New master's program
UD to offer entrepreneurship and design master of science degree
2:07 p.m., Jan. 20, 2015--The University of Delaware is currently accepting applications for the first cohort of students to participate in the new master of science in entrepreneurship and design (ENTD) program.
The degree, offered by the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, spans a wide range of subjects, with coursework involving partnerships between the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
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A cross-disciplinary approach
Anthony Middlebrooks, associate professor in the Organizational and Community Leadership Program in the School of Public Policy and Administration, said that the diversity of the new program’s subject matter will prepare students to undertake groundbreaking interdisciplinary work.
“The more that you can bring in multiple disciplines, the more likely it is that you’ll find those innovation spaces between the disciplines where you can do some really unique things,” Middlebrooks said. “This is an opportunity for students to enhance their creativity and innovative capacity, particularly if they’re interested in becoming entrepreneurs.”
Dan Freeman, director of the Horn Program, called the new master’s degree “part of our broader effort to create educational programs that will prepare students to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
“People who possess the capacity to recognize problems as opportunities, design creative solutions, build prototypes, conceive and validate new business models and launch new products and businesses into the marketplace will always be able design and make their own paths,” Freeman said.
The one-year program, which Freeman described as “high-impact” and “resource-intensive,” will admit an initial cohort of 10-15 students with plans to increase enrollment in future years.
Creative courses
Students interested in a graduate ENTD degree will experience a number of unique new courses designed to enhance critical and creative thinking.
Middlebrooks developed one such course, “Applied Creativity,” which he plans to teach in the fall. He calls the class, “highly experiential, very hands-on, very interactive and dynamic.”
“There are very few universities that teach creativity explicitly over the course of the semester and go very in-depth,” Middlebrooks said. “If you think about creativity as a mental habit, the only way to form any kind of habit is to do that thing habitually. So we engage in those creative processes.”
And the course variety doesn’t stop there. The “Methods in Prototyping, Modeling and Testing” course focuses on mechanical engineering to teach students about the creation and improvement of prototypes.
Another class, “Design Thinking and Innovation,” takes design theory and practice to the next level. Middlebrooks called the notion of design thinking as an enhanced problem-solving tool a “hot topic” that has yet to be explored by many universities.
A heavy emphasis on technology is also crucial to the program, including an “Application and Development for New Technology” course.
“Our hunch is that there are a lot of folks who are interested in taking their entrepreneurial ventures into the tech realm,” Middlebrooks said. He added that these courses will help students to “put their idea on the tracks and launch it.”
The new degree will use a cohort model, allowing students to work together and support one another throughout the yearlong program. Students will be encouraged to utilize as resources both their teamwork and the various programs offered by UD, such as the Horn Program’s Hen Hatch Startup Funding Competition.
“The program offers a rare and valuable combination of knowledge and skills, but what really differentiates the program is that it also provides connections and access to resources, including creativity and fabrication spaces,” said Freeman. “This combination of knowledge, skills, connections and access to resources prepares students to launch startups, drive innovation in established companies, and develop sustainable solutions to social problems.”
Middlebrooks agreed, calling the degree, “an opportunity for students to jump into whatever world they want to succeed in from a unique perspective.”
Students interested in applying for the master of science in entrepreneurship and design program should click here to complete a UD Graduate Studies Application. This application includes official academic transcripts, a professional resume, recommendation letters, relevant test scores and a personal statement.
Prospective students are also encouraged to email hornprogram@udel.edu with questions or requests for more information.
Article by Sunny Rosen