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The 33-credit Master's in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIENT) is a highly customizable interdisciplinary program that allows you to earn graduate certificates while pursuing your master’s degree online. The program is structured into four distinct areas:

  1. Core curriculum
  2. Primary concentration
  3. Secondary concentration
  4. Final capstone course

At least 18 credits must be at the 500 or 800 level, with at least 6 at the 500 level. Depending on course availability, you can complete the program in as little as five semesters of study, or spread out the courses to suit your personal responsibilities and work commitments.

As an online student, you can schedule courses in order to complete the program at your own pace. Your courses are primarily asynchronous — meaning you are not required to attend online classes at a specific time. Most courses, however, will include a voluntary synchronous component to allow you the opportunity to interact with professors and peers virtually weekly or bi-weekly.

Your education will blend self-study with peer-to-peer interaction over an online learning network. You'll complete weekly assignments, readings, discussions, and occasional group work, as well as exams and other activities designed to enhance your learning outcomes, all at times that are most convenient for you.

Course List - Master's in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship 

Core Curriculum (12 credits)*

Prescribed Courses
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship MBADM 531 Understanding, exploring, and applying innovation-related concepts, principles, and practices to corporate environments involved with new venture creation and other contexts. 3 credits
Business Modeling and New Venture Creation ENTR 502 Focuses on the process of launching a new venture, in a corporate setting or as a new startup, including identifying a problem or market opportunity, developing business models, forming a team, financing, analyzing markets, assessing the competitive environment, and planning to acquire leadership talent. 3 credits
Emerging Trends, Technology, and Innovation ENTR 810 Surveys emerging trends and disruptors in technology and industry that create new markets and influence decision making, product development, business models, and business practices associated with innovation.  3 credits
Corporate Innovation Strategies and Entrepreneurial Methods ENTR 820 Explores the methods used to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in a corporate setting, with a special emphasis on how organizations foster creativity, innovation, and new venture creation. 3 credits

*Upon request, a CIENT certificate of achievement will be awarded to students who complete MBADM 531, ENTR 502, ENTR 810, and 820, and submit a graduate certificate application.

Primary Concentration (9 credits)

Students in the CIENT program have the flexibility to choose a concentration in either business management foundations or engineering innovation foundations.

Elective courses for those who aspire to a more business-facing role.

Business Management Foundation (Select 9 credits)
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Strategic Leading and Identity BA 888 Emphasizes identity issues that are critical to understanding individual and collective processes in organizational life. 3 credits
Managing and Leading People in Organizations MBADM 816 Overview of human behavior in organizations, and implications for managing and leading individuals, teams, and organizations. 3 credits
Global Strategic Management MBADM 571 Integrating multiple functional business areas to resolve global business problems and improve organizational performance. 3 credits
Financial Management MBADM 820 Application of techniques available to aid managers in sound financial decision making. 3 credits
Financial Accounting MBADM 811 Accounting rules, practices, and applications that characterize the accounting presentations that for-profit organizations provide to the public. 3 credits
Marketing in a Global Environment MBADM 821 Examines strategic issues in marketing, including analysis, planning, and implementation; gain hands-on experience in taking control of an enterprise operation involving marketing, production, and financial decision making at both the strategic and tactical levels. 3 credits

Elective courses for those who aspire to a more technical leadership role.

Engineering Innovation Foundations (9 credits)
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Engineering Leadership for Corporate Innovation ENGR 501 Traditional and contemporary leadership theory is analyzed to determine effective strategies for leading projects and innovation within an engineering context. 3 credits
Engineering Across Cultures and Nations ENGR 802 Explores cultural differences and impact on business practices and team dynamics working on virtual project teams with global partner universities. 3 credits
Engineering Product Innovation ENGR 804 Develop competencies for leading new product/process development or participating in corporate spin-outs using entrepreneurial skills within a corporation. 3 credits

Secondary Concentration (9 credits) 

The secondary concentration allows you to drill down into a specialty area to consider how the principles of corporate innovation may be applied. To ensure student success, some secondary concentrations have prerequisite course and/or work experience requirements in order to gain entrance. These requirements have been established to ensure students have the foundational knowledge prior to entering the concentration. Please refer to the concentration selections below for further details.

Completion of a secondary concentration may lead to an additional certificate of achievement. Some graduate certificates will require you to take an extra course outside of the 33 credits needed for the Master's Degree.

Accounting Foundations (9 credits)**
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Financial Accounting MBADM 811 Accounting rules, practices, and applications that characterize the accounting presentations that for-profit organizations provide to the public. 3 credits
Taxation ACCTG 812

Introduction to U.S. federal income tax, covering the basics of taxation of individuals, corporations, flow-through entities and property transactions. 

Prerequisite: MBADM 811

3 credits
Auditing ACCTG 813

Principles of the risk-based approach to the audit of financial statements, with special focus on financial information systems.

Prerequisite: MBADM 811

 3 credits
Managerial Accounting ACCTG 814

Examination of the internal organizational accounting procedures that establish accountability within organizations.

 3 credits

**If MBDM 811 is completed in the primary concentration, ACCTG 812, 813, and 814 must be completed for the secondary concentration.

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Business Analytics (9 credits)†
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Business Strategies of Data Analytics BAN 530 Data analytics problem-solving strategies applied to a real-world business context. 3 credits
Predictive Analytics for Business BAN 840

Explores the use of predictive analytics tools and techniques throughout a wide range of business scenarios and problems; includes a subset of methods such as neural networks, machine learning, social media analytics, and more.

 3 credits
Prescriptive Analytics BAN 550

Development of methods for prescriptive analytics with a focus on business supply side decisions and risk mitigation.

Prerequisite: BAN 840

 3 credits

†Because key concepts build from one course to the next, please plan to start with BAN 530, follow with 840, and finish with 550. Prerequisite includes previous work experience and/or academic background with statistics. Please contact the program for further information at [email protected].

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Business Architecture (9 credits)
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Strategic Business Architecture BA 809

Provides a concentrated and comprehensive approach to the practice of business architecture; focuses on business motivations, business operations and business analysis frameworks, and related networks that link these aspects of the enterprise together.

 3 credits
Enterprise Modeling EA 873

Explores the use and effectiveness of architectural modeling to describe an organization and examines model-based products as tools to support, influence, and enable organization planning and decision-making.

Prerequisite: BA 809

 3 credits
Choose from a pre-determined list maintained by the program TBD

Please contact the program for course options at [email protected]

 3 credits

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Business Sustainability Strategy (9 credits)
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Sustainability Strategy Development MGMT 811

An overview of the economic, social and environmental drivers of the transformation to sustainable business models and practices; identification of best practices and frameworks for assessing organizational engagement with sustainability; development of a strategic sustainability plan.

 3 credits
Strategy Implementation and Organizational Change MGMT 831

This course addresses the managerial challenge of strategy implementation, particularly by examining the organizational elements that must be drawn into line to support a strategy, as well as the immense difficulties of changing an organization. Accordingly, the course relies on two overarching frameworks. The first is a model of organizational alignment; the second is a model for managing the change process.

 3 credits
Sustainable Supply Chain Management SCM 813

Introduction to new business models and sustainable design principles for reinventing products and services to drive business value while reducing environmental and social impact, sourcing raw materials and working effectively with suppliers to safeguard labor and human rights, protect and restore natural resources, while reducing total cost and risk. Special focus on circular economy strategies and closed loop supply chains.

 3 credits

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Management Consulting (9 credits)
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Business Transformation Consulting MGMT 880* Provides an understanding of key issues, concepts, and methodologies associated with business transformation and management consulting; Helps students identify and define organization problems, highlight pain points, map work flows, explore business models, investigate strategic alignment, develop recommendations, present business cases, and deliver prototype solutions. 3 credits
Management Consulting Methods and Practice MGMT 885* Explores the methods and tools commonly used in the practice of management consulting and is intended for students interested in working in this field or working in organizations that hire management consultants. 3 credits
Choose from a pre-determined list maintained by the program TBD

Please contact the program for course options at [email protected].

 3 credits

*These courses will be offered on an 8-week schedule in the back half of the semester in which they are offered.

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Marketing Analytics (Select 9 credits)***
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Driving Business Success with Marketing Analytics MKTG 811 Principles of applied marketing analytics, including marketing data sources, data quality, software, and fundamentals of statistics. Special focus on translating data into meaningful business insights and strategy. 3 credits
Evaluating Marketing Communications in the Digital World MKTG 812 Introduction to data analytics for evaluating digital marketing communication, including assessment of mobile, website, and online shopper experiences; evaluation of digital campaigns, social media monitoring, and media mix modeling. 3 credits
Data-Driven Customer Acquisition and Retention MKTG 813

Examination of data analytics to strategically drive targeting, acquiring, developing relationships with, and retaining customers.

Prerequisite: MKTG 811		 3 credits
Analytics for Brand Management and Customer Experience MKTG 814

Review of analytics addressing key marketing challenges, including brand positioning and differentiation, pricing and product strategy, brand equity, and customer satisfaction.

Prerequisite: MKTG 811		 3 credits

***Prerequisite includes previous work experience and/or academic background in marketing fundamentals. Please contact the program for further information at [email protected].

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Negotiation and Influence (9 credits)
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Negotiation Theory and Skills BA 805

Delivers an overview of the difference between traditional (distributive) bargaining and interest-based (or integrative) negotiations; learn to identify their own and others' interests, to create and claim value, and to craft constructive agreements for all parties.

 3 credits
Complex Negotiations MGMT 821

Introduces the theory and practice of negotiation in a variety of settings, with specific emphasis on multiparty context; the course will allow students to develop these skills experientially and to understand negotiation in useful analytical frameworks.

Prerequisites: BA 805

 3 credits
Power and Influence MGMT 565 Aims to provide students with a toolkit that will allow them to diagnose individual and organizational source of power and influence, as well as an array of tactics by which power and influence are wielded. 3 credits

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Strategic Leadership (9 credits)
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Strategic Leadership BA 865 Presents a senior executive perspective on the key opportunities and challenges faced by business leaders; includes discussions on the changing context for setting strategy and leading organizations in an evolving business environment. 3 credits
Strategic Leading and Identity BA 888 Emphasizes identity issues that are critical to understanding individual and collective processes in organizational life. 3 credits
Strategy Implementation and Organizational Change MGMT 831 This course addresses the managerial challenge of strategy implementation, particularly by examining the organizational elements that must be drawn into line to support a strategy, as well as the immense difficulties of changing an organization. Accordingly, the course relies on two overarching frameworks. The first is a model of organizational alignment; the second is a model for managing the change process. 3 credits

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Supply Chain Management (Select 9 credits)
Title Abbreviation Description Credits
Supply Chain Management* SCM 800 Introduction to the strategic framework, issues, and methods for integrating supply and demand management within and across companies.

4 credits,
required
Supply Chain Performance Metrics and Financial Analysis SCM 801 Performance metrics used in supply chain management, both within the enterprise and across the extended enterprise. 1 credit
Demand Fulfillment SCM 812 This course covers the forecasting and inventory management activities involved in the fulfillment of demand for finished goods. 2 credits
Supply Management SCM 822 An overview of the strategic role that supply management has in effective supply, demand, and value chain operations. 2 credits
Manufacturing and Service Operations Planning SCM 842 Planning strategies for managing manufacturing and service operations within supply chains. 2 credits

*Four (4) credits must come from SCM 800. Students can choose how to fulfill the remaining credits with the courses above. 

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Culminating Capstone Course (3 credits)

Students in the CIENT program are required to take Entrepreneurial Business Planning and Strategy Execution (ENTR 830), a 3-credit course designed to help them synthesize and apply their past learning while exploring the integration and alignment of innovation and organization in a real-world setting. Prerequisites:  ENTR 502, 810, and 820

Elective courses and/or concentration may change or be added to address evolving trends in the industry, current student feedback, and/or fluctuations in demand. For the most updated list of approved electives, please contact our program office directly at [email protected].

 

Course Availability

If you're ready to see when your courses will be offered, visit our public LionPATH course search (opens in new window) to start planning ahead.