School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED)

About the Diploma

The Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation is a part-time executive-level program specifically designed for experienced professionals from the private, public and non-profit sectors who are interested in pursuing new ideas, new partnerships and new strategies for bringing about positive social change. The program provides the education and skills necessary to operate in highly complex environments and has been custom-designed to mobilize cutting edge knowledge for high impact. Participants will learn about the concepts and theories that frame ideas related to social innovation and then apply their knowledge and insight to the design of new social innovation strategies to address problems of deep concern to them. Professional coaching, expert advisors, and access to some of the world’s leading educators and consultants in this domain are just a few of the unique features of this collaboration for social innovation education.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must:
• Have at least three years of work experience in private, public or non-profit setting. *
• Have completed a recognized four-year Honours Bachelor’s degree.

* The School may consider applications from mature students who do not meet the regular academic admission requirements of a four-year Honours Bachelor's degree or equivalent. To be considered, and applicant who does not meet the regular academic requirements must have at least eight years of management experience and a minimum GMAT score of 550, or an equivalent score on the GRE (referencing ETS's GRE Comparison Table for Business Schools).

In cases where exceptional applicants do not meet these requirements, please contact: sig.admissions@uwaterloo.ca.

Diploma Requirements

This program will be delivered through a combination of four in-person modules (covering 17 days in total, including some weekends from September to May) and four state-of-the-art inter-modular online learning experiences.

Contact Information