UT Offering Preferred Admission for Select Members of CEO into UT Master's Program

Photographed (from left to right): James N. Zebrowski, Jr., M.S. (CEO), Giles Hertz, J.D. (CEO), F. Frank Ghannadian, Ph.D. (UT) and Rebecca White, Ph.D. (UT) 

• Master of Science in Entrepreneurship (M.S. in Entrepreneurship) is designed to prepare students with the necessary skills to successfully plan and launch their own ventures
• This extension of CEO’s pre-existing UT Host Institution Agreement marks a first of its kind innovative application process designed to provide founders with a simpler path to admission. 
• Admitted CEO members can begin UT’s M.S. in Entrepreneurship starting Fall 2022; applications accepted now

The University of Tampa announced this week that it will begin offering preferred admission to their Master of Science in Entrepreneurship program for select members of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO).

CEO is the largest collective of collegiate entrepreneurs spanning 250 university/college campuses globally with a mission to inform, support and inspire students to launch their own enterprises. CEO’s partnership with UT’s graduate admissions program provides a first of its kind path to admission for student entrepreneurs that are launching new ventures. This program will allow CEO’s Top 100 business founders that are selected from a collective of 600 students, the option to submit their PitchPage in lieu of a formal admissions essay. This encourages the student to continue investing time in the formation of their business and provides them a more ‘real-world’ path to admission.

“The vetting process to select the Top 100 Student Founders is intensive,” said Giles Hertz, president of Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization. “Connecting these top students with UT creates a direct path to the continuation of their education.”

UT M.S. in Entrepreneurship program equips students with the optimal resources and environment to successfully launch their ventures, guided by highly qualified and experienced faculty that have reached success in their own entrepreneurial endeavors.

Accelerated 6-week courses include:

• Preparing for the Entrepreneurial Journey 
• Creativity and Innovation for Entrepreneurs
• Selecting and Developing a Business Model
• New Venture Finance 
• Entrepreneurial Marketing 
• Risk Mitigation and Legal Issues for Entrepreneurs
• Leading and Managing New Ventures
• Communicating with Investors and Partners

Resources include:

• Professional Office Space for the M.S. Student 
• Coaching by UT’s certified Entrepreneurs in Residence
• Access to Investors -and- no-pay-back Grant Program 
• Accessibility to a network of UT Alumni and Business Professionals for Mentorship
• Participation in Business Pitch Competitions’, New Venture Expo’s and Funding for Ventures 
• Proximity to Entrepreneurial Support Organizations such as Embarc Collective 

UT’s M.S. in Entrepreneurship program is nationally acclaimed for building the critical business and entrepreneurial skills needed to develop and launch new enterprises. The program is led by a group of faculty with academic qualifications and personal experience in operating entrepreneurial ventures. Rebecca White, James W. Walter Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship serves as program director. White specializes in the theories and practices of entrepreneurship and global business.

“Our nationally ranked graduate program in entrepreneurship provides aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools and network they need to find more opportunities, take effective action and execute past failure,” said White. “We are excited to partner with CEO in creating a streamlined pathway for the top college students from chapters around the globe to enroll in the program.” 

The University of Tampa is a private, comprehensive university located on 110 acres on the riverfront in downtown Tampa. Known for academic excellence, personal attention and real-world experience in its undergraduate and graduate programs, the University serves approximately 10,500 students from 50 states and 130 countries. The majority of full-time students live on campus, and about half of UT students are from Florida.

The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO), based in The University of Tampa’s Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, a part of Sykes College of Business, is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to “inform, support and inspire college students to be entrepreneurial and to seek opportunity through enterprise creation.” From its inception in 1984, the organization has grown to approximately 16,500 members, representing nearly 250 college- and university-based chapters.