UD has a new grad program for design-minded entrepreneurs

Tony Middlebrooks has a new mantra: “I develop creative leaders who make a difference.”

That’s the slogan he’s embracing as he directs the University of Delaware’s new Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Design program.
He spoke at length about the new degree last week at the Delaware Tech Meetup, and his talk attracted a variety of potential students, from longtime business veterans to possible career-switchers to students about to graduate from UD’s Horn Program in Entrepreneurship.

The degree isn’t your average two-year graduate program: The first cohort begins class at the end of June and will earn 30 credits in a whirlwind 11 months.
“This is a very tailored, individualized program,” Middlebrooks said. It’s part of the Lerner College of Business & Economics, in partnership with the Horn Program, the College of Engineering’s mechanical engineering department and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Charlie Horn, the Horn Program’s founder, was visiting Delaware last week (he resides in Arizona) and made an appearance at the meetup. He voiced excitement about the new master’s program.

“Tony’s a great one to teach it,” he said. “Entrepreneurship is not something that’s stuck on the corner of a business college. (This program is) designed to be inclusive of all students.”
Classes range from “Methods in Modeling, Prototyping and Testing” to “Startup Experience,” and Middlebrooks emphasized the interdisciplinary aspect of the program, which he said will help students with prototype R&D and tools to bring their ideas to market.
For Delaware residents, tuition is $750 per credit.
Middlebrooks said he hopes to tap faculty from across several disciplines at the University and that the program evolves into an innovation hub for UD.