Designation as an entrepreneurial program requires that the program have specified characteristics and meet certain requirements. Below, you will find explanations of the types of programs that would typically fall into the “entrepreneurial” as well as the “non-entrepreneurial” categories.

Certificates

Entrepreneurial: These target and enroll new students who are typically post-baccalaureate working professionals not simultaneously enrolled in another UConn degree or certificate program.

Non-entrepreneurial: These attract and primarily enroll existing students who are currently matriculated in another UConn graduate degree or certificate program.

Master’s Programs

Entrepreneurial: These are typically non-thesis (Plan B) programs, such as professional science master’s programs, that do not offer graduate assistantships and are designed to be completed either on a full-time or part-time basis. These also include some accelerated master’s programs (such as “4+1”, “fast-track” and “5th year” programs – see more details below).

Non-entrepreneurial: These are typically 1-2 year programs that offer a Plan A thesis option and often provide Graduate Assistantships. Students typically pursue their degree on a full-time basis.

Doctoral Programs

Entrepreneurial: These are professional programs (e.g., DNP) that are research-informed but practice-based. They do not typically offer Graduate Assistantships.

Non-entrepreneurial: These are traditional research-based programs that require significant research and typically fund a high proportion, although not necessarily all, of their students.

Accelerated master’s programs are established pathways for combined bachelor’s/master’s degrees (requiring 30 or more credits for the master's degree) that allow students to complete the master’s degree program more rapidly than if they were to complete a bachelor’s degree and later enroll in a master’s program. Accelerated programs follow 3 or 4 years of undergraduate study, depending on the program and the student. Students in the program have UConn undergraduate degrees and may use up to 12 credits of required graduate coursework taken prior to matriculation (as an undergraduate or a non-degree student) toward their master’s degree, thereby allowing the master’s degree to be earned more quickly than usual. Initial acceptance into accelerated programs can be done informally within a department, or can be done through a pre-Grad application to the program in Slate. In all cases, however, students must also apply to the master’s degree using the Grad application in Slate (typically in the final semester of their undergraduate degree) and be matriculated into The Graduate School. Earlier admission to an accelerated program either informally by the program or through Slate does not constitute admission to The Graduate School.

Accelerated pathways can be entrepreneurial or non-entrepreneurial. To be considered an entrepreneurial accelerated master’s program, a program must lead to students staying at UConn to complete a master’s degree who generally would not have been expected to do so otherwise. In addition, they must meet the criteria for entrepreneurial status described below. If a traditional master’s program adds an accelerated pathway, only net new enrollment/revenue will qualify for revenue-sharing.

To qualify for entrepreneurial status, a program must typically meet the following criteria:

• The program extends the University’s academic reach to include new student audiences not otherwise served by existing programs. It should complement existing programs and not compete with them for students.
• The program has a strategic marketing plan for actively recruiting students to the program from external applicant pools and/or existing undergraduate students (e.g., through a pro-active accelerated master’s program).
• The program has and will maintain a pro forma 5-year budget with clearly identified enrollment, revenue, and cost assumptions.
• Once fully operational, the program will generate sustainable positive net-revenue for the University after covering associated (incremental) variable costs (e.g., instructional and marketing costs) and overhead costs. While there is no standard minimum enrollment requirement, it must be clearly documented that the program will generate positive net revenue. For accelerated master’s programs, this initial target should be around 10 new graduate enrollments per year.
• The program has an explicit plan to use any net revenue (above and beyond what is used to cover costs) in a manner that promotes faculty research, undergraduate/graduate education, or public engagement, consistent with the University’s stated goals to increase research and scholarship, to offer life-transformative education to all students at the University, and to strengthen our state’s economic growth through innovation, entrepreneurism, and workforce development.

Once granted, the entrepreneurial status of a program is documented in an MOU and subject to periodic review by the Office of the Provost to ensure that the program is attracting new students and meeting enrollment/revenue expectations. Programs that fall short of expectations may have their entrepreneurial status removed.