MSt in Entrepreneurship

Note: All Educational Aims and Learning Objectives are currently (as at August 2020) under discussion with the course and may be subject to change.  Final, agreed aims and outcomes will be posted on the course website following agreement between the Cambridge Judge Business School and the Education Quality and Policy Office.

The overall aim of this programme is to instil the knowledge, skills and mindset to enable students to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment. The programme aims to enable students to:

• Identify, analyse and select actions to take with respect to specific opportunities for entrepreneurial  ventures.
• Understand and articulate a venture’s value proposition through the identification of need  for a  specific  customer segment.
• Be able to establish and analyse various business models to see how different resources and capabilities,   i.e., inputs, can be effectively transformed into sustainable and differentiated  value, i.e., output.
• Make effective decisions to address the challenges associated with the establishment of founding teams and nascent organisations.
• Understand the behaviours and practices that allow entrepreneurs to navigate and operate within an        environment characterised by substantial uncertainty and ambiguity.
• Effectively communicate what their venture is; what does it do and why.
• Develop learners’ ability to function as leaders of innovation projects, whether inside established  organisations or in start-ups.
• Identify a ventures’ position within the environment, both in terms of its impact externally and the role of external factors on a venture.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Generate/identify ideas for entrepreneurial ventures, evaluate the potential for success of those ideas, turn the ideas into a set of hypotheses to be tested and objectives to be pursued, select and execute methods and techniques to test assumptions. Understand the mechanisms and contingencies underlying the tools used for the above.
2. Identify rational, social and emotional levers to be used in the persuasion of the critical audiences of innovators, early adopters, co-innovators and distribution partners required to get a venture off the ground. Understand the mechanisms and contingencies underlying the tools used for the above.
3. Select and prioritise the set of capabilities a venture should develop and be able to articulate why these are the right capabilities for the specific venture at that point in time. Understand the mechanisms and contingencies that underlie these decisions.
4. Understand the foundations of effective entrepreneurial/innovation teams and the steps and dynamics than lead to effective or ineffective team behaviours.

Open Days

Dates of open days and other events are available on the Master of Studies in Entrepreneurship pages of the department's website.

Find out more

For full information about the course, visit the Judge Business School website.

If you have any questions about the application process, contact our Admissions team: mst.admissions@ice.cam.ac.uk or +44 (0)1223 746262.

For all other enquiries, contact mstentrepreneurship@jbs.cam.ac.uk

The primary approaches to teaching and learning are as follows:

• Taught sessions by academics and leading practitioners
• E-learning, including online content-based discussions
• Group work, involving dialogue, debate and presentations throughout the taught modules
• Individual work, involving research and written presentation of findings on selected topics
• Support and facilitation by a CJBS team of faculty, tutors and supervisors
• Supplemental online materials and collaborative e-learning to maximise knowledge sharing
• Group projects
• Simulations

The core modules provide a broad set of courses where each one offers the essential knowledge every entrepreneur should have, regardless of their industry or background. The core modules complement one another to build a strong foundation upon which to customise the learning experience through the subsequent electives.

Core modules are taken during the first year of the programme and include the following topics.

• Strategy, Organisations and Business Models
• Organisational Behaviour, Negotiation and Conflict Management
• Marketing for the 21st Century
• Entrepreneurial Finance
• Systems Thinking

Students must choose five modules from the following indicative list of electives:

• Intellectual Property for Entrepreneurs
• Raising Finance
• Assessing  and Managing External Constraints
• Managing Growth
• B2B Marketing
• Management of Internal Costs
• Managing Big Data Analysis
• Sustainability and Conscious Capitalism
• Prototyping and Product Development

During the second year of the programme there will be a mandatory Research Methods course together with the submission of the major project .

The titles of the core and elective courses may vary from year to year depending on the instructors’ preferences.  The list above should therefore be regarded as illustrative.

In addition to core and elective courses, the programme includes a mandatory non-assessed component: specialist seminars delivered during residential weeks by industry practitioner and domain experts. The content of these seminars varies from year to year and is tailored to suit the cohort.  Students may choose to attend the seminars that are most relevant to them.

Supervision

Each student will be allocated a project supervisor by the start of second year. Supervisors will provide general academic advice to students and subject-specific advice relating to the project. Students and project supervisors normally meet about once a month to discuss progress, but meetings may be more or less frequent depending on the project.

Lectures

During year one, there will be approximately 40 hours of lectures, seminars and classes during residential weeks. During year two, there will be approximately 20 hours.

Feedback

Students receive detailed written feedback after each written assignment.

Assessment

During the second year of the MSt in Entrepreneurship students complete a 12,000-word assignment, also referred to as the major project.

The major project is a comprehensive analysis of a new business opportunity or topic, which requires the application of frameworks and tools from the programme and data collection to support analysis and conclusions. The majority of students analyse an opportunity related to their own venture or opportunity focus.

Essays, projects and written papers

Core and elective courses are assessed by written assignments.

Other assessment

Active participation in online learning activities and in-person discussions is expected of all students to support collaborative learning.

Fees

The fees for 2021 entry will be £34,800 (£17,400 per annum) for Home/EU students and for overseas students. There is an application fee of £70.

Students will be expected to cover any costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence during residential sessions in Cambridge.

Funding

Sources of government funding and financial support - including Professional and Career Development Loans

Applications will be accepted online until 2 June 2021.

Your application will include answers to several short questions concerning your entrepreneurial goals and objectives, and the efforts you have taken to advance any entrepreneurial projects prior to the programme.

Selection process

Stage 1: Once the admissions team has received an application and the supporting documentation, the applicant is notified if they have been shortlisted for a Skype interview with the admissions team. The purpose of the interview will be to further gauge the candidate's suitability for the course. 

Stage 2: The Admissions Committee of the programme makes a recommendation about the applicant, and this is submitted to the CJBS Degree Committee for approval. Typically we will communicate the decision of the Degree Committee to the applicant, but this does not constitute a formal offer at this stage.

Stage 3: When an applicant is successful, the Registry Manager of the Institute of Continuing Education will issue a formal offer letter. The offer of a place at the programme will come with conditions attached. These will include financial (confirming that you can pay the course fees) and technical conditions (e.g., the uploading of a photograph) at a minimum. Language related (proving that the applicant’s English language skills are proficient) and academic conditions (submitting original transcripts and certificates, etc) may also be set. It is the applicant’s responsibility to meet these requirements and provide the necessary evidence, and failure to do so will mean that you cannot join the programme.

Stage 4: The offer will also be subject to the applicant obtaining college membership. The request for membership to the applicant’s college of choice is done by the Programme Manager mstentrepreneurship@jbs.cam.ac.uk

Stage 5: This is the final stage of the applications process. Once you have met all the conditions of your admission and have the offer of a college place, you will be notified that you may begin your programme at the start of the academic year. At this stage you can start making arrangements such as visa, travel and accommodation. If required, a letter sponsoring you for a Short Term Study VISA will be issued by the Programme Manager at this stage.

Admission of students into our programme is a rolling process, and therefore we welcome and encourage an early submission of applications.

The duration of the selection process will vary depending on committee meeting dates, although standard applicants can expect to hear if they have been shortlisted for an interview within 8 weeks of submitting an application. Then, if successful, a conditional offer should be sent to the applicant within 8 weeks of attending the Skype interview. Please note that this is only an average timeline to be used for reference.

Supporting documents

Below are details of the Course Specific Questions and other supporting information you will be asked to provide before you can submit your application. These are marked with an asterisk (*). References and transcripts can be provided either at the time of submitting your application or shortly after.

If you have any questions, please contact ICE Admissions: mst.admissions@ice.cam.ac.uk and we will be happy to help. 

References

You will need to provide the details of two referees who should be senior people acquainted with your work and who are able to comment on your academic and/or professional suitability to undertake the course.  Ideally one reference should be academic and one professional. If this is not possible, two professional references may be accepted.

You will be asked to provide email addresses for your referees so that they can submit their reference via the online referencing system, so it is important for you to ensure that your referee is able to provide a reference for you before you submit your application form. In the case of professional references, these must be submitted from a professional, not personal, email address.

You should try to advise your referees to include the following information:

• How long they have known you and in what capacity.
• Their opinion of your experience, achievements, professional interests, and the capabilities which you will bring to the course.
• Whether they believe you have the academic and analytic skills to successfully study at Masters level.
• Whether they believe you will fit well on a Master’s-level course
• Whether they consider you have the enthusiasm, commitment and determination necessary to complete the course successfully.

If your referees are unable to use the online referencing system, or do not have an email addresses, please contact the ICE Admissions office for further assistance.

Transcripts

A transcript is a list of all the courses you have taken during a programme of study, with the result you obtained, and with the credit value if applicable.

If you are currently studying, please provide a transcript listing the courses taken during your programme of study, with the results or grades obtained for each.

If you have previously completed degree-level study, please provide a transcript or degree certificate for each degree-level programme you have studied, showing the date the degree was awarded and the final class or grade obtained.

The transcript should be uploaded via your Applicant Portal. Please note that we may also ask you to send the originals via post if we make you an offer of admission and supplying these may be a condition of your offer.

If your documents are not in English, you must also upload a full translation of each document, prepared by a registered translator.

Entrepreneurship questionnaire

Please answer all mandatory questions on the application form.