Information Session Set for Graduate Programs at U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Cari Humphry

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas graduate students interested in entrepreneurship are invited to attend an information session at noon Wednesday, Dec. 15, to learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and the Graduate Entrepreneurial Fellows program offered through the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 

Available to both degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking graduate students from any discipline, the 12-credit-hour Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship provides a hands-on, team-based environment that allows students to develop the skills to evaluate and pursue new business ideas. The intensive, incubator-like New Venture Development course sequence at the heart of the certificate helps students develop the knowledge and skills to bring new innovations to society — whether by creating their own company, working for a startup, taking a greater role in an established company, or founding a non-profit. 

Prospective students must have completed an accredited undergraduate degree and meet all other Graduate School of Business admissions requirements to be eligible for the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship.  

Launched in 2021 with generous support from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, the Graduate Entrepreneurial Fellows program is intended to support promising graduate students from all disciplines in the pursuit of intensive entrepreneurial training, including mentoring, seed funding and business plan coaching. The program provides a graduate assistantship, if needed, and a $10,000 stipend for master's students or a $12,000 stipend for doctoral students. Three exceptional Ph.D. students each year are also awarded the Kaneaster and Ruth Lindley Hodges Entrepreneurial Fellowship Award, which brings their stipend to $22,000 per year.  

Fellows are expected to devote at least 20 hours per week to their entrepreneurial coursework and pursuits. Applications for the Fellows program are open until Dec. 31 via the OEI website. 

The information session, led by OEI Executive Director Sarah Goforth, will include information about both programs. Interested students should register here for the virtual session, which will be recorded and sent via email to registered guests who are not able to join the session live. 

Luis Rodriguez, a master's engineering student who was awarded a Graduate Entrepreneurial Fellowship in the fall of 2021, said the program has been exciting and it motivated him to learn more about the startup process. 

"Trying to develop an entire model and plan for a business in just a year has been challenging but I'm grateful for having a solid team and excited about getting closer to a real venture," Rodriguez said. 

"Customer discovery and presentations have been fun. It's been a great exercise for somebody like me who gets too deep in the weeds about technical things."  

In October, teams including two fellows secured $2,000 at a seed funding pitch competition hosted by OEI.  

Kaneaster and Ruth Lindley Hodges Entrepreneurial Fellow Julia Loshelder, a Ph.D. candidate in civil engineering, is on a New Venture Development team conducting market research around a technology that will help poultry better absorb nutrients during feeding. The team says this process will improve efficiency for poultry producers and reduce the environmental impact as less nutrients are expelled in the form of phosphorus. 

Braden Bateman, a master's candidate in agricultural economics, is also on a New Venture Development team; his is working on a clinical test for a novel feline herpesvirus affecting more than 32 percent of cats worldwide. His team, GammaVet, plans to use its funding to develop a prototype for a commercial diagnostic device. 

About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio, Startup Village, and Greenhouse at the Bentonville Collaborative, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. A unit of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and Division of Economic Development, OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.