In the College of Business Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise graduate program, you’ll spend 18 months working with highly motivated colleagues, knowledgeable world-class faculty members, and experienced field partners. You’ll research, plan and build an enterprise that will have a significant business impact and make the world a better place. You’ll start with two semesters on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins, and then complete a 10-week summer practicum, returning to campus in the fall to complete your program.
The GSSE Masters of Science in Business Administration is designed to provide a foundation in business principles, building your ability to apply them to the great social and environmental problems of our time. When you graduate, you’ll be ready to make a difference in the world.
For the GSSE degree, each course has been specifically designed to emphasize an entrepreneurial approach, developing world markets, in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. You will take core courses in traditional areas such as marketing, management, accounting and finance, as well as cross-disciplinary courses, such as social entrepreneurship, and topical seminars in microfinance and ecological perspectives for business.
Our Students
Each year, the GSSE program brings together an entering class of 25 students from around the world, roughly half American and half international. You’ll continue with this same close-knit group of students throughout the entire program. Because of the international make-up of the GSSE student group and the diverse skill sets (e.g.: engineering, business management, not-for-profit economic development, etc.), you’ll learn as much from each other as from our faculty.
Project and Field Experience
An essential component of your experience at CSU will be a team-based project, including summer field work, most likely in a developing country. From your first semester through graduation, you will be working to develop enterprises that address real world problems. Some of the project ideas will come from you and your colleagues, while others will come from concepts identified by our GSSE partner organizations.
Partnerships
A distinguishing strength of the GSSE program is its partnerships with leading international organizations. Our project partners work in areas such as environmental conservation, microfinance, public health, alternative energy and agriculture. These partners will play a key role in the program: helping identify projects for your student teams, mentoring teams, supervising your field work and advising on your final project work. In return, they will benefit from interacting with our students and faculty, receiving significant assistance on projects, and having a pipeline of graduates from which to recruit.
Now is the Time
The UN Millennium Goals outline the challenges our world faces: poverty, hunger, disease, and environmental degradation. Society also is recognizing that the current economic system has imposed heavy costs on the environment and natural systems. Social entrepreneurship, the heart of the GSSE program, is evolving as a new solution to old, intractable problems and offering renewed hope for healthier people, a sustainable planet, and socially responsible returns on investment for business.