Entrepreneurship Certificate for Engineering Ph.D. Students
In collaboration with the College of Business’ Graduate Field of Management, Cornell’s College of Engineering offers Ph.D. students the opportunity to obtain a Certificate in Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship.
The Entrepreneurship concentration is intended primarily to meet the needs of Cornell’s Ph.D. students. The certificate will allow these students to develop business acumen to exploit and optimize the commercial application of advanced technology, in addition to training in cutting-edge engineering research. The current concentrations available in the field of Management are in specific functional areas, whereas what the engineering students seek is business knowledge to convert research ideas into effective business plans, both as entrepreneurs and as employees.
Eligibility and Application Process
Ph.D. students in Engineering are eligible, with approval of their advisors and the field of Management.
Students may apply after they complete their first year in the Ph.D. program, though courses taken in advance of admission into the program can be counted towards completion. Students should plan out their roadmap to assure they can complete required courses ahead of graduation or departure from campus due to employment.
*NBA coursework will not be accepted in place of the NCC core requirements.
The applying students are asked to submit by August 15th of the year before they wish to enter the program (e.g. August 15th 2024 for entry during the 2024-2025 academic year).
- A 1-page statement about their interest in the program
- A CV including employment history
- A letter of support from their advisor
All applications should be emailed to Bonna Davidson (bnd26@cornell.edu).
Questions: Please direct any questions to Kamana Misra, Associate Director of Entrepreneurship (kpm72@cornell.edu).
Curricular Information
In order to obtain the Management certificate with the Entrepreneurship concentration, engineering students will be required to complete three 3-credit core courses, plus 3 credits of electives (i.e., 12 credits total). Three core courses are required to cover key functions of business and provide students with foundational knowledge in general management and leadership. Students may select three credits of NBA (NBA, not MBA) electives taken for a letter grade. Students must obtain a grade of B or higher to be allowed to count a course towards certificate requirements.
Choices for core classes (all 3-credit courses; choose 3 courses):
- NCC-5500 Financial Accounting
- NCC-5530 Marketing Management
- NCC-5540 Managing and Leading in Organizations
- NCC-5560 Managerial Finance
- NCC-5580 Managing Operations
Choices for electives – NBA courses (i.e., Johnson elective courses) may be taken for a letter grade as electives towards the certificate requirement. A minimum of 3 credits is required from the following list.
- NBA-5100 Social Entrepreneurship (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5010: Taxes and Business Strategy (1 credits)
- NBA 5070: Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers (3 credits)
- NBA 5090: Advanced Financial Statement Analysis (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5111: Foundations of Financial Modeling (3 credits)
- NBA-5180 Leadership Theory and Practice (1.5 credits)
- NBA-5185 – Green Tech Innovation in Practice (This requires approval by instructor and is a two-semester tech commercialization program) (3 credits)
- NBA 5255: Global Macroeconomics News and Events (1.5 credits)
- NBA-5305 Entrepreneurial Finance: Valuation and Term Sheet Design (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5390: Profiles in Leadership (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5530: Accounting and Financial Decision Making (3 credits)
- NBA-5615 Digital Platform Strategy (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5640: The Business of Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
- NBA-5645 Dilemmas in Founding New Ventures (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5672: Writing Style (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5682: Interpersonal Communications (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5690: Management Consulting Essentials (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5795: Advanced Strategic Analysis (1.5 credits)
- NBA 5885: Advanced Critical Thinking for Business Leaders (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6029: Leading Agile Innovation (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6030 – Strategies for Sustainability (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6050: Strategy Formulation and Competitive Analysis (3 credits)
- NBA 6070: Designing Data Products (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6100: Applied Operations Strategy (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6145: AI Strategy and Applications (1 credits)
- NBA 6200: Marketing Research (3 credits)
- NBA 6260: Consumer Behavior (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6320: Core Leadership Skills for a VUCA World (1 credits)
- NBA 6340: Customer Analytics and Strategy (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6380: Finance & Sustainable Global Enterprise Colloquium (1 credits)
- NBA 6470: Advanced Spreadsheet Modeling (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6540: Power and Politics in Organizations (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6620: Brand Management (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6650: The Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation (3 credits)
- NBA 6690: Building a Consumer Internet Business (1 credits)
- NBA 6720: Family Enterprise Management and Governance (1.5 credits)
- NBA 6880: Corporate Bankruptcy and Restructuring (2 credits)
- NBA 6910: Physical Product Entrepreneurship (1.5 credits)