Could you imagine being paid to start a business while working towards your MBA in college? That’s the idea behind the MBA Entrepreneur Fellow program in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration.
“The Entrepreneur Fellow program offers what every entrepreneur hopes for — an opportunity to bring a business to life,” said Mohney. “As an entrepreneur from an entrepreneurial family, my being awarded this opportunity is a dream come true. The program will open doors that most business owners never will experience. It will give me the opportunity to turn my dream business into a reality.”
Each Fellow receives a $30,000 scholarship — $10,000 for each of the program’s three semesters. Satisfactory progress toward launching or growing their business idea is required to continue receiving funding.
“As an aspiring entrepreneur, this program is ideal for me,” said Parton. “The ability to work closely with experienced faculty in developing my business venture, coupled with the university’s history of cultivating and keeping strong relationships with successful local entrepreneurs, were the reasons I decided to attend UT over other top-ranked MBA programs. Being in this program will advance me on my entrepreneurial path by years–if not decades.”
The benefits of being an Entrepreneur Fellow include:
Being able to earn a degree while increasing chances of launching a successful entrepreneurial career
Having unprecedented access to experienced faculty and entrepreneur mentors
Being able to offset many of the costs associated with the MBA program
Being able to come to UT for a degree and leave with a business“The Entrepreneur Fellow program makes an MBA degree possible for some of the country’s best and brightest young entrepreneurs,” said Amy Cathey, executive director of UT’s full-time MBA program. “Starting businesses in this region is good for our community, university, college, program and students. We hope to grow the number of MBA Fellow scholarships available so that even more students can take advantage of these opportunities in the future.”
Photo by Bill Jacobus