Program Overview
Why pursue a Master of Science in Innovation and Leadership at Furman?
The 12-month/30-credit Master of Science in Innovation and Leadership provides:
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Small, in-person classes of 15–20 students that ensure individualized attention, high-impact learning experiences and networking opportunities.
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Immersive engaged learning opportunities that connect students with organizations like Michelin, Soteria Community Development Corporation, Jasmine Road, NextGEN and Alchemy Comedy.
Students who complete this program will be able to…
- Understand and apply theories and frameworks of innovation as they pertain to processes, products, activities and people.
- Cultivate depth in understanding personal leadership strengths and mechanisms for leveraging those strengths to create cultures of innovation in teams, work environments and communities.
- Identify and employ collaborative strategies to amplify innovation through group facilitation, creative problem solving, purposeful deliberation and constructive critique and feedback.
- Devise needs-based assessments and articulate possible directions in the face of rapid societal change, uncertain futures and imperfect information.
- Plan, pitch and implement values-based interventions to facilitate innovation in corporate, organizational, group, team and/or interpersonal contexts.
Careers for M.S. in Innovation and Leadership graduates
This degree can enhance credentials in a wide range of occupations:
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Pioneers and Team Leads
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Professional Communicators
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Innovation Managers
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Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs
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Operations, Project, and Product Managers
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New Business Developers
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Strategists and Consultants
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Coursework
To earn a Master of Science in Innovation and Leadership, students must complete 30 credits of coursework in three units of study: Innovation Seminar (12 credits), Focused Coursework (9 credits), and Electives (9 credits). Most students complete the program in one year, enrolling in three courses per term for three consecutive terms. However, it is possible to extend the program up to two years. An innovative course format tailored to working professionals enables students to immediately apply what they are learning to solve real-world challenges in their teams, organizations, and communities. Visit our campus or request information to learn more.
- INV 601: Creativity and Innovation: The first session of the yearlong innovation seminar introduces the interdisciplinary theories and processes of innovation.
- INV 602: Pitching and Presentation: The second session of the yearlong innovation seminar prepares students to position ideas, craft and deliver messages, and analyze and understand audiences.
- INV 603: Resilience and Reflection: The third session of the yearlong innovation seminar crystallizes practices of feedback, critique, resiliency and perseverance.
- INV 611: Leading Innovation in Groups and Teams: This course examines approaches and strategies of leadership, group and team dynamics, and the study of inter-group and intra-group communication.
- INV 621: Assessing Innovation Effectiveness: Students learn to apply assessment to the process of innovation by developing needs assessments, facilitating real-time assessments of works-in-progress and evaluating the outcomes of innovation in the team, organization or community.
- INV 681: Launching Innovation through Leadership (capstone applied project): Students synthesize learning in the program through an individual applied project that blends innovation and leadership to solve a problem of consequence in a team, organizational community-based context.
- INV 641: Professional Coaching: Students work with an assigned coach to co-create a leadership development plan that emphasizes goal setting, personal strengths development and action planning.
- INV 642: Practicum in Innovation: Students apply their learning in a community placement focused on innovation and leadership.
- INV 643: Leadership Development Seminar: Students apply their learning in a leadership development seminar with rotating topic options, focused on innovation and leadership.
- INV 644: Individualized Experiential Learning: Students apply their learning in an experiential learning scenario focused on innovation and leadership.
Contact Us
Have questions? We’re here to help.
Click the link below to request more information about our program. If you have additional questions, please contact our graduate admissions counselor.
[email protected] | 864.294.2156