Scientific and Medical Entrepreneurship

Degree Offered

Program Description

This unique 12 credit graduate certificate provides the student with an opportunity to learn the process of creating valuable intellectual property (IP) and moving it into commercial application.  This process begins with the creation of IP, continues to its licensing and the formation of a venture, through the growth of the venture, and culminates with the monetization of that venture. 

The certificate is institution-agnostic; the scope of the coursework is limited to the IP likely to be created at UMB.  Software, engineered products, and consumer products are within the scope of the coursework along with the technologies more normally associated with UMB.  Course content will be applicable to IP created at universities, Federal Labs, non-profit research institutes, and other similar institutions.  Applications for admission for the Fall 2022 are now open.

The University believes that this certificate will be particularly useful to a wide variety of students who either want to accelerate their careers or better position themselves in the innovation economy.  These student groups include, but not limited to, the following.

• Graduate students and post-docs who want to better understand an innovation-based career path.
• Entrepreneur support organization team members who need to be conversant in the tech transfer start-up pathway.
• Individuals either seeking or just starting a career in tech transfer who want an integrated overview of the entire IP-based venture creation process.
• Researchers who want to better understand the process for commercializing their technology.
• Entrepreneurs who want to better understand the challenges of commercializing licensed IP.

Students will most likely be current practicing PhD or master’s students and professionals with a health, scientific, business, or medical background.  

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this program students will be able to do the following:

• Document where IP is created within a research institution and present how newly created IP is owned, protected, and managed.
• Derive the business process associated with licensing IP to the private sector, describe the importance of technology transfer to the research institution and defend that practice as consistent with the institution’s mission.
• Produce a characterization of what potential licensee’s view as valuable IP
• Discover the essential elements of startup venture that is based upon research institution IP and differentiate among the various forms of stage-appropriate forms of funding.
• Understand the regulatory landscape as it relates to a startup venture commercializing research institution IP (CMS, FDA, ISO, CE, etc.).
• Construct a model for the maturing startup venture that leads to the point of monetization, including stage-appropriate forms of funding, team management and growth planning.
• Differentiate among different monetization pathways, understanding the prerequisites to exit and different forms of exit.
• Present strategic partner and acquiror motivations, deal structure, and post-deal obligations of all parties.

Program Admission

Detailed Admission Requirements may be found Here / Admission.

Detailed Application Instructions may be found Here / Application.

Degree Requirements

Following are the four required courses necessary to compete the certificate.  There are no elective courses associated with this certificate.

Requirements List