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If you’re interested in learning more about nonprofit management jobs, you may be wondering what type of business degree is best for entering the nonprofit management field.
There are actually a variety of educational paths you could take when wanting to learn more about managing of a nonprofit. Because nonprofit management is still a developing academic field, you might have to do a bit of digging to discover the degrees and courses that will help you best.
Types of Degrees That Provide Nonprofit Studies
Nonprofit organizations are a big part of the American landscape. According to the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC), nonprofit organizations of all varieties employ around 10% of the national workforce and make up about 10% of its economy. This includes religious, civic, educational and other types of nonprofits. Despite their importance, however, the academic field of nonprofit management is still relatively new. Traditionally, students have studied nonprofit management issues within other academic disciplines. Social Work and Public Administration are both academic fields where students can take classes that will help prepare them to be leaders in nonprofits. Social work highlights social services and community development issues, while degrees in public administration highlight policy issues and also business practices such as financial management. Either of those degrees should provide you with helpful preparation for nonprofit management jobs.
New Degrees in Nonprofit Management
However, there are a growing number of degrees in nonprofit management at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Because the field is still growing and developing, you won’t always find such degrees called by the same name. Just a few of the degree names that you might come across at the graduate level include master of nonprofit organizations (MNO or MNPO), master of not-for-profit leadership (MNPL) and master of public affairs (MPA). You might also find degrees or coursework under the heading of philanthropy.
Related Resource: What are the Prerequisites for a Master’s in Nonprofit Management?
The NACC has been developing guidelines for coursework at both graduate and undergraduate levels. They are also a good resource for identifying schools and centers that either have a degree in nonprofit management or that have classes that will provide students with some of the skills they need to become leaders in the nonprofit world. The NACC says that there are over 255 colleges that offer at least one course in nonprofit managing skills, with over 157 of those schools offering that at the graduate level. Their members are made up of academic programs and centers that are providing various levels of studies on nonprofit management issues.
No matter what kind of degree you end up pursuing, many of the subjects you’ll study in the nonprofit field are similar to skills you would need to manage in the private sector. For instance, you will need to study things such as strategic planning and human resource development. Some of the areas of study that are especially important for nonprofit work might include fundraising, program evaluation, management of volunteers, and finances and law issues that pertain particularly to nonprofit issues. Those are the kinds of courses you should be looking for as you pursue a social work, public administration, or specifically nonprofit management degree. Hopefully one of those educational paths will put you on the right road to nonprofit management jobs.
