Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (SISE)

In order to declare SISE as your specialization, you must contact Dr. Tracy Woodard, twoodard@fsu.edu for approval.

An alternative to choosing the general option, ISS major students can select the SISE Specialization as a combination of primary and secondary areas of study.

This specialization provides students with the knowledge and skills to take on society’s most pressing social and environmental problems by creating innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. 

  • We learn that we cannot help construct solutions to problems until we truly understand the problem, the consequences, and root causes.   
  • We strive to create system-level changes that apply a human-centered approach which is obsessively focused on understanding the perspective of those who experience the problem, their needs, and including them in the entire process. 
  • As social innovators we learn how to affect social change by creating novel solutions that are better than current solutions and truly meet the needs of those who are effective. 
  • As social entrepreneurs, we learn how to relentlessly pursue new opportunities to create and sustain innovative products, services, ventures, or programs to address the world’s most complex social and environmental issues.  

SISE Structure

The Interdisciplinary Social Science (ISS) Program offers a specialization in Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship. This is a 10-course specialization (a combined primary and secondary area of study) organized as follows: Four (4) required courses; two (skill electives); four (4) topic electives (students can take courses from different topic areas). 

SISE Courses

Required Courses

  • ISS 3241            Foundations of Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship (3)
  • ISS 4308            Human-Centered Design for Social Innovation (3) (required prerequisite ISS 3241)
  • ISS 3330           Interdisciplinary Social Science Research (3)*
  • ENT 3513          Market Solutions to Social Problems (3)

*other social science research methods 3000/4000 courses may be used to meet this requirement

Skill Elective Courses
Choose Two:

  • ECS 3022 Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (3)
  • ENT 3173 Franchising (3)
  • ENT 3423 Funding Sources for Entrepreneurial Opportunities (3)
  • ENT 3515 Principles of Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Enterprises (3)
  • ENT 4114 Commercial Entrepreneurship (3)
  • ENT 3607 Innovation by Design (3)
  • ENT 4227 Entrepreneurship (3)
  • ENT 4623 Healthcare Entrepreneurship (3)
  • FAD 4601 Foundations of Counseling (3)
  • ISS 4994 Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Internship (3, 6)
  • LDR 3200 Leadership and Ethics (3)
  • LDR 3215 Leadership and Change (3)
  • MAR 3023 Basic Marketing Concepts (3)
  • PAD 4144 Managing the Nonprofit Organization (3)
  • PAD 4170 Nongovernmental Organizations in Development (3)
  • PAD 4203r Financial Management for the Nonprofit Organization (3)
  • PAD 4223 Budgets and Finances in Managing Public Affairs         (3)
  • PAD 4432 Public Program Evaluation (3)
  • SOW 4290 Ethical Issues in Social Work Practice (3)
  • SOW 4454 Grant Writing and Grant Management (3)
  • SOW 3350 Interviewing and Documentation (3)

Topic Elective Courses
Choose Four (may take courses from different topic areas):

Aging:

  • FAD 3343 Contexts of Adult Development and Aging (3)
  • IDS 3342 Boomers and Millennials: Changing Generations (3)
  • IDS 3433 Modern Death (3)
  • SOW 4645 Gerontological Social Work (3).

Education:

  • IDS 3512 Examining the Educational Achievement Gap (3)
  • SYO 4250 Sociology of Education (3)
  • SOW 4633 The Social Worker in the Public School System (3)

Environment:

  • GEO 4251 Geography of Climate Change and Storms (3)
  • GEO 4357 Environmental Conflict and Economic Development (3)
  • SYD 4510 Environmental Sociology (3)
  • PAD 4015 Cites at Risk (3)
  • URP 4710 Introduction to Transportation Issues and Transportation Planning (3)

Gender:

  • ANT 3300 Masculinity in Global Perspective (3)
  • CJE 3280 Women on All Sides of the Law (3)
  • GEO 4412 Environment and Gender (3) 
  • PAD 4433 Women, Disasters, and Conflict (3)
  • SOP 3742 Psychology of Women (3)
  • SYD 3800 Sociology of Sex and Gender (3)

Globalization:

  • CPO 3034 Politics of Developing Areas (3)
  • CPO 3743 States and Markets (3)
  • GEO 4503 Globalization (3)
  • INR 4011 Political Responses to Economic Globalization (3)

Health and Well Being:

  • CLP 3314 Health Psychology (3)
  • CLP 4110 Eating Disorders (3)
  • CLP 4143 Abnormal Psychology (3)
  • CLP 4182 Addictive Behaviors (3)
  • SYO 4402 Medical Sociology (3)

Human Rights:

  • CTE 4470 Sustainability and Human Rights in the Business World (3)
  • INR 4075 International Human Rights (3)
  • INR 4078 Confronting Human Rights Violations (3)
  • PHM 3351 Philosophy of Human Rights (3)
  • POS 4624 The Supreme Court, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights (3)
  • IDS 3415 Guns, Drugs, and Slaves: The History of Trafficking in the Modern World (3)
  • SOW 4232 Social Welfare Policies and Programs (3)
  • WOH 3440 History of Refugees (3)

Family Violence and Other Family Issues:

  • CHD 4615 Public Policy: Child and Family Issues (3)
  • CHD 3243 Contexts of Adolescent Development (3)
  • CJJ 3013 Youth Culture and Crime (3)
  • FAD 3220 Individual and Family Life Span Development (3)
  • FAD 3271 Ecological Contexts for Individual & Family Development (3)
  • SOW 4615 Family Violence Across the Lifespan (3)
  • SOW 4658 Child Maltreatment and Child Welfare (3)
  • SOW 4650 Child Welfare Practice (3)
  • SYO 3100 Families and Social Change (3)

Poverty:

  • AFA 3604: Politics of Black Poverty: Issues of Race, Class, and Space (3)
  • ECO 4132 Economics of Compassion (3)
  • GEO 3502 Economic Geography (3)
  • SOW 4247 Homelessness in America: People, Programs and Policies (3)
  • SYO 3530 Social Classes and Inequality (3)

Race, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Inequalities:

  • AFA 3330 Black Families in America (3)
  • AMH 4530 U.S. Immigration History (3)
  • CCJ 3678 Policing Diversity: Race, Gender, Religion, and Crime (3)
  • CJE 3703 Black and White: Recognizing Disparities in the Criminal Justice System (3)
  • FAD 4265 Family Diversity (3)
  • GEO 4404 Black Geographies (3)
  • ISS 4164 Intersections, Power, & Policy (3)
  • ISS 4159 Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality (3)
  • SOW 4152 Human Sexuality (3)
  • SOW 4620 Diversity and Social Justice (3)
  • SYD 4700 Race and Minority Group Relations (3)
  • URP 4811 Multicultural Urbanism (3)

Religion:

  • REL 3138 Religious Intolerance in America (0–1)
  • REL 4393 Islam in North America (3)     
  • REL 3152 Religion, Race, and Ethnicity (3)

Social Justice Movements:

  • PUP 4024 Interest Groups, Social Movements, and Public Policy (3)
  • SYP 3350 Collective Action and Social Movements (3)
  • SYP 3454 The Global Justice Movement (3)
  • AFA 4007 Black Political Thought & Social Movement (3)

Sustainability:

  • EVR 4314 Energy and Society (3)
  • CTE 4470 Sustainability and Human Rights in the Business World (3)
  • GEO 4280 Geography of Water Resources (3)
  • GEO 4355 Geography: Food and Environment (3)
  • PUP 4203 Environmental Politics and Policy       (3)
  • URP 4402 Sustainable Development Planning in the Americas (3)
  • URP 4715 Bike and Pedestrian Planning (3)