DAAP Graduate Programs introduces a new entrepreneurial pathway

Starting fall semester 2025, DAAP will offer a pathway on entrepreneurship for both Master of Design and Master of Fine Arts graduate programs. This pathway includes an embedded 12-credit hour certificate, enabling students to earn entrepreneurship skills through a certificate integrated into the established curriculum.

Students will participate in courses covering an array of entrepreneurial topics, including entrepreneurial strategy, management of innovation, global entrepreneurship, leadership and organization, to name a few. These classes will be taken at the Lindner College of Business.

“By bridging fine art with fields such as business, science, and technology, we can enrich artistic practice with diverse knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking—ultimately preparing students to engage with a broader, more complex world," says current master of fine art graduate student, Nazanin Najdmofarrah. 

Chris Sutter, associate professor of management and the Fealy Family Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship, supervises the entrepreneurial certificate for the DAAP graduate students. 

“DAAP students will benefit by developing their entrepreneurial mindset and acquiring business skills. At the most fundamental level, entrepreneurship is about building things when there isn't an existing template to follow. We look forward to continuing to build interdisciplinary opportunities for UC students from around the university,” says Sutter.