by October 15 of their junior year. After that date, we cannot guarantee a spot in the required foundation course. 


For questions about the Managing for Social Impact co-concentration, contact the Office of the Undergraduate Dean at carrollug@bc.edu.