Academics
More Courses, More Specializations to Sustainability and Impact
Kellogg currently offers 37 electives that cover a diverse array of skills, functions, industries, and intellectual topics within the umbrella of social impact and sustainability.
This unmatched breadth and depth of coursework is enabled by the engagement of the student body: over the past five years, 80% of each full-time student class has taken at least one elective from our specializations, while 20% of each full-time student class has taken more than 3 electives from our specializations.
Our courses serve the full range of student aspirations: whether you want to build a deep well of skills, knowledge, and experience for a particular functional career path like corporate impact and sustainability or impact and sustainable finance, or whether you have a specific interest in topics like healthcare access or food and agriculture systems, we are equipped to serve you.
In addition to majors, Kellogg provides “specializations” to students interested in building expertise in emerging areas and evolving industries. Social Impact and Sustainability offers two specializations to guide students to courses that are right for their aspirations and interests.
The Sustainability: Climate, Environment, & Energy specialization prepares students for careers in the traditional and renewable energy sectors, other natural-resource-based industries, corporate sustainability and consulting, and corresponding entrepreneurial and investment roles.
The Sustainability: Social Impact & Responsible Leadership Course Specialization is designed for students who want to create positive social change across their careers. The specialization recognizes that social impact and responsible leadership will come throughout the career and will take many varied forms.
Faculty perspective
Sustainability: Climate, Environment, & Energy Specialization
1. Foundations
Leadership Foundations
- What Every MBA Should Know About Climate: STRT-959-5
- Geo-Economics: MECN-925-5
- Ethics and Leadership: PACT 460-0
2. Specialized Professional Toolkits
Economic Analysis and Policy
- The Economics of Energy Markets and the Environment: STRT 458-0
- Climate Impacts: SSIM-960-5
- Carbon Removal, Capture, and Use: ISEN 432
- Government Incentives: ISEN 452
- Value Creation through Sustainability: Managing the Corporate Transformation: SSIM-938-0
- How to Navigate a Climate Transition: SSIM-947-5
- ESG Investing and Sustainability Reporting: ACCT-459-0
- Managing Firms for Shareholders and Society: FINC-484-5
- Climate Activism and Its Business Impacts: ISEN 472
EXPERIENTIAL
- Sustainability Lab: SSIM 636-0
- Social Innovation Practicum: SSIM 452-0
- Abrams Climate Academy:
SSIM 621-0, SSIM 622-0, SSIM 623-0
- Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance: FINC 946-0
- NUvention: Energy: ENTREP 474
- Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital: FINC 445-0
- Early Stage Impact Investing: SSIM-940-0
- Energy Project Development & Finance: ISEN 440
EXPERIENTIAL
- GIM: Impact & Sustainable Ventures: INTL-473-0
- Venture Lab: FINC-615-0 & Private Equity Lab: FINC-639-0
3. Specialized Industries
Food & Agriculture
- Breakthrough Energy Efficiency and Net-Zero Buildings: ISEN 433
- Real Estate Technology: REAL-930-5
- Sustainability in Water and Wastewater: ISEN 470
- Sustainable Supply Chain Management: ISEN 462
- Circular Economy: ISEN 463
- Sustainable and Responsible Supply Chain Strategy Execution: OPNS-941-5
Pre-approved ISEN Classes:
ISEN 402 CASE-BY-CASE Basis - see note*
ISEN 422 Electrify Everything: Beneficial Electrification, Electric Vehicles, and Beyond (1.0 credit)
ISEN 431 Advanced Topics in Electric Technologies: Storage and Microgrids (0.5 credit)
ISEN 432 Carbon Capture, Renewal, and Use
ISEN 440 Energy Infrastructure Development and Finance (1.0 credit)
ISEN 452 Government Incentives (0.5)
ISEN 462 Sustainable Supply Chain Management (1.0 credit)
ISEN 463 Circular Economy (1.0 credit)
ISEN 470 Sustainability in Water and Wastewater (0.5 credit)
ISEN 471 Sustainable Food (0.5 credit)
ISEN 472 Climate Activism and Its Business Impacts (0.5 credit)
ISEN 473 The Future of Food & Agriculture (0.5 credit)
*ISEN 402 focuses on the technical and engineering aspects of electrical grids and could be valuable for Kellogg students without an engineering background who need enough technical understanding to succeed in industry management roles. However, it should not be pre-approved since ISEN did not request this and it is not part of the MBA curriculum, with such courses typically taken outside MBA credits (except possibly MMM students). Instead, it could be handled through case-by-case approval when a student has a strong rationale and needs MBA credit. Additionally, the course is a core ISEN offering that is not shared with other programs, which explains why it is not included in the pathway and why details were not previously provided.
Last edited October 21, 2026. For any questions regarding this page, please email kellogg-registrar@kellogg.northwestern.edu.
Social Impact & Responsible Leadership Specialization
1. Foundations
- Social Change Essentials: Methods, Money, and Partnerships: SSIM-957-5
- Quantifying Social Return: Tools for Impact, Corporate and Nonprofit Investments: SSIM-948-0
- Ethics & Leadership: PACT-460-0
2. Specialized Professional Toolkits
Leadership Foundations
- Strategic Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector: SSIM-950-0
- Strategy and Renewal in Established Nonprofits: STRT-931-5
- Board Governance of Non-Profit Organizations: SSIM-455-5
- Operations for Social Impact: OPNS-951-0
EXPERIENTIAL
- Social Innovation Practicum: SSIM-452-0
- Advanced Board Governance: SSIM-471-5
- Value Creation through Sustainability: Managing the Corporate Transformation: SSIM-938-0
- Managing Firms For Shareholders and Society: FINC-484-5
- How to Navigate a Climate Transition: SSIM-947-5
- Corporate Social Innovation: SSIM-917-5
EXPERIENTIAL
- Sustainability Lab: SSIM-636-0
- Abrams Climate Academy: SSIM-621-0, SSIM-622-0, SSIM-623-0
- Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance: FINC-946-5
- Early Stage Impact Investing: SSIM-940-0
- ESG Investing & Sustainability Reporting: ACCT-459-0
EXPERIENTIAL
- Investing for Community Impact: SSIM-945-0
- GIM: Impact & Sustainable Ventures: INTL-473-0
- Venture Lab: FINC-615-0 & Private Equity Lab: FINC-639-0
- Public Economics: State and Local Policy: PACT-480-0
- Geo-economics: MECN-925-5
- Education Industry: PACT-454-5
- Regulation of Competitive Strategies: BLAW-437-0
- Macroeconomic Policy and Global Capital Markets: FINC-473-0
EXPERIENTIAL
- Mayoral Internship: PACT-699-0
3. Specialized Areas of Impact
Leadership Foundations
- Leadership, Merit, and the Modern Workplace: Leading across Difference - MORS-462-5
- The Science and Strategy of Bias Reduction: MORS-964-5
- Moral Complexity in Leadership: An Exploration through Literature - LDEV-460-0
- What Every MBA Should Know About Climate Change: STRT-959-5
- Climate Impacts: SSIM-960-5
- The Economics of Energy Markets & Environment: STRT-458-0
Sustainability: Climate, Environment & Energy specialization >>
- Entrepreneurship and Market Creation in Emerging Markets: ENTR-906-5
- Strategic Challenges in Emerging Markets: STRT-466-0
- Marketing in Emerging Markets: MKTG-965-0
- GIM: Corporate Strategy and Social Performance: INTL-473-0
- Managing Health Care Services in a Value Based Setting: HCAK-951-5
- Healthcare Strategy Consulting Lab: STRT-947-0
- Understanding Healthcare's Global Marketplace: HCAK-928-5
- Medical Technologies in Global Public Health: SSIM-673-5
- Health & Human Rights: SSIM-933-0