The Daniels College of Business (DCB) is considering a master’s degree in entrepreneurship by the fall of 2013.
DCB’s Department of Management is currently gauging the interest level of students, faculty and the general public about the possibility of starting the program.
At the current point of development, Dennis Wittmer and Bob McGowan, the professors spearheading the program’s development, said the degree will consist of courses and other experiences designed to prepare students to become entrepreneurs.
In particular, the students will be set to start their own business or work within specific corporate structures in product development and services.
“Daniels has a long history in terms of providing individual courses for entrepreneurs, and a number of faculty have championed entrepreneurship as an important aspect of business education,” said Professor Wittmer, chair of the Department of Management. “While there is currently a concentration in the MBA program [Innovation and Entrepreneurship], there is no graduate degree program specifically designed to give students the skills, knowledge and experience to be entrepreneurs as such.”
The new set of curriculum will consist of a college-wide, multi-disciplinary set of courses. Though the Department of Management will be home for the students enrolling in this degree, Wittmer said it is expected that future scholars will work with many other departments like finance, accounting, marketing and ethics to gain a foundation for their pursuit of entrepreneurship.
According to Wittmer, students consistently demonstrate a high level of interest in becoming entrepreneurs.
DCB also plans to explore a possible undergraduate degree or concentration in entrepreneurship that will build the foundational knowledge of creating a new business.
“We believe a resurgent economy will, at least in part, be driven by a wave of individuals who have new ideas and are willing to take risks in start-up enterprises,” said Wittmer.
The final decision on the degree, after going through a survey process that will engage mainly students, depends on the DCB faculty, the administration and the board of trustees.
Wittmer said the professors plan on marketing the degree to prospective students in fall 2012.
