500

In this course, students will identity and make best use of their own leadership strengths to become more effective leaders. The course will also address the benefits of a strength-based mindset relative to women’s entrepreneurship, team performance, personal development, and diversity and inclusion efforts. Students will learn to apply a strength based leadership approach in developing entrepreneurial ventures to optimize business outcomes and team engagement. Equipped with this knowledge, students will be able to invest in their own personal strengths and the strengths of their team to overcome barriers in women’s entrepreneurship and enhance business results and team performance. Pre-requisite(s): Admission into the MS Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship Program or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

In this course, students will have a foundational overview of the design thinking process, its steps, and how it can be used to see problems as opportunities for creative solutions Emphasis will be placed on the first two steps of the design thinking process: Empathy and Define. Students will gather valuable insights on the humans they are designing for through identification of users, empathy interviews, observations, and experiences. Equipped with this understanding, students will generate problem statements, provide focus, and frame the challenges they hope to solve. Pre-requisite(s): Admission into the MS Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship Program; Admission into the Certificate or Concentration in Fundamentals of Design Thinking or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course introduces the concept generation stage of the design thinking process, Ideation. Students will utilize the research and user needs from the Empathize and Define stages to develop innovative solutions to identified problems. It examines ideation practices by exploring creativity techniques, tools, and mindsets to step beyond obvious solutions. Equipped with this understanding, students will be able to generate large quantities of ideas, refine, select and effectively communicate potential solutions. Pre-requisite(s): Completions DTE 500 and DTE 501; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Students enrolled in the Certificate or Concentration in Fundamentals of Design Thinking are not required to complete DTE 500. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

Creating prototypes and testing them with users are both critical components of the design thinking process that go hand-in-hand. In this course, students will bring their ideas to form through the exploration of various prototyping methods and strategies. Students will share prototypes with potential users to observe and test solutions in order gather crucial feedback to further their concept generation, iteration, and refinement process. Pre-requisite(s): Completion DTE 500, DTE 501 and DTE 502 or permission of Program Chair or designate. Students enrolled in the Certificate or Concentration in Fundamentals of Design Thinking are not required to complete DTE 500. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

From the first stories told thousands and thousands of years ago, to a 140-character tweet, storytelling has the power to influence human behavior. In this course, students will explore both the art and science of storytelling by tapping into empathy and the human experience. This course offers a deeper understanding of why story matters, practice in human-centered story design and delivery methods, as well as ways to apply storytelling to influence an audience. Pre-requisite(s): Completion DTE 515 or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course introduces students to the major activities and concepts in entrepreneurship to successfully manage a female-owned small business. The course will also address how gender influences entrepreneurship, innovation, and small business and how to overcome these gender-related barriers. Students will learn the major areas of small business operations such as human resource management, recruiting, financial statements, sources of capital, partnerships, legal setup, sales, and customer service. Equipped with this knowledge, students will create a draft diverse business model canvas they will use throughout the program to assist with the launch of their company, product, or service. Pre-requisite(s): DTE 500, DTE 501 or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

Innovation is no longer just a ‘nice-to-have’, but rather plays a crucial role in the success and growth of leaders and organizations. In this course, students will explore pathways to creating, leading, and sustaining a culture of innovation. Throughout the course students will examine and apply techniques to foster a creative and collaborative work environment, investigate barriers to innovation, and develop plans for embedding a culture of change into any organization. Students will also examine leadership theories that foster innovation and aspects of organizational behavior. Pre-requisite(s): DTE 500 or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

Students will complete a comprehensive exam course to demonstrate the knowledge in design thinking and entrepreneurship they have learned through the mid-point of the MS Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship program. Throughout the course, students will prepare for a two-part exam which will be completed in the final week of the course. The first part of the exam will include a business model canvas pitch to a panel of judges and in the second part of the exam students will collaborate in teams to identify innovative solutions to a design brief. Topics pitch and presentation development, using the design thinking process to empathize with consumers, implement various brainstorming techniques to create ideas, build rapid prototypes, and communicate solution and process to panel of judges. Pre-requisite(s): DTE 500, DTE 501, DTE 505, DTE 502, DTE 510, DTE 503 or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course is designed to introduce students to sales strategy and influencing consumer decision making through effective selling techniques and storytelling. Students will also discuss sales and market strategies for women-owned businesses and leadership theories that can be applied to enhance selling ideas to external and internal stakeholders and customers. Other topics include ethics in sales, trust- based selling, strategic prospecting, and creating a sales dialogue. Equipped with this knowledge and using their diverse business model canvases, students will create an effective sales strategy and sales pitch for their product or service ideas. Pre-requisite(s): DTE 500, DTE 501, DTE 505, DTE 502, DTE 510, DTE 503, and DTE 515; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours