Master in Social Sector Leadership and Nonprofit Management

Crown Family School's Master's Degree in Social Sector Leadership and Nonprofit Management (SSL) educates leaders focused on creating a more inclusive and just society. Our program provides students a deep understanding of the organizational and policy environments shaping social sector action with the most up-to-date skills in organizational management, governance, and analysis. This program allows students the opportunity to examine the complexity of social problems while developing the capacity to more effectively address social change.

Conceptual, Practical, and Flexible

SSL gives students the necessary knowledge base and skills to lead social sector organizations, particularly those in the fields of health and human services, community organizing and development, policy implementation, and advocacy. Graduates will be able to provide the effective leadership needed to address some of society's most pressing social challenges.

Our program is unique in its ability to provide students with knowledge about how mission-driven organizations and their programs operate in their communities, as well as deep conceptual thinking about how these organizations can respond to complex social problems.

The program also provides students with hands-on knowledge and tools that can be applied to organizational management, governance, strategic planning, and data analysis within diverse settings. Our program prepares students to lead across the social sector, including public, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations.

Students will have the opportunity to study not only with Crown Family School professors who represent over a dozen different disciplines but with scholars from across the University of Chicago, a global research university and a center for innovation. The University's global and local reach and unparalleled resources mean that Crown Family School students are well-supported in their efforts to make sense of and discover solutions to today's urban challenges.

Our in-person full-time nine-month option of 12 courses allows ample opportunities to spend time with professors and learn from colleagues in an intimate setting.

Our programs are affordable, as more than 95 percent of all master's students received merit- and need-based tuition scholarship/gift aid last year.