Program at a Glance
- On Campus
- Full-Time or Part-Time Study
- 16 Credits
- 8–12 Months to Completion
- 7 Core Faculty
- No GRE/GMAT
- Tuition & Fees Range—Part-Time Study*: $14,020–$15,720
*Based on 2024–2025 Boston University tuition and fees.
Learn the Concepts of Innovation-Driven Markets and Entrepreneurism
The on-campus Graduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET) focuses on providing you with the key managerial competencies required to facilitate the development of commercialized innovations, which often demands the engagement of a diverse set of actors working to resolve critical technical problems and uncertainties. Our hands-on approach enables you to develop entrepreneurial skills in identifying mission-oriented business challenges.
History has shown that crisis inspires innovation—which is critical to keeping many people’s lives and workplaces functioning safely. While the economic impact of events such as the COVID-19 pandemic or regional conflicts can bring swift and intense disruptions to supply chains, demand patterns, and distribution channels, these challenges also create new opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship, which at their essence, attempt to identify an unmet need and move as fast as possible to get a meaningful product to market.
By providing an understanding of the ways innovation can address long-term problems—and entrepreneurism can bring solutions to fruition—the Innovation & Entrepreneurship certificate at BU MET will help you develop the necessary skills to innovate and accelerate collaboration in a productive manner. Through the process of innovation, you will be able to bring together the knowledge and expertise necessary to develop new products and solutions to a pre-commercial stage relevant to rapidly changing technological, economic, and cultural environments—ranging from start-ups to large multinational companies, and from high-tech and biotech companies to more traditional environments such as retail, healthcare, and financial services. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship certificate program will also help you explore concepts related to the commercialization of technology, the changing basis of competitive advantage over time, and the modern approaches to adding value to products and services—including user interfaces, user experience, and consumer branding. You will develop the ability to apply research-based concepts related to innovation and to manage the commercial development and improvement of products and services.
Accredited member of AACSB International
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Learn More
Why Earn a Graduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at BU?
- Active Learning Environment: BU MET’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship certificate provides practical, hands-on education that you can apply on the job.
- Engaged Faculty: In BU MET’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, you benefit from working closely with highly qualified faculty who draw from active research and substantial professional achievements in areas such as innovation, intellectual property, patent filing, start-ups and early-stage companies, venture capital, market research, business analytics, finance, project management, enterprise risk management, ecommerce, international business, economic development, and many others.
- Extensive Network: Study principles of innovation in global business alongside peers with solid business experience, learn from faculty who have valuable business contacts across the globe, and benefit from an alumni community with strong professional connections.
- Complimentary Analytics Labs: Two levels of self-paced analytics laboratories offer access to advanced tools and provide opportunities to hone analytics skills using cases that are populated with realistic data.
- Student Support: Enjoy an exceptional student-to-instructor ratio, ensuring close interaction with faculty mentors and access to support.
- Valuable Resources: Make use of Boston University’s extensive resources, including the Center for Career Development, Educational Resource Center, Fitness & Recreation Center, IT Help Centers, Mugar Memorial Library, Center for Antiracist Research, Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, George Sherman Union, Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering, and many others.
- Flexible Options: Study at the pace that works for you, evenings on campus with courses that begin fall, spring, and summer.
Build a Foundation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship
The Graduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the MS in Administrative Studies are available through the Department of Administrative Sciences, which offers a variety of evening and online degrees and certificates to help you remain competitive in business and management and rise to the top of your field. Focusing on providing industry-specific programs that are innovative, scholarly, challenging, interdisciplinary, and practically focused, our mission is to produce critical and innovative thinkers—broad in perspective, international in attitude, skilled in communications—who are competent, capable, and comfortable in their ability to make strategic decisions either alone or in teams, and practiced in using the tools necessary to compete in their specialization. We prepare students to succeed in a global environment, within a professional and ethical framework.
Graduate with Expertise
Metropolitan College’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship graduate certificate will equip you to:
- Understand the interconnection between entrepreneurial thinking and innovation by analyzing Silicon Valley and RT128 Corridor innovation-style start-ups and innovation at large corporations; the varieties of innovation and the commercialization of technology; the changing basis of competitive advantage over time; and modern approaches to adding value to products and services, including user interfaces, user experience, and consumer branding.
- Develop design thinking and open innovation skills.
- Create innovative business models, product-to-market fit strategies, and fundraising resources.
- Develop the practice of purposeful innovation through systematic entrepreneurship, enabling you to think as an entrepreneur, and develop models, tools and strategies to further a business or idea.
- Develop the practice of entrepreneurial management and the development of new ventures.
- Apply innovative entrepreneurial strategies based on best practices and research concepts to manage the commercial development and improvement of products and services.
- Understand and apply critical and innovative thinking from a global perspective, combined with enhanced communication skills and the technical tools necessary for business decision-making.
Certificate-to-Degree Pathway
BU MET graduate certificate programs can serve as building blocks to a master’s degree. The Graduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship shares specific courses with the MS in Administrative Studies concentration in Innovation & Technology. Students currently enrolled in a graduate certificate who are interested in transitioning into a master’s degree should contact their academic advisor to declare their interest in this pathway. A new master’s degree application is not required. Connect with a graduate admissions advisor at adsadmissions@bu.edu to learn more about this option.
Graduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship Curriculum
Courses
(Four courses/16 credits)
MET AD 737 Innovative Marketing Techniques
MET AD 741 The Innovation Process: Developing New Products and Services
Plus two electives selected from Administrative Sciences courses with advisor’s approval.
Administrative Studies Faculty
-
Kathleen Park
Assistant Professor, Administrative Sciences
Coordinator, Innovation
PhD, MS, MBA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; BA, Harvard University
-
Istvan Bonyhay
Lecturer, Administrative Sciences
Instructor in Neurology, Harvard Medical School
PhD, Semmelweis University; MS, Boston University; MD, Debrecen University School of Medicine
-
Esteban Lopez
Lecturer, Administrative Sciences
PhD Candidate, Bentley University
MS, Boston University; BA, Bentley University
View All Faculty
Tuition & Financial Assistance
Competitive Tuition
Our part-time rates are substantially lower than those of the traditional, full-time residential programs yet provide access to the same high-quality BU education.Comprehensive Financial Assistance
Our services include scholarships, graduate loans, and payment plans.How Much Does This Program Cost?
Tuition, fees, and total program cost are determined by enrollment status. Course enrollment in this certificate program is 1–2 courses (4–8 credits) in a semester, and tuition is charged the part-time per-credit rate.
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Graduate Certificate (On Campus)
| Enrollment Status | Part Time |
| Courses per Semester | 2 courses (8 credits) |
| Time to Degree | 2 semesters (8 months) |
| Tuition* | $550-$975 per credit** |
| Fees per Semester* | $60 |
| Total Degree Cost* | $14,020– $15,720 |
*Based on 2024-2025 Boston University tuition & fee rates.
**Cost per credit is determined by course number (100–599 = $550/credit, 600–999 = $975/credit).
Questions? Please contact us to hear from an Admissions Advisor who can help you determine the best enrollment pathway. For information regarding financial aid, visit BU MET’s Financial Aid page.
Get Started
Please visit the BU MET admissions page for details on how to apply, financial assistance, tuition and fees, requirements for international students, and more.
News & Events
July 16th, 2024 at: 1:00pm - 1:45pm
The Inside Scoop: BU MET Graduate Admissions for Domestic Students (US Citizens & Permanent US Residents)
July 25th, 2024 at: 12:00pm - 12:45pm
Online Graduate Study at Boston University
August 7th, 2024 at: 10:00am - 10:45am
The Inside Scoop: Graduate Admissions at BU MET (International Students)