Indigenous 
Overview
The Bachelor of Commerce: Social Innovation at St. Lawrence College is a unique, three-year degree designed for individuals passionate about enhancing social and sectoral outcomes through applied innovation, systems thinking, organizational resilience, and entrepreneurial solutions. This program equips students with the tools to tackle a range of business and societal challenges, such as climate change, renewable energy, bioregional integration, and regenerative practices by blending applied strategies, technological resources, experiential learning, and cross-sector collaboration.
The program is tailored for students who aspire to drive meaningful change in industries including energy, transportation, healthcare, urban development, and agriculture among others. It emphasizes career-ready skills aligned with existing and emerging employment needs. By integrating applied learning, digital tools, and sustainability methods and practices, graduates are prepared for occupations within and across private, public, co-operative, and government sectors.
What sets this program apart is its emphasis on social innovation, which combines creativity, technology, and business acumen to address evolving socio-economic issues and challenges. If you're ready to lead change and build a career that matters, the Bachelor of Commerce: Social Innovation at St. Lawrence College is your pathway to shaping the future.
Program Details
Program Highlights
Key features of the program:
- Flexible Learning for Working Professionals: With 30% of coursework delivered online, you’ll only need to attend campus two days a week for in-person classes. This structure supports career growth without compromising work-life balance.
- 300+ Hours of Experiential Learning: Through capstone projects and collaborations with industry partners, students gain hands-on experience solving real-world problems.
- Diverse Curriculum: Core business courses in accounting, marketing, and project management are integrated with specialized studies in innovation, artificial intelligence, negotiation, and sustainability.
The Bachelor of Commerce: Social Innovation degree is a distinctive and practical degree designed to equip students with the tools to address complex societal, professional, and environmental challenges. With an emphasis on sustainability, resilience, design and systems thinking, this three-year degree combines modern business strategies with a creative and socially responsive approach to problem-solving.
Key program highlights include hands-on experiential learning through collaborations with internal and external partners and developing capstone projects to respond to business and social challenges. The curriculum integrates essential business disciplines with courses in innovation, social entrepreneurship, ethics, and risk management. Students also gain exposure to advanced technologies, analytical tools, and methodologies to design and implement solutions and maximize opportunities.
Partnerships with local and regional organizations, startups, and global networks like Enactus provide hands-on experience and exposure to real-world challenges. These opportunities not only enhance employability but also allow students to build meaningful professional networks and portfolios before graduation.
The SLC Bachelor of Commerce: Social Innovation program uniquely positions graduates to lead in the rapidly evolving business landscape while contributing to meaningful social change.
Program Learning Outcomes
Consider, explore, and integrate various ways of knowing and learning into developing innovative, creative, and sustainable approaches to social, business, and environmental challenges.
- Employ project management, design thinking, and systems resiliency principles to a range of challenges and opportunities.
- Build and sustain partnerships with government, business, and community partners and manage stakeholder relations for collective action.
- Outline solutions for social, environmental, and economic challenges using digital methods, entrepreneurial practices, and innovation-based processes.
- Collaborate within professional and inter-professional working groups to assess problems and develop solutions.
- Develop and execute a business plan that addresses societal, environmental, or economic challenges to meet the needs of a variety of stakeholders.
- Conduct applied research and data-informed evaluation to measure outcomes, refine programs, and communicate value to diverse stakeholders.
- Create and evaluate social enterprises, program designs, and policy interventions using systems thinking, human-centered design, and strategic planning.
- Lead ethically and inclusively through embodying values-driven leadership that integrates equity, diversity, and community-centered decision making.
Program Outline
The program consists of 78 course credits, including 300+ hours of experiential learning.
- 20 Core Business Courses
- 2 Practical Capstone Courses
- 1 Mandated Breadth Course
- 5 Non-Core Degree Breadth Elective Courses
2026-2027
Core concepts of Canadian and global business practices will be explored while developing critical and analytical thinking and business decision-making skills for sustainable, environmentally conscious, and culturally diverse marketplaces. Students will learn to accurately use standard global business terminology in both written and verbal communication, as well as identify key actors such as firms, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and trade organizations within Canadian and global business systems. The course further examines different forms of business ownership, the characteristics of entrepreneurs, and the distinctions between management and leadership through the review of relevant theory and context.
In the world of business and innovation, technology plays a critical role in capturing, managing, and analyzing large and complex data sets. In this course, students explore a wide range of data sources and examine the strategic decision-making involved in data capture, management, and use. Learners also investigate the principles of data governance, including ethical, legal, and organizational considerations that shape how data is collected, stored, presented, and shared. Through hands-on engagement with industry-relevant tools and techniques, students develop the skills to collect, analyze, interpret, and present data in ways that transform raw information into clear, compelling, and actionable stories that support informed decision-making.
Students explore the principles and fundamental concepts in microeconomics and macroeconomics through a social innovation and sustainable development lens to gain an understanding of how economists approach, analyze, and solve social and business issues. At the microeconomic level, the course examines concepts such as supply and demand interaction, competition (monopoly, oligopoly), and the role of government in promoting efficiency in the economy. At the macroeconomic level, students will explore gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, unemployment, money, banks, fiscal and monetary policies, exchange rates, and international trade. Students will also explore current issues in economics and examine personal decision making regarding their economic choices.
In this course, students explore and critically engage with the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool for addressing complex social innovation challenges. The course introduces foundational AI concepts and technologies and examines their practical applications across social, environmental, commercial, and community-based contexts. Through this exploration, students develop the knowledge and skills needed to responsibly leverage AI to design, evaluate, and implement solutions that promote positive and ethical social impact.
*May be delivered partially or completely online
Students will explore processes for generating creative ideas and uncovering barriers that often block creativity and collaboration. Links between creativity, culture, and innovation are discovered as learners generate solutions to problems experienced by organizations.
This course introduces students to the foundational concepts, principles, and applications of social finance within the context of social innovation. Students examine funding models, impact-oriented financial methodologies, and evaluative frameworks used to support socially focused ventures and initiatives. Learners also develop introductory skills in assessing social finance scenarios, communicating value propositions, ad making ethical and sustainability focused financial decisions.
Students incorporate strategies for negotiation, conflict resolution, and ethical decision-making while collaborating in multi-stakeholder social innovation contexts. Students learn and practice communication and negotiation strategies for working with diverse communities, including cross-cultural and Indigenous approaches to negotiation and collaboration, with emphasis on ethics, power dynamics, and equity in multi-stakeholder social innovation contexts.
In this course, students prepare to manage small to medium-scale projects. Students determine the financial, technological and human requirements for a project, plan the scope of the project and schedule deliverables and budget, identify potential risks and mitigations, and present the plan.
*May be delivered partially or completely online
Learners apply theoretical models of ethical decision-making to business as they examine the morals, values, cultural beliefs, and societal and environmental ramifications of business decisions. Learners evaluate potential outcomes of decisions to determine their effect on the workplace and beyond. Learners consider their own personal approaches to ethical dilemmas to exemplify how bias and culture are present in systemic ethical issues. Learners discover how organizations integrate social responsibility into their strategic plans and how certain groups may be disproportionately affected by those strategies.
Building on foundational data literacy, this course examines how organizations and societies govern, evaluate, and safeguard data. Students critically analyze data sources for credibility, transparency, and risk; apply ethical and legislative frameworks; and assess how data influences decision‑making across social, technological, and business systems. Learners explore privacy, consent, misinformation, and policy contexts while producing applied evaluations and risk‑mitigation strategies that reflect responsible and accountable data practice.
Design thinking is a structured methodology for addressing complex and ambiguous challenges. This course provides students with practical experience in the five key phases of design thinking: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.
*Please note this course will be fully online
Students study and assess commonly used business marketing strategies, examining how different variables and environments affect marketing methods and planning. They utilize market research, customer insights, and strategies rooted in sustainability to create and showcase a marketing campaign.
*May be delivered partially or completely online
*Please note that this course will be fully online
Students engage in the study of visual thinking and design, developing the skills, methodologies, and concepts required for fostering curiosity and enhancing critical analysis. Learners implement visual thinking strategies and design principles in a range of creative assignments.
Students analyze the influence of government policy on societal protection and consider how delays in policy formulation can adversely affect society. They assess the ways in which policy can direct or limit innovation and technological progress. Learners employ critical thinking and evaluative methods throughout the process of policy development.
Students will explore the application of effective communication skills and engagement with diverse teams and audiences. Students will develop materials through an innovation lens, utilizing inter-cultural communication approaches to analyse issues from multiple perspectives and propose informed solutions intended to encourage meaningful social change.
This course helps students understand system resilience by looking at it from various disciplines. They assess, engage, and manage complex business and community situations, both locally and globally. Learners examine social innovation systems to find ways to build or improve adaptable skills that help organizations succeed in complex, uncertain, and volatile conditions. The course teaches students how to enhance social, environmental, professional, and entrepreneurial outcomes, with an emphasis on building and maintaining innovative cultures.
*May be delivered partially or completely online
This course is the first of two capstone classes where students collaborate with partners, ranging from local to international, to research, define, and plan a project addressing a social innovation challenge or opportunity. The project's goals and strategies can relate to various fields, including science and technology, arts and culture, food and drink, business and community development, or production and manufacturing.
In the past, innovations designed to move society forward often overlooked their effects on the environment and fairness in society. Today, many inventors are addressing the negative consequences left by older technologies like fossil fuel vehicles, factory farming, and fast fashion. In this course, students explore why sustainability and environmental responsibility matter and learn how to weave these concepts into their capstone projects.
In this course students learn useful techniques for qualitative risk assessment and decision-making throughout the lifespan of a project. Students develop risk mitigation strategies for common types of risk encountered in businesses.
*May be delivered partially or completely online
In the second capstone course, students are responsible for developing and executing their proposed initiatives. They implement social innovation strategies to fulfil the requirements of their projects. Upon completion, learners formally present their results to an audience that may include internal and external stakeholders, sponsors, faculty members, peers, and other relevant communities.
*Please note this course will be fully online
This course offers students a critical evaluation of key issues resulting from technological advancements. Participants systematically analyze, assess, and compare historical and contemporary experiences with technological progress, providing insights into evolving challenges and emerging opportunities.
This course enables students to systematically organize concepts and structure information for the purpose of designing and delivering professional, engaging, and effective interactions with customers and partners. Students will develop persuasive communication strategies aimed at influencing, motivating, and fostering meaningful change across diverse audiences, contexts, and scenarios. Additionally, participants will refine improvisational skills to adeptly respond to questions during public speaking engagements, leaving audiences with a positive impression.
*May be delivered partially or completely online
Requirements
Admission Requirements
Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), or mature applicants or equivalent with the following prerequisites.
Minimum 65% overall average for six Grade 12U or 12M level courses including:
- Grade 12 English at the U level
-
Grade 11 Math at the U or M level
OR
Completion of a college diploma with a minimum 2.50 GPA
OR
Completion of one year of full-time university with a minimum 2.50 GPA
For OSSD equivalency options, see Admission Requirements.
University Transfer Students: As long as you either have the minimum program standard average of 65% in their six high school U/M courses OR a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on a 4-point scale in your university courses. All courses will be included in the calculation of the admission average. You must have completed at least one year of university studies as a full-time student.
Fees
2026-2027
Fees are estimates. Tuition is based on two semesters.
Fees are estimates only. Tuition is based on two semesters.
Kingston
Our Kingston campus has seen significant renovation over the past few years, including a brand new Student Life and Innovation Centre that houses a new gymnasium, fitness centre, pub, and more.
Career Opportunities
Students will be well-positioned to access pivotal roles across rapidly expanding sectors including, but not limited to:
Business Management
- Business Development Coordinator
- Operations Coordinator
- Program Administrator (nonprofit, co-operative, or public sector)
- Grants and Funding Coordinator
Research and Analysis
- Market Research Coordinator
- Policy Research Assistant
- Data and Evaluation Coordinator
- Community Needs Assessment Coordinator
Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Coordinator
- Sustainability Coordinator
- ESG Reporting Analyst
Community and Social Services
- Community Program Coordinator
- Social Enterprise Coordinator
- Community Engagement Officer
- Fundraising and Development Coordinator
Project and Program Management
- Project Coordinator
- Program Coordinator (government, nonprofit, or private sector)
- Operations and Project Support Specialist
Communications and Stakeholder Relations
- Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator
- Public and Community Relations Coordinator
- Marketing Coordinator (purpose-driven organization)
Entrepreneurship and Venture Development
- Social Enterprise Founder
- Small Business Owner/Operator
- New Venture Development Associate
- Startup Program Participant (incubator or accelerator)
- Entrepreneur-in-Residence
The program’s focus on real-world application and industry connections ensures graduates are well-equipped to succeed in roles requiring adaptability, strategic thinking, and a commitment to social impact. Regional demand for these positions is strong, making this a valuable degree for forward-thinking business professionals.
Program Contacts
Program Coordinator
Polina Buchan (She), MBA, CM, PMP
pbuchan@sl.on.ca
Admissions Information