Technology Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship Master of Science Degree

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RIT’s technology and innovation management enhances your ability to solve problems with unique and creative solutions preparing you to lead technological change in entrepreneurial ways.

75%

Outcomes Rate of RIT Graduates from this degree

$63.8K

Average First-Year Salary of RIT Graduates from this degree

#20

Best Master’s in Innovation and Project Management

Eduniversal, 2022

Overview for Technology Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship MS

Why Study Technology Innovation at RIT?

  • STEM-OPT Visa Eligible: The STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows full-time, on-campus international students on an F-1 student visa to stay and work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduation.
  • Leverage RIT’s rich entrepreneurial culture: You’ll have access to the Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, The Construct, and Venture Creations Incubator.
  • Choose from two tracks: The technology management track and the technology entrepreneurship track provide immersive knowledge in key areas that impact technology innovation.
  • Technology innovation is fueled by technology, the arts, and design: Only at RIT can you connect with resources across the fields of business, science, technology, engineering, and design.

Technology entrepreneurship and innovation management are key business drivers in all industries as new products and services rapidly improve our lives in significant ways. Technology innovation managers and entrepreneurs who know how to lead technological change in entrepreneurial ways are in high demand to capitalize on process and product development opportunities. As an entrepreneur and innovator, you will be part of today’s innovation management as you identify problems and view them through the lens of technology innovation in an effort to develop unique and creative solutions.

RIT’s Technology and Innovation Management Master’s

Managing technology and innovation requires the skills to create value for your startups or entrepreneurial organizations. This entrepreneurship master’s offers opportunities to engage with business leaders and entrepreneurs, learn from business coaches and mentors, and capitalize on the developmental opportunities available on campus. You can leverage the robust technology environment at RIT and emerge as a business leader who can lead technological entrepreneurship by solving problems, inventing, creating innovative products and services, and commercializing their ideas.

Successful technology and innovation management students often have backgrounds in business or technology. They are interested in managing innovation, keen to lead and manage technological innovation, manage product development, eager to implement innovative ideas, and passionate for innovation and entrepreneurship. They seek to create and/or run an entrepreneurial venture, are getting ready to lead a small business, and have an interesting idea they are looking to convert into an innovative product or service. As a technology and innovation management student you will:

  • Develop strategies for innovation
  • Manage innovation projects
  • Create and lead technology entrepreneurship
  • Commercialize products
  • Generate seed funding for start-ups
  • Develop a viable business model
  • Use analytics to make business decisions
  • Identify businesses opportunities globally

Tracks

Two tracks cater to the unique needs of innovation managers and technology entrepreneurship.

  • Technology management track: Designed to equip you with advanced skills in product development and data analytics enabling you to address organizational management and strategy needs.
  • Technology entrepreneurship track: Equips you with skills required to start and manage new ventures utilizing research and marketing analytics, evaluate market options, and build strategy to capitalize on the options.

Access to Industry Technology and Resources 

Capitalize on a rich entrepreneurial culture on campus, with full access, hands-on exposure to facilities such as the Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, where you engage with:

  • Industry experts and innovation coaches who provide one-on-one coaching and mentorship to develop your idea or start-up
  • Idea labs where students get to solve actual problems of organizations and businesses
  • Student Accelerator program where students get paid to develop their business concepts to seek angel investment
  • Programs that solve real world challenges or teach students to raise funds to create and manage their own ventures
  • Tiger tank competition where students pitch their early-stage product or service business idea to a panel of judges for prize money

Additional resources include The Construct, a world-class maker space; Venture Creations, RIT’s business incubator; and MAGIC Spell Studios, an entrepreneurial and commercial production studio. Teachers, industry mentors, an applied approach, and access to science, technology, engineering, and design resources prepare you to focus on entrepreneurial and innovation processes by which inventions and creative new ideas are brought to market.

 

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The program director being interviewed about the program.

Professor Richard DeMartino discusses the Technology Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship program

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Careers and Experiential Learning

Typical Job Titles

Business Model Designer Change Agent Business Development Lead
Innovation Analyst Venture Architect Product and Integration Lead
Business Operations Planner Business Analyst Product Manager
Digital Transformation Strategist Chief Technology Officer

Post-Graduation Salary and Career Info for Technology Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship MS

Cooperative Education and Internships

What makes an RIT education exceptional? It’s the ability to complete relevant, hands-on career experience. At the graduate level, and paired with an advanced degree, cooperative education and internships give you the unparalleled credentials that truly set you apart. Learn more about graduate co-op and how it provides you with the career experience employers look for in their next top hires.

Co-ops and internships take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. Business co-ops provide hands-on experience that enables you to apply your knowledge of business, management, finance, accounting, and related fields in professional settings. You'll make valuable connections between course work and real-world applications as you build a network of professional contacts.

Cooperative education is optional but strongly encouraged for graduate students in the MS in technology innovation management and entrepreneurship.

Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management Careers

Graduates of RIT's master of science in technology entrepreneurship and innovation management are prepared for outstanding career opportunities across all industries. Our alumni are employed at diverse firms such as Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, DataKarma Consultancy, and more. Our Management Advisory Board helps students prepare for their careers by ensuring the curriculum is continuously updated to meet employers needs while providing networking and mentorship opportunities.

Featured Work and Profiles

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Curriculum for 2024-2025 for Technology Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship MS

Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements

View Printable Curriculum

Technology Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (Technology Management Option), MS degree, typical course sequence

Course Sem. Cr. Hrs.
First Year
INTB-710
Global Business Analytics
This course is designed to help students, regardless their backgrounds, to identify global business opportunities, possess necessary analytical skills to evaluate these opportunities, and understand the strategies to explore these opportunities to serve transnational businesses’ goals. Students will be exposed to a variety of analytical skill sets such as collecting and analyzing institutional and primary international business data, reading the multinational firm-level data and understanding how global expansion impacts firms’ bottom lines, developing foreign exchange hedging strategies, and apprehending the basic practices of international trade and foreign investment. (This class is restricted to degree-seeking graduate students or those with permission from instructor.) Lecture 3 (Fall).
 3
MGIS-650
Introduction to Data Analytics and Business Intelligence
This course serves as an introduction to data analysis including both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Contemporary data analytics and business intelligence tools will be explored through realistic problem assignments. Lecture 3 (Fall).
 3
MGMT-735
Management of Innovation
This course addresses the management of innovation, sustainable technology, and the importance of technology-based innovation for the growth of the global products and services industries. The course integrates three major themes: (1) leading-edge concepts in innovation, (2) the role of technology in creating global competitive advance in both product-based and services-based industries, and (3) the responsibility of businesses related to sustainability. The importance of digital technology as an enabler of innovative services is covered throughout the course. (completion of four graduate business courses) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 3
MGMT-740
Leading Teams in Organizations
This course examines why people behave as they do in organizations and what managers can do to improve organizational performance by influencing people's behavior. Students will learn a number of frameworks for diagnosing and dealing with managerial challenges dynamics at the individual, group and organizational level. Topics include leadership, motivation, team building, conflict, organizational change, cultures, decision making, and ethical leadership. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 3
MGMT-780
Technology Strategy
Strategy-making in technology faces special challenges: risk assessment in the face of uncertainty, predicting trends and changes in social issues, government policy, and technology, stakeholder management and technology ethics, fitting your organization to the evolving demands of your technology, integrating new technology with your existing technology, globalization, and more. It also calls for decisions on issues such as how to diversify your technology, collaboration, merger and acquisition possibilities. This course covers how to make technology strategy, including such components as quantitative and qualitative forecasting, risk assessment, the use of statistical analysis in decision-making, and the application of decision-making theories. The class includes a capstone experience. (Prerequisites: INTB-710 or MKTG-768 or ISUS-706 or equivalent statistics/analytics course.) Lecture 3 (Spring).
 3
 
Data Management and Analytics Electives
 6
 
Managerial Skills Electives
 6
Choose one of the following:
3
   MGMT-790
 Field Exam Prep, plus one (1) additional Managerial Skills Elective
All MS-Management students who do not complete a capstone project will take a field exam at the end of their program. This course provides basic help to students taking this exam. *Note: All required courses in the MS-Management program. (This course is restricted to MGMT-MS Major students.) Comp Exam 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
  
   MGMT-791
 Graduate Project
This course is used to fulfill the graduate project requirement for the MS degree in management. The candidate must obtain approval from an appropriate faculty member to supervise the paper before registering for this course. A corporate-oriented research project designed by the candidate and his or her advisor to explore a salient management-related issue. (This course is restricted to MGMT-MS Major students.) Project (Spring, Summer).
  
Total Semester Credit Hours
30

Electives

Data Management and Analytics Electives

Course
BANA-680
Data Management for Business Analytics
This course introduces students to data management and analytics in a business setting. Students learn how to formulate hypotheses, collect and manage relevant data, and use standard tools such as Python and R in their analyses. The course exposes students to structured data as well as semi-structured and unstructured data. There are no pre or co-requisites; however, instructor permission is required for students not belonging to the MS-Business Analytics or other quantitative programs such as the MS-Computational Finance which have program-level pre-requisites in the areas of calculus, linear algebra, and programming. Lecture 3 (Fall).
DECS-744
Project Management
A study in the principles of project management and the application of various tools and techniques for project planning and control. This course focuses on the leadership role of the project manager, and the roles and responsibilities of the team members. Considerable emphasis is placed on statements of work and work breakdown structures. The course uses a combination of lecture/discussion, group exercises, and case studies. (This class is restricted to degree-seeking graduate students or those with permission from instructor.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
DECS-782
Statistical Analysis for Decision Making
This is a course in applied statistics emphasizing an understanding of variation and inference (estimation and testing). Topics to be covered include: review of descriptive statistics, normal distribution, sampling distributions, estimation, test of hypothesis for single and two populations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), linear regression, multiple regression and model building. Students will apply these concepts using mini-cases and problem sets that involve both structured and unstructured data sets. The application of appropriate tools will be required. (This class is restricted to degree-seeking graduate students or those with permission from instructor.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
MGIS-725
Data Management and Analytics
This course discusses issues associated with data capture, organization, storage, extraction, and modeling for planned and ad hoc reporting. Enables student to model data by developing conceptual and semantic data models. Techniques taught for managing the design and development of large database systems including logical data models, concurrent processing, data distributions, database administration, data warehousing, data cleansing, and data mining. Lecture 3 (Spring).

Managerial Skills Electives

Course
ACCT-603
Accounting for Decision Makers
A graduate-level introduction to the use of accounting information by decision makers. The focus of the course is on two subject areas: (1) financial reporting concepts/issues and the use of general-purpose financial statements by internal and external decision makers and (2) the development and use of special-purpose financial information intended to assist managers in planning and controlling an organization's activities. Generally accepted accounting principles and issues related to International Financial Reporting Standards are considered while studying the first subject area and ethical issues impacting accounting are considered throughout. (This class is restricted to degree-seeking graduate students or those with permission from instructor.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
HRDE-742
Leading Change
Major change initiatives within organizations fail because of lack of understanding of the process of change and the lack of deliberate and focused attention to the change process. This course teaches students the change process and the alterations required in structures, processes, and activities to effectively implement change initiatives within organizations. The components of this course include applied approaches and tools to help analyze barriers for change, leverage power and influence, and provide frameworks to plan and implement change. Lecture 3 (Summer).
MGMT-743
Advanced Topics in Technology Management
This course is the advanced treatment of topics introduced in the core course offering, MGMT 735. It reviews topics introduced in the core such as disruptive technology and adds significant new content on such topics as user innovation and organizational ambidexterity. Successful completion will prepare students for leadership and significant contributions as group members for any new technology development project. (Prerequisites: MGMT-735 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Spring).
MGMT-755
Negotiations
This course is designed to teach the art and science of negotiation so that one can negotiate successfully in a variety of settings, within one's day-to-day experiences and, especially, within the broad spectrum of negotiation problems faced by managers and other professionals. Individual class sessions will explore the many ways that people think about and practice negotiation skills and strategies in a variety of contexts. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MGMT-7##
Any other 700-level "MGMT" course
SERQ-740
Leading Innovation
Achieving competitive advantage in today’s world demands that organizations know how to innovate, and do so not once, but repeatedly. Creativity, rapid learning through continuous improvement, and the ability to turn ideas into action, products, processes and services are crucial. How do leaders foster and sustain a culture of innovation? What unique competencies and skills do you need as a leader and what skills do your teams need? How is managing an innovation team different than managing other kinds of teams within an organization? Through this course, service leadership students will leverage and build on their growing knowledge about innovation, the individual and group skills required for innovating gained in SERQ-712. Students will gain deeper insights into innovation leadership requirements for creating, managing and curating a thriving environment in which cutting edge ideas are encouraged, born and grown. Open to students in the service leadership and innovation MS program and non-majors on a space available basis with department permission. (Prerequisite: SERQ-712 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

Technology Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (Technology Entrepreneurship Option), MS degree, typical course sequence

Course Sem. Cr. Hrs.
First Year
INTB-710
Global Business Analytics
This course is designed to help students, regardless their backgrounds, to identify global business opportunities, possess necessary analytical skills to evaluate these opportunities, and understand the strategies to explore these opportunities to serve transnational businesses’ goals. Students will be exposed to a variety of analytical skill sets such as collecting and analyzing institutional and primary international business data, reading the multinational firm-level data and understanding how global expansion impacts firms’ bottom lines, developing foreign exchange hedging strategies, and apprehending the basic practices of international trade and foreign investment. (This class is restricted to degree-seeking graduate students or those with permission from instructor.) Lecture 3 (Fall).
 3
MGIS-650
Introduction to Data Analytics and Business Intelligence
This course serves as an introduction to data analysis including both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Contemporary data analytics and business intelligence tools will be explored through realistic problem assignments. Lecture 3 (Fall).
 3
MGMT-720
Entrepreneurship and Technology Entrepreneurship
This course studies the process of creating new ventures with an emphasis on understanding the role of the entrepreneur in identifying opportunities, seeking capital and other resources, and managing the formation and growth of a new venture. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 3
MGMT-740
Leading Teams in Organizations
This course examines why people behave as they do in organizations and what managers can do to improve organizational performance by influencing people's behavior. Students will learn a number of frameworks for diagnosing and dealing with managerial challenges dynamics at the individual, group and organizational level. Topics include leadership, motivation, team building, conflict, organizational change, cultures, decision making, and ethical leadership. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 3
MGMT-765
Applied Venture Creation
This graduate course enables students to learn the entrepreneurial (value creation) process by advancing a business idea. The course provides weekly seminars focusing on customer discovery and business model development and weekly coaching mentoring sessions with an established entrepreneur/early stage marketer. The project is team based. Students may enter the course with a business concept or be integrated into an existing team in the course. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 3
MGMT-780
Technology Strategy
Strategy-making in technology faces special challenges: risk assessment in the face of uncertainty, predicting trends and changes in social issues, government policy, and technology, stakeholder management and technology ethics, fitting your organization to the evolving demands of your technology, integrating new technology with your existing technology, globalization, and more. It also calls for decisions on issues such as how to diversify your technology, collaboration, merger and acquisition possibilities. This course covers how to make technology strategy, including such components as quantitative and qualitative forecasting, risk assessment, the use of statistical analysis in decision-making, and the application of decision-making theories. The class includes a capstone experience. (Prerequisites: INTB-710 or MKTG-768 or ISUS-706 or equivalent statistics/analytics course.) Lecture 3 (Spring).
 3
MKTG-761
Marketing Concepts and Commercialization
An introduction to contemporary principles and practices of marketing. The course is structured around the process of marketing planning leading to the development of successful marketing strategies, including the commercialization of products and services in domestic and international environments. Focus is on environmental scanning techniques, setting and evaluating measurable objectives, innovating and controlling the interrelated components of product/service offering, planning and executing the marketing mix (channels of distribution, price, and promotion), and enhancing customer relationships through the delivery of customer value. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 3
 
Data Management and Analytics Electives
 6
 
Managerial Skills Elective
 3
Total Semester Credit Hours
30

Electives

Data Management and Analytics Electives

Course
BANA-680
Data Management for Business Analytics
This course introduces students to data management and analytics in a business setting. Students learn how to formulate hypotheses, collect and manage relevant data, and use standard tools such as Python and R in their analyses. The course exposes students to structured data as well as semi-structured and unstructured data. There are no pre or co-requisites; however, instructor permission is required for students not belonging to the MS-Business Analytics or other quantitative programs such as the MS-Computational Finance which have program-level pre-requisites in the areas of calculus, linear algebra, and programming. Lecture 3 (Fall).
DECS-744
Project Management
A study in the principles of project management and the application of various tools and techniques for project planning and control. This course focuses on the leadership role of the project manager, and the roles and responsibilities of the team members. Considerable emphasis is placed on statements of work and work breakdown structures. The course uses a combination of lecture/discussion, group exercises, and case studies. (This class is restricted to degree-seeking graduate students or those with permission from instructor.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
DECS-782
Statistical Analysis for Decision Making
This is a course in applied statistics emphasizing an understanding of variation and inference (estimation and testing). Topics to be covered include: review of descriptive statistics, normal distribution, sampling distributions, estimation, test of hypothesis for single and two populations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), linear regression, multiple regression and model building. Students will apply these concepts using mini-cases and problem sets that involve both structured and unstructured data sets. The application of appropriate tools will be required. (This class is restricted to degree-seeking graduate students or those with permission from instructor.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
MGIS-725
Data Management and Analytics
This course discusses issues associated with data capture, organization, storage, extraction, and modeling for planned and ad hoc reporting. Enables student to model data by developing conceptual and semantic data models. Techniques taught for managing the design and development of large database systems including logical data models, concurrent processing, data distributions, database administration, data warehousing, data cleansing, and data mining. Lecture 3 (Spring).

Managerial Skills Electives

Course
FINC-605
Financing New Ventures
A focus on financial issues affecting an entrepreneur. The course emphasizes, identifies, and follows the wealth creation cycle. The wealth creation cycle begins with an idea for a good, product or service, progresses to an initial company startup, passes through successive stages of growth, considers alternative approaches to resource financing, and ends with harvesting the wealth created through an initial public offering, merger or sale. Identification and valuation of business opportunities, how and from whom entrepreneurs raise funds, how financial contracts are structured to both manage risk and align incentives, and alternative approaches by which entrepreneurs identify exit strategies are reviewed. Lecture 3 (Fall).
MGMT-610
Global Entrepreneurship
Global entrepreneurs need to utilize both domestic and overseas resources, explore transnational opportunities, and leverage worldwide networks at early stages of the development. This course is designed to address the unique challenges of this global challenge, as well as the richer opportunities faced by the “born globals.” Students will learn how to discover, evaluate, and enact opportunities across national borders in order to create goods and services that serve various company goals. Students will also be informed of the competitive strategies normally adopted by international entrepreneurs in other major economies such as EU, China, and India. Lecture 3 (Spring).
MGMT-710
Managing for Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability means satisfying today's ecological needs without compromising the ability to meet tomorrow's needs. This course will examine how firms can use sustainable practices, such as pollution prevention and green design, and still be successful in a competitive marketplace. The course will look at the concept of environmental sustainability and the current state of social and political pressures for more sustainable business practices. It will also explore successful sustainable business strategies, and the management processes needed to support them. Lecture 3 (Spring).
MGMT-755
Negotiations
This course is designed to teach the art and science of negotiation so that one can negotiate successfully in a variety of settings, within one's day-to-day experiences and, especially, within the broad spectrum of negotiation problems faced by managers and other professionals. Individual class sessions will explore the many ways that people think about and practice negotiation skills and strategies in a variety of contexts. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MGMT-758
Seminar in Management
Special topics seminars offer an in-depth examination of current events, issues and problems unique to management. Specific topics will vary depending upon student and faculty interest and on recent events in the business world. Seminar topics for a specific semester will be announced prior to the course offering. These seminars may be repeated for credit since topics normally vary from semester to semester. (Depends on topic) Lecture 3 .
MKTG-778
Commercialization and Marketing of New Products
This course emphasizes the marketing and product strategy-related activities required to create, develop, and launch successful new products. Topics covered include identifying the market opportunity for new products, defining the product strategy, understanding customer requirements, developing and updating the product business plan, marketing's role in the firm's product development process, developing the marketing plan for launching new products, and managing the product life cycle. The course emphasizes best practices in marketing-related activities required for successful new product commercialization. (Prerequisites: MKTG-761 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Spring).
SERQ-740
Leading Innovation
Achieving competitive advantage in today’s world demands that organizations know how to innovate, and do so not once, but repeatedly. Creativity, rapid learning through continuous improvement, and the ability to turn ideas into action, products, processes and services are crucial. How do leaders foster and sustain a culture of innovation? What unique competencies and skills do you need as a leader and what skills do your teams need? How is managing an innovation team different than managing other kinds of teams within an organization? Through this course, service leadership students will leverage and build on their growing knowledge about innovation, the individual and group skills required for innovating gained in SERQ-712. Students will gain deeper insights into innovation leadership requirements for creating, managing and curating a thriving environment in which cutting edge ideas are encouraged, born and grown. Open to students in the service leadership and innovation MS program and non-majors on a space available basis with department permission. (Prerequisite: SERQ-712 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

Admissions and Financial Aid

This program is available on-campus only.

Offered Admit Term(s) Application Deadline STEM Designated
Full‑time Fall Rolling Yes
Part‑time Fall or Spring Rolling No

Full-time study is 9+ semester credit hours. Part-time study is 1‑8 semester credit hours. International students requiring a visa to study at the RIT Rochester campus must study full‑time.

Application Details

To be considered for admission to the Technology Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship MS program, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

English Language Test Scores

International applicants whose native language is not English must submit one of the following official English language test scores. Some international applicants may be considered for an English test requirement waiver.

TOEFL IELTS PTE Academic
88 6.5 60

International students below the minimum requirement may be considered for conditional admission. Deaf and hard-of-hearing test takers with significant hearing loss do not need to take the listening and speaking sections for the TOEFL and IELTS. Each program requires balanced sub-scores when determining an applicant’s need for additional English language courses.

How to Apply Start or Manage Your Application

Cost and Financial Aid

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