Partnerships that expand learning and social impact
Wilmette Institute partners with colleges and universities to bring learning about social transformation to their students. Through online coursework and collaborative learning, students explore how individuals and communities can contribute to positive change.
Our current partnership with North Carolina Central University offers one example of this work. We welcome conversations with institutions interested in creating meaningful learning opportunities for their students.
Two accredited pathways in social transformation
Wilmette Institute is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). We offer online certificates at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Graduate Certificate
Social Transformation Certificate
An online graduate program focused on social transformation and community engagement.
- Complete three courses within two years
- Connect learning with community questions
- Engage in guided research
Undergraduate Certificate
Foundations of Social Transformation
An online undergraduate program designed to complement students’ existing studies.
- Take two courses over two semesters
- Connect learning with real-world challenges
- Build a foundation for meaningful social action
A current partnership: North Carolina Central University
Wilmette Institute’s five-year memorandum of understanding with North Carolina Central University, signed in 2024, supports collaborative learning opportunities in social transformation for NCCU students. Through the partnership, students can engage with Wilmette Institute courses, including Catalysts of Social Change.
Students connect interdisciplinary study with community-based learning and real-world challenges. A research component connects students with mentors and changemakers across disciplines and supports their contribution to public discourse on pressing social issues.
See the partnership in action
What partners and students gain
A Wilmette Institute partnership can connect academic learning with social transformation and give students ways to apply their learning to real-world challenges.
✓ For your institution
- Add accredited online certificate pathways at graduate and undergraduate levels to student learning opportunities.
- Connect academic study with community questions and constructive social change.
- Explore a collaboration aligned with your institution’s academic priorities.
✓ For your students
- Study social change, education, race unity, and environmental stewardship through interdisciplinary learning.
- Connect ideas with dialogue, research, fieldwork, action, and reflection.
- Choose a graduate or undergraduate certificate pathway suited to their studies.
Student projects in action
Final course presentations give students a chance to apply ideas from social transformation coursework to real-world challenges. Here are a few examples:
Robert E. Gaddy Jr.
Alize Armstead
Ideas and stories of social transformation
Wilmette Institute’s Changing Course podcast shares conversations about social transformation and the ideas and experiences that help move it forward.
Explore a partnership with Wilmette Institute
Interested in bringing social transformation learning to your institution? We welcome conversations with faculty and administrators about how a partnership could support your students.