Social Enterprise Education Design (SEED) Fellowship Program

The UC Berkeley Social Enterprise Education Design (SEED) Fellowship program provides UC Berkeley graduate students who seek social enterprise internship opportunities at leading firms in the sector, with a network of other Berkeley students passionate about the field, and a cash stipend to make social enterprise internships financially competitive. Though initially focused on MBA students in the Haas School of Business, the SEED Fellowship is open to all graduate school students in the UC Berkeley community. While the SEED Fellowships provide value for students, it also provides benefits for participating resource constrained social enterprises through screening of potential internship candidates and stipends that allow the enterprises to recruit graduate-level talent and offer compensation in line with student expectations.

2008 Social Enterprise Education Design (SEED) Fellows

2007 Social Enterprise Education Design (SEED) Fellows

Purpose of the SEED Fellowship

Developing Social Enterprise at UC Berkeley

The UC Berkeley SEED Fellowship is one element of a larger initiative to expand social enterprise programming at UC Berkeley and establish the university as the leading academic institution in the field. Given UC Berkeley’s existing strengths in many fields related to social enterprise, there is no reason for the university not to occupy a leadership role in this maturing field. As the sector’s impact becomes increasingly clear, interest and support for social enterprise continues to grow. New ideas are being applied to a wide variety of problems and issues, from the environment, to education, to health, to policy. Social enterprise spans disciplines and transcends the typical silos that separate universities, businesses, and nonprofits. In order to unlock the potential for the creation of social value at UC Berkeley, and to help prepare a generation for careers in the field, there exists an opportunity to bring together the varied resources of the university to create a social enterprise initiative to coordinate, aggregate, and increase programming and interest in social enterprise.

The efforts of the larger social enterprise initiative fall into four categories:

Curriculum advancement – encouraging classes focused on the unique challenges and opportunities in the social enterprise field, developing case studies and other relevant academic materials
Social enterprise incubation – supporting the formation and growth of new social enterprises led by UC Berkeley students
UC Berkeley collaboration – growing and deepening relationships with leading social enterprises for large scale projects with UC Berkeley faculty and students
Pipeline for UC Berkeley graduates into the social enterprise field – preparing UC Berkeley students for careers in social enterprise and the means to access the field

The SEED Fellowship has elements in each of the above areas, but is primarily focused on developing internship and experiential learning opportunities with social enterprises for the benefit of UC Berkeley students.

In addition to the Center for Responsible Business, the program is also supported by the University of California's Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), the Big Ideas @ Berkeley Initiative, and the UC Berkeley Bears Breaking Boundaries Contest.

Requirements of SEED Fellows

To become a SEED Fellow, students must apply to the program with essays, a resume, and a commitment to participate in program development for the following academic year. Students are selected based on professional experience and goals, demonstrated interest in social enterprise activities at UC Berkeley, and finally their commitment to developing the SEED Fellowship and the advancement of social enterprise programming on the UC Berkeley campus. SEED Fellows will be required to meet before their summer internships, hold several virtual and at least one face-to-face meeting during the summer, and administer the SEED Fellows program during the year after their summer internships. Click here to read the biographies of past and present SEED Fellows.

2008 SEED Fellow Application

Applications for the 2008 SEED Fellowship are currently being accepted. Please submit your completed application and resume to kbrewer@haas.berkeley.edu by Friday, April 18th at 5:00 PM.

Click here to download the 2008 SEED Fellows application (MS Word Format).

For more information on the SEED Fellows Program, please contact Michael Pearce at michael_pearce@mba.berkeley.edu or Jason Kibbey at jason_kibbey@mba.berkeley.edu with any questions.