Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The certificate allows post-graduate students from any discipline to learn about entrepreneurship, innovation, and the new venture creation process. The interdisciplinary certificate program provides students an opportunity to gain business skills they can use in starting a business without a large time commitment. It is flexible so that students can design a program that provides core entrepreneurship education through Management 566 as well as discipline-specific training from entrepreneurship courses in other colleges.

The objectives of the Graduate Certificate program are:

• To teach students the process through which new ventures are created regardless of their organization
• Enhance discipline-specific opportunity recognition, prepare students from any background to understand the process through which ideas are implemented into the market or an organization
• Provide interdisciplinary instruction by integrating business-related entrepreneurship education with college-specific entrepreneurship training
• To ensure students understand the role of innovation and develop creative abilities in entrepreneurship.

Students seeking a Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation must meet minimum university criteria for admission to graduate programs. The Graduate College general requirements and application can be found at www.grad-college.iastate.edu/.  Current graduate students at ISU need to complete and submit a Request to Pursue a Certificate in Addition to a Graduate Degree, resume and goals/interests statement. 

Prerequisites

Successful applicants must be a graduate of an accredited institution and normally must rank in the upper quartile (3.0 GPA) of their class to gain admission.  Applicants may come from any undergraduate discipline. A record of business ownership or an entrepreneurial venture may be considered as a substitute for prior academic performance.

Courses

Students interested in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Certificate must successfully complete a minimum of 12 credits in courses approved for use in the certificate program.  Up to 6 credits required for another degree program may also be used to fulfill the requirements for the certificate. Students should follow the curriculum requirements as listed below.