The Impact Project is an initiative intended to increase enrollment of students of color from underserved and / or marginalized communities in the Goddard Graduate Institute’s MA in Social Innovation and Sustainability, who are working on social innovation and sustainability projects that will benefit their communities.
With faculty, staff, and peer guidance and instruction, students design transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies that deepen their research skills, explore place-based solutions, and apply theories to real-world situations. Goddard College believes that those who live or work in the communities or organizations being studied have a better opportunity to facilitate change. Their firsthand knowledge and their intimate connection with stakeholders help shape relevant research inquiries and may help transform social dynamics.
Ruth Farmer, Director of the Graduate Institute, said, “This graduate program is intended for changemakers – activists, scholars, and practitioners who would like to create innovations that advance social, economic, and environmental justice. Students engage diverse stakeholders to co-create equitable and sustainable solutions to local and global challenges.”
A limited number of grants are available for qualified new students with financial need who enroll in Fall 2018 or Spring 2019. The Master of Arts in Social Innovation and Sustainability is a 48-credit degree. Additionally, applicants may apply for GGI’s 36-credit accelerated study option.
These Final Thesis Products represent the “tip of the iceberg” as far as scope and depth in the Social Innovation and Sustainability program:
- An online AIDS Archive and Activism
- A rooftop garden as a means of cultivating cross cultural/intergenerational community connections
- A Community Engagement Strategy for an international border organization creating community structures using reclaimed materials and trash
- A primer for engaging communities in ReUse practices and activism
- A personal reflection on facilitating more equitable, cooperative economic systems and empowerment
- Social Justice Walking Tours in Lower Manhattan
- Enacting culturally resonant strategies to promote the Solidarity Economy in New Orleans
- Promoting youth development and civic engagement through nurturing connection to place and environment
- Creating a youth led magazine
- Increasing the pipeline of people of color talent into nonprofit hiring and leadership
- A workshop on organizers and activists of color sustaining themselves
Learn more about the program here: Master of Arts in Social Innovation and Sustainability or apply to the program and indicate eligibility for the enrollment grant in your application essay.