Nonprofit Studies Minor

18 Credit Hours Required

The nonprofit sector offers students a form of public service outside of government work. Nonprofit organizations provide a broad range of public services in South Dakota, the U.S., and around the world.  The goal of the Nonprofit Studies minor is to prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed for advancement in this vibrant and growing sector for young professionals. The minor trains students how to lead nonprofits in program development; budgeting and finance; program evaluation; and general administration. Preparation is developed through coursework, internship, and service-learning opportunities focused on capacity-building of individual students and, through them, the sector as a whole. When completed, graduates will have a strong understanding of (1) how nonprofit organizations work with government and private-sector organizations to serve the broad public interest; (2) how nonprofit staff, board and volunteer relationships are developed for the successful achievement of organizational goals, (3) best practices in nonprofit fundraising and resource management, and (4) how to evaluate nonprofit performance and disseminate results to the community at large.  

Required Courses (12 credit hours)

• POLS 421 - The Nonprofit Sector
• POLS 422 - Fund Raising Public/Nonprofit Organizations
• POLS 423 - Nonprofit Governance and Administration
• POLS 427 - Grants Management

Select one of the following that represent the type of classes that are capacity building (3 credit hours)

• ECON 410 - Economic Growth & Development
• LDR 310 - Introduction to Living a Life of Leadership
• LDR 401 - Advanced Leadership Theory and Practice
• LDR 404 - Leadership Communication & Conflict Resolution
• MCOM 243 - Public Relations Principles
• ANTH 423 - Lakota Governance
• NATV 423 - Lakota Governance
• PHIL 240 - Introduction to Ethics, Law, and Society [SGR #4, HSDC]
• POLS 320 - Public Administration (C)
• POLS 424 - Planning: Principles and Techniques
• SOC 150 - Social Problems (C) [SGR #3, HSDC]
• SOC 432 - Collective Behavior and Social Change (C)
• SOCW 340 - Human Behavior in the Social Environment I
• SOCW 400 - Social Policy
• CMST 310 - Business and Professional Speaking (C)
• CMST 485 - Communication and Conflict Resolution (C)

• *Additional capacity building elective courses may be accepted upon approval from program director.

Select one of the following that represent the type of classes that are service oriented (3 credit hours)

• ACP 410 - Addictive Family Systems & Family Counseling
• ACP 421 - Foundations of Substance Use and Addiction Prevention
• BIOL 454 - Environmental Ethics
• CJUS 315 - Ethics in Criminal Justice
• CJUS 219 - Family Violence
• CJUS 436 - Juvenile Justice (C)
• NATV 310 - Federal Indian Policy
• NATV 330 - Native People’s Health Care, Promotion and Policy
• NATV 422 - Native American Religion and Spirituality
• SOC 423 - Social Stratification (C)
• SOC 480 - Sociology of Education
• SUST 412 - Earth and Water Resources
• SUST 426 - Collapse of Societies
• SUST 428 - Sustainability and Urbanism

• * Additional service area elective courses may be accepted upon approval from program director.