Graduate Certificate in Innovation

Whether you desire to be an entrepreneur or work within an established company or organization, the Innovation Graduate Certificate provides you with the tools and confidence to be an innovator in any field. Students learn a systems-thinking approach to generating creative solutions, effectively persuading others to support your innovations, and testing and implementing them faster and with less risk. The Innovation Graduate Certificate consists of three applied experiential learning courses (9 credit hours) and can be completed in a little as one year. 

Students will receive the level 1, 2, and 3 micro-credentials when they complete the certificate. 

Dark blue type on white background: INV510 Fundamentals and Systems of Innovation, down pointing arrow to: INV 511 Innovation Engineering: Advanced Innovation Methods, down pointing arrow to: INV 590 Using Innovation and Final Project

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission

Provides students with the fundamental skills to create, communicate and implement innovations in any field.  Students will learn how to generate unique solutions to problems, define and communicate those solutions to stakeholders, and test the viability of innovations.  Students will also learn the principles of system design and thinking in order to lead systems for innovation in organizations of any type.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: INV 510 or permission

Students learn advanced techniques for ideation, problem solving, positioning and pitching their innovations, and moving ideas through validation and development.  These skills provide a systematic approach to innovation and apply to the creation and execution of ideas in any field.

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and INV 510 & 511

Emphasizes the intensive application of concepts explored in earlier Innovation courses to a graduate student’s field of specialization, with the purpose of creating the student’s own proposal and project.  Students will be expected to identify a problem or opportunity and to research existing solutions to the problem or opportunity and to research existing solutions to the problem before developing their own ideas.  Before taking this course, students must consult with a committee consisting of an advisor in the Student Innovation Center, as well as an advisor in their major field of study or graduate program.  Students will have the opportunity to take their own idea from proposal stage to prototype and beyond.  Projects may be individual or team-based.