The Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIENT) major is designed to help you develop problem solving and creative thinking skills, along with the ability to spot trends, recognize opportunities, and develop plans to capitalize on high-potential ideas.  Emerging entrepreneurs and innovative managers of small to large businesses must be competent in various mediums of communication, have good negotiation skills, lead with ethics and integrity, and be grounded in business aspects of planning, capital investing, goal setting, and decision making

Course Requirements

The courses listed below are accompanied by videos from both student and professor perspectives. Click on the course titles to watch the videos. 

Core CIENT Courses

Students are required to take all of the following courses (9 credits):

Core CIENT Courses

Course

Videos

MGMT 425 - New Venture Creation

Professor Video | Student Video

MGMT 453 - Creativity and Innovation

Professor Video | Student Video

MGMT 457W - Strategic Management of Innovation and Technologies

Professor Video | Student Video

CIENT Electives

Students are required to select three of the following courses (9 credits):

CIENT Electives

Course

Videos

MGMT 365 - Social Entrepreneurship

Professor Video | Student Video

MGMT 420 - Negotiation and Conflict Management

Professor Video | Student Video

MGMT 427 - Managing an Entrepreneurial Start-Up Company

Professor Video | Student Video

MGMT 480 - Business Transformation Consulting

Professor Video | Student Video

MGMT 485 - Entrepreneurial Opportunity Creativity

Professor Video | Student Video

MGMT 486 - Entrepreneurial Investment and Resource Acquisition

Professor Video | Student Video

Recommended Course Sequence

Visit the CIENT webpage to view the sequence.

Careers in CIENT

The CIENT major is designed for students interested in managing innovation, re-inventing current businesses, supporting a family business, or starting up new businesses with the intent of growing the economy, and providing jobs for a diverse workforce. By taking this major, students may prepare themselves to launch a new company or pursue professional employment in one of the following business domains:

Careers in CIENT

Corporate Innovation

Entrepreneurship

Consulting

Start a New Venture

Project Management

Work for a Small Business

Business Operations

Further a Family Business

Customer Development

Work for a Company Investing in Small Business

Innovation 

Full Time Employment

For the Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Major, students have been placed in the following industries after graduation: Tech/Science: 25%, Consulting Services: 25%, Financial Services: 17%, Sports/Leisure: 8%, Petroleum/Energy: 8%, Other: 17%.

Salary

After graduation, CIENT students obtain on average $69,750 with a Full-Time Salary. The average signing bonus CIENT students are receiving is $6,300 with about 56% of graduates receiving a bonus.

CIENT Highlights

Consider some of the other factors that help to enhance the environment for CIENT students in the Smeal College of Business. Click the images to learn more about each organization.

Interested in learning more about the CIENT Major? Watch our recorded information sessions - CIENT Journey & Opportunities Night 1 and CIENT Career Paths Night 2.

Find the CIENT Student Ambassadors on Instagram

Contacts

Department Chair

Dr. Vilmos Misangyi

Professor of Strategic Management, Earl P. Strong Professorship of Executive Education in Business Administration, Chair of Management and Organization Department

Email: vfm10@psu.edu

CIENT Undergraduate Major Coordinator

Travis Lesser

Instructor of Entrepreneurship

Email: tal218@psu.edu