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Marriott School of Business
Ballard Center

Social Impact Projects

What is Social Impact Projects?

Social Impact Projects (SIP) is an on-campus internship that combines real-world experience with a structured, supportive classroom environment. Through SIP, students collaborate with organizations to address meaningful social challenges while developing professional skills that prepare them for future careers.

The mission of the Ballard Center for Social Impact is to help students develop the faith and skills needed to solve social problems. SIP supports the mission of BYU by providing a spiritually strengthening, intellectually enlarging, and character-building educational experience that fosters lifelong learning and service. Throughout the internship, students are encouraged to become Christ-led practitioners who create meaningful impact in their communities.

Unlike many traditional internships, SIP places students in the role of problem solvers rather than task completers. Instead of performing routine administrative work, students work directly with organizations that are facing real challenges. Using the Social Impact Cycle, student teams research problems, engage stakeholders, and develop practical, implementable solutions. This experience allows students to build their résumés, strengthen professional competencies, and make a tangible difference.

What to Expect

As a SIP intern, you will collaborate closely with both your team and a partner organization throughout the semester. Typical responsibilities include:

  • Conducting weekly team and client meetings
  • Researching social issues and organizational challenges
  • Applying problem-solving and design-thinking frameworks
  • Developing project management skills
  • Communicating professionally with clients and stakeholders
  • Creating and presenting recommendations and deliverables
  • Working collaboratively to develop implementable solutions

Students are expected to dedicate approximately:

  • 7–9 hours per week during Fall and Winter semesters
  • 12–16 hours per week during Spring term

By the end of the internship, students will have gained valuable experience in consulting, project management, stakeholder engagement, communication, research, and social impact strategy.

How to Register

Step 1: Enroll in GCI 425R

Students must first register for GCI 425R: Social Impact Projects through MyMAP. Students may enroll in any available section. Enrollment is offered on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited by available capacity.

Step 2: Complete the Internship Application
After registering for the course, visit the BYU Marriott School of Business Experiential Learning website and submit your internship application for the same semester in which you enrolled.

The application includes:

  • Basic student information
  • Short response questions
  • Project interest rankings
  • Required application materials

Students should complete as much of the application as possible when they first apply. Project options and rankings will become available during the first week of class. After attending the first class session, students will return to their applications and rank their preferred projects.

Project assignments are made after project preferences have been submitted and reviewed.

Powerful Collaborations

"Suited for Good" Surprise: BYU Interns Help Orchestrate a Suit Surprise

Partner with Student Teams Through SIP

If your organization is interested in becoming a potential collaborator and receiving a team of student interns, please visit the Collaborator Organizations page to see how you can get involved.

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Social Impact Projects | Ballard Center for Social Impact at BYU Marriott

FAQs

  • Students who are currently enrolled at Brigham Young University are eligible to participate in the internship program. The program is open to students from a variety of majors and academic backgrounds who are interested in gaining hands-on experience in social impact work. Graduate students and international students are welcome to apply. No prior experience is required. *If an internship experience is not required for the international students major or minor, they must receive approval from the international students office*

  • Yes! Students who participate in the internship program will receive 3 academic credit hours through enrollment in the associated internship course.  This class directly covers the 3rd requirement for the global and community impact minor, the 2nd requirement for the business minor, and potentially other class requirements. Students are responsible for contacting their academic advisor to see what class requirements the internship can be counted towards. 

  • Students participating in the internship should expect to dedicate approximately 10 hours per week to the program. This includes class time, coursework and assignments, team and client meetings, and work completed directly on the project deliverables.  

  • The internship is unpaid; however, students will receive 3 academic credit hours through enrollment in the associated internship course. In addition to course credit, students gain hands-on experience working with real social impact organizations and developing professional deliverables for their resumes and portfolios. 

  • The organizations that collaborate with SIP vary from semester to semester. We strive to partner with a diverse range of organizations across different legal structures, including nonprofit, for-profit, and governmental organizations. While each organization is unique, all collaborating partners share a common commitment to creating meaningful social impact within their communities or areas of focus. 

  • During the first week of class, students will review and rank projects based on their interests and preferences. After preferences are submitted, the coaching team conducts a “draft day” process to place students onto teams. While student preferences are an important factor, team placement is also based on skills, prior experience, academic background, and overall alignment with the needs of each project and organization. 

  • No. This is a highly collaborative internship experience. Students work in teams of approximately 3–5 members throughout the semester as they partner with a collaborating organization. Team members work together on project planning, communication, deliverables, and implementation while receiving guidance from coaches and faculty. 

  • The SIP internship provides students with meaningful, hands-on experience that directly contributes to their professional development and career readiness. Over the course of the semester, students typically contribute more than 90 hours working alongside their team and collaborating organization to address real-world social impact challenges. Upon completion of the internship, students can include both the internship experience and their work with the collaborating organization on their resumes and professional portfolios. 

    Students often leave the internship having developed a variety of valuable hard and soft skills. Hard skills may include project management, logic model development, stakeholder analysis, data collection and analysis, program evaluation, and other project-specific competencies. Soft skills commonly developed through the experience include professional communication, teamwork and collaboration, leadership, critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, and client relationship management. These skills help students across a wide range of industries.

  • This is a hybrid internship experience. Students are required to attend in-person class lectures; however, many other aspects of the internship, including team meetings, partner meetings, assignments, and project work, may be completed remotely depending on the needs of the team and collaborating organization.

  • Each team of student interns is assigned a coach who serves as a mentor and guide throughout the semester. Coaches are students who have previously completed the internship and have received training on how to effectively support teams and facilitate project success. While they may not have worked on a project identical to yours, they are familiar with the course concepts and frameworks and can help teams apply those principles to a variety of project settings and challenges. Additionally, each class is taught by an instructor with experience in the social impact field to provide additional support and instruction. 

  • Students are encouraged to attend class consistently and participate fully throughout the semester. Weekly quizzes include attendance reporting, and missed classes may result in a loss of attendance points. If students are traveling or experience scheduling conflicts, they are still expected to remain actively engaged in the internship to the best of their ability. This may include attending partner and team meetings remotely, communicating consistently with teammates, and continuing to contribute meaningfully toward project deliverables and responsibilities.

  • There are two parts to registration. Students should both register for the class, GCI 425R, in their BYU MyMap cart and submit an application via the OCI website. Both of these tasks should be completed before the start of the semester. While students apply before the semester begins, project and partner preferences are typically finalized after the first day of class, once students have had the opportunity to learn more about the available organizations and projects. 

Questions? Email ballardadvisement@byu.edu