ACP Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship
Now more than ever, innovation and big ideas are essential ingredients to a business's ability to flourish. And, as any innovator knows, it's not enough to simply have the idea - you have to know how to implement it. Using proven methods of innovation and design thinking as a framework, students in this unique program will learn new ways to generate ideas, gain deeper insights into their clients, manage creative teams, and drive growth in companies large and small.
Who Should Enroll
Students who are currently attending university, have graduated from university, or are current working professionals and have an interest in the subject area will gain from the knowledge and skills presented in this program.
This program is designed for those coming from a variety of backgrounds: international students and professionals who want to bring innovative solutions to market; entrepreneurs who have a desire to grow their business through applied innovation and new technologies; motivated individuals looking to start up a new venture that will thrive in today's global marketplace; business managers and leaders who wish to shape their business to make a social impact to benefit the community and beyond. Whether working in a large corporate environment, mid-size company or as an entrepreneur, this program will equip all of those in innovative fields to take it to the next level.
Program Benefits
- Utilize creative thinking methodologies to generate new ideas, recognize innovative business opportunities, and solve complex problems
- Examine the business models used by great business leaders in a variety of industries and learn to apply the underlying strategies to today's economic landscape
- Develop a written marketing plan suitable for bringing an innovative product or service to market
- Create and present a business plan for an innovative product or service
- Demonstrate functional business skills in collaboration with entrepreneurs from the business community
- Gain a competitive edge in the global job market with an internship in a U.S. company
Eligibility and Requirements
- Students who are currently attending university, have graduated from university, or are current working professionals.
- Demonstration of English language proficiency (one of the options below). Please submit scores from tests taken within the past two years.
- English proficiency tests accepted
- 71 iBT TOEFL
- 530 PBT TOEFL or 17 on each section
- 685 TOEIC
- 6.0 IELTS
- B2 CEFR or ISE or MET
- 450 Kaplan Test of English (KTE)
- 3.5 iTEP
- 95 Duolingo
- 50 Pearson Academic
- Advanced Cambridge
- EIKEN Japanese Test in Practical English “Grade pre-1”
- GEPT “High-Intermediate”
- Completion of English language school
- UCI 10-Week Intensive ESL: Level 5
- Kaplan International: Higher Intermediate
- FLS International: Level 16
- ELS Language Centers: Level 112
- University degree was completed in the U.S., Australia, U.K., or another country where instruction was taught in English
- English proficiency tests accepted
- Students must be at least 18 years of age or older
Students who do not meet our English requirement are encouraged to enroll in our 10-Week Intensive ESL program.
CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS
To earn a certificate at UCI's Division of Continuing Education, students must complete all required courses with a grade of “C” or better.
Please visit our Tuition and Fees page to view a list of associated costs
Have Questions?
Talk to an enrollment coach
Call: (949) 824-5414
Monday - Friday, 9am - 4pm (Pacific)
Curriculum
This seminar will discuss using strength based competencies to positively affect your career, your leadership and your teams. We will explore your personal strengths and competencies and how to think about them within your own career. We will also explore how to use competencies in leadership to get the best out of the individual, build effective teams and deliver on your business objectives. Self-assessments will be incorporated and its application to leadership.
Imagining innovative solutions to complex problems is a critical skill for today’s workforce. In this course, tenets of design thinking and innovation methodologies will be practically applied to a variety of challenges across a broad array of industries. Students will learn mind-opening techniques to recognize hidden opportunities, better empathize with customers, and rapidly test prototypes to minimize the time required to bring an innovation to market.
Transforming a nascent idea into a profitable and sustainable enterprise requires the strategic application of the right business model. This course will take students deep into the economics of the most iconic businesses in recent history to understand how they turn a profit. A variety of industries will be explored to give students a broad perspective on the structure and importance of adopting a model that is carefully tailored to the unique needs and challenges each business faces.
No longer do entrepreneurs have to go it alone. With an increased focus in entrepreneurship, new channels have developed to help entrepreneurs incubate their idea, develop their company, and provide funding. As a result, over the last decade, we have seen the evolution of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. In the course, we learn what this ecosystem is and how we can leverage it to launch our own ideas.
Explore innovative marketing and development strategies to increase awareness and profitability for today’s businesses. Learn to devise a comprehensive action plan that identifies customer needs, offers a unique selling proposition, aligns pricing and positioning strategy and outlines promotional assets and activities. Develop skills to recognize ideal strategic partnership and business opportunities across various product categories, channels and industries.
This course will prepare students to manage an innovative team. Unlike a traditional management course, our focus is on management and leadership from the unique lens of an innovative product lifecycle. Students will learn practical strategies to hire and confidently supervise staff – creative and otherwise – to meet organizational goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Classes are scheduled variously between 09:00 and 17:00 (California time). Students will learn their specific class times when they enroll.
Please visit Program Dates for available intakes.
All ACP students must study full-time only.
An F-1 student visa is required for this full-time, on-campus program.
Yes. ACP programs offer internship opportunities at Southern California companies.
As an optional last course and for an additional fee of $2,900, you have the opportunity to apply academic theory and gain practical experience in a variety of businesses and industries for 10 weeks. Also included in the internship is the Résumé Writing and Interviewing Skills workshop.
F-1 students who maintained their F-1 status for one full academic year (3 consecutive quarters) may apply for an OPT. Contact an international student advisor at immigrationofficials@ce.uci.edu for more information.
Please contact us. We are ready to support and welcome you!