College Introduces Graduate Certificate in Engineering Entrepreneurship

Ed Dougherty, director of the Engineering Entrepreneurship program

Beginning in fall 2016, Villanova’s College of Engineering will offer a graduate certificate in Engineering Entrepreneurship (GCEE). Building on the successful undergraduate Engineering Entrepreneurship minor, the GCEE will equip working engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset that will enable them to contribute to business success.

Through the GCEE program, graduate students will:

Learn how to design and develop innovative products and services to meet the needs of the marketplace
Assess the viability of potential business opportunities
Understand issues surrounding intellectual property and its protection
Understand how to raise funding, especially for start-up companies
Understand supply chain issues and global marketing
Understand how to market products and services
Gain practical, hands-on experience in entrepreneurial activities

The certificate consists of two required (core) courses, and three courses chosen from a slate of 10 existing courses for a total of 15 credits. Master’s degree students can earn the GCEE as part of a graduate program of study, or, the certificate can be singly pursued.

Requirements for the GCEE include EGR 7011 - Business Basics for Engineers, and EGR 7012 - Management for Engineers. The objective of EGR 7011 is to provide engineers with a working knowledge of all relevant aspects of business and the environment in which business operates. The course will broaden an engineer’s business knowledge, enabling more informed dealings with clients and associates. With a grasp of core business basics, engineers will enhance their performance, contributions and professionalism.

In EGR 7012, engineers will learn management and leadership skills. The course will focus on the process of coordinating teams and working with individuals to accomplish goals and objectives by effectively and efficiently using available resources. Major areas of concentration will include in depth knowledge and understanding of the planning, leading, organizing and controlling processes.

Elective courses for the GCEE include:

ECE 7000 Renewable Energy Policy
ECE 8474 Secure Systems Engineering
ECE 8488 Security Risk Assessment and Management
ECE 8494 Legal Aspects of Computer Security
EGR 7800 Solar Thermal Energy Conversion (ME)
ME 7402 Computer-Aided Production Planning
ME 7600 Thermal Management of Electronics
ChE 7005 Global Pharmaceutical Business
ChE 7651 Survey of Biomass Conversion
ChE 8651 Biomass Conversions

Because the GCEE’s electives have primarily technical content in addition to the engineering entrepreneurship content, students will be admitted to the GCEE in the same way they are admitted to the master’s degree program.

To learn more about the graduate certificate in Engineering Entrepreneurship, contact director Edmond Dougherty at edmond.j.dougherty@villanova.edu or Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research Gerard Jones at gerard.jones@villanova.edu.

Specific questions related to master’s degree programs should be directed to the MS chair in the department of interest.