Business school launches new minor

In response to businesses being increasingly focused on entrepreneurship and innovation, William & Mary's Raymond A. Mason School of Business is adding a minor in the topic.

The new area of study will be available in the fall.

“In one word, I would describe the minor as interdisciplinary,” said Professor Graham Henshaw, clinical lecturer and director of the Alan B. Miller Entrepreneurship Center. “We’re pulling from courses across campus to equip students with a highly versatile set of skills and mindsets. The innovation and entrepreneurship minor equips students to be leaders in the emerging economy with the knowledge, skills and experience to design, deliver and scale breakthrough solutions to complex, real-world problems.”

The new minor pulls from a variety of courses, including business, computer science, art, physics and government. Why so many areas of study?

“First, entrepreneurship is interdisciplinary,” Henshaw said. “Designing the minor this way makes it stronger because students will learn innovation and entrepreneurship approaches from experts in a variety of fields.

“Second, it makes it more accessible to students across campus. We have very strong demand for these concepts from a wide variety of majors, and this design meshes with existing curricular pathways that students are already on for their majors.”

Before this minor, students had the choice of concentrating their degree in entrepreneurship or innovation and design. With the new innovation and entrepreneurship minor, students will have the opportunity to dig deeper into these concepts and market themselves to a broader range of businesses after graduation.

Already, students who have graduated with the current concentrations in entrepreneurship and innovation and design have seen remarkable career opportunities. Henshaw believes that the tools and processes that future students will learn through the new minor are broadly applicable and will help them impress employers in a variety of fields, including management consulting, industry, innovation consulting, finance and startups.

“William & Mary has a rich history of entrepreneurial thinking,” Henshaw said. “We believe this minor will continue to make this a place recognized for entrepreneurial thinkers.”