Education Entrepreneurship

Students learn and apply new knowledge, theory, and skills in three domains: Education Foundations, Business Essentials, and Entrepreneurial Leadership. For a full list of courses in the Education Entrepreneurship program, please click here.

1. Education Foundations uses leading research, case studies, simulations, EdLab site visits, and lived experience to dive deep into the connections between education philosophy, practice, culture, and innovation.

Students explore the future of teaching and learning using education theories, learning sciences, design innovation, and next-generation platforms. This domain connects students with researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and education leaders to understand the rapidly changing global landscape and evolving role of innovation in classrooms and institutional settings. The foundations strand also provides opportunities to meet thought leaders across the new schools’ movement and the edtech and investment landscapes. The program includes three education courses. 

2. Business Essentials explores marketing, finance, management, and operations as they pertain to organizational innovation and venture creation—both generally and in particular to schools, universities, and educational organizations.

Students learn about the financial, operational, legal, and marketing aspects of building and managing educational programs, products, and services. This domain provides students with core business skills and experiences that can be leveraged by innovators in emerging or established companies, and by entrepreneurial leaders in education and other startup environments. The program includes three business courses.

3. Entrepreneurial Leadership focuses on ideation, research, strategy and execution, and on managing areas such as technology, intellectual property, communications, and evaluation.

Students learn about how innovators and entrepreneurs influence the creation, development, and successful production of new education models. This domain explores how entrepreneurial insights are tested and developed, how competitive advantages are gained and protected, and how entrepreneurs think about social return on investments. Students examine how academic and field research can be leveraged to improve the viability, impact, and sustainability of emerging innovations. The program includes three entrepreneurship courses.

For more information on courses and requirements, visit the Education Entrepreneurship M.S.Ed. program in the University Catalog.

In the culminating capstone project, students identify a new opportunity—either for an existing entity or for the creation of a new venture—and implement the skills they have built in the program to launch their own education program, service, or product. Students build a business case, executing experiments that validate or invalidate key hypotheses governing the opportunity. The capstone culminates with a demo day where students pitch their ventures to a distinguished panel of judges.

The exploratory work for the capstone project begins on day one, with discovery-driven planning, ideation, and pitch practice. The second stage includes design thinking, market research, and rapid validation testing using lean methods. Designing learning environments, building venture financial models, and developing marketing plans are key elements in the third stage. In the final stage, students build integrated businesses cases for their education ventures, including financial models and pitch decks. Throughout the 12-month project, students pitch, test, iterate, pivot, and refine venture ideas through meetings with a team of mentors—including ed tech and school entrepreneurs, education intrapreneurs, business leaders, researchers, practitioners, and investors.

Project Components

At the completion of capstone project, students develop a strong business case for a real-world education solution or innovation that allows them to showcase their entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to potential employers, partners, and investors.

Common Topic Areas

• New school designs and programs
• Ed tech teaching and learning solutions
• Curriculum innovations
• New communities of practice
• Ed products and marketplaces

Sample Capstone Projects

New ventures(*) and existing entities that students strengthened through their programmatic work as both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs:

The Arcadia School: The Arcadia Secondary School helps expatriate students in Dubai South prepare for universities and society with a holistic English approach to secondary school education.

Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership: Prepares students to change the world through an entrepreneurial mindset—a mindset of curiosity and courageous creativity.

Neverbore*: Demystifies the process of creating student-centered, active learning environments for academically rigorous high school classrooms.

Nomad Minds*: Creates experiences which promote dialogue, understanding, and appreciation among globally interconnected local cultures.

Raise.me: Expands access to higher education, especially among low-income and first generation students, so that every student has a shot at the American Dream.

e squared Labs: Increases empathy and equity by elevating the needs, voices, and visions of youth and marginalized communities

GYE Zone: Brings real-world challenges to global high school students and prepares them for college and career readiness through youth entrepreneurship education.