Loyola University > Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship (CELTS) > Programs > Undergraduate Research (LUROP) > Fellowships > Social Innovation/Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship

The Social Innovation/Social Entrepreneurship (SI/SE) Fellowships designed for undergraduate students in any academic discipline who are developing a social innovation project or a social entrepreneurship venture. Students establish an individual project with faculty mentorship rooted in research and that addresses an expressed need contributing social value to the larger community. The SI/SE Fellowship is co-sponsored by Loyola’s Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, & Scholarship and the Raymond C. Baumhart, S.J., Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility.

Adapting a review of the social entrepreneurship literature, Dees (2001) has synthesized the definition of Social Entrepreneurs to the following:

Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector, by:

Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value)
Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission
Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning
Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and
Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.

This fellowship celebrates social enterprise, a movement which seeks to provide vital social services for meeting urgent human needs by utilizing the concepts and methods of business. Social enterprise has the potential to transform both the social sector and the business world. This fellowship is co-sponsored with the Raymond C. Baumhart, S.J., Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility, which has the mission of supporting the emerging social enterprise movement by preparing students for careers in this important new field and conducting cutting-edge research that advances the innovative delivery of social services. Fostering undergraduate research opportunities for Loyola students that honors social enterprise and encourages social innovation is the core foundation of this fellowship.

Program Requirements: Open to students from all academic disciplines and schools at the university, and students in the Quinlan School of Business are especially encouraged to apply. Students are eligible for the Fellowship during the summer or the academic-year fellowship. Students need pre-approval from their faculty mentor before applying.

Award: $2,000 per year

Research Budget: Up to $1,000

Timeline: Summer Session (May–August) or Academic Year (September–May)

Application Deadline: March 1

Required for Application:

Letter of Recommendation from Faculty Mentor (requested through online application)
Project Title
Project Abstract (1500 characters)
Project Description (2–3 pages, single-spaced)
Budget
Approvals (if mentor has them) Any Necessary Biohazard, Human Subject, Animal Subject, Radiation Approval Numbers