Technology Innovation Leadership Minor

Faculty Program Director: Galina Reitz, Ph.D.
Assistant Director: Tetyana Bezbabna

The minor in Technology Innovation Leadership will prepare students to effectively create and navigate a climate of technological innovation within an organization or team. By combining creative leadership practices with design thinking skills and analysis of sociotechnical challenges, students will tackle large-scale problems relating to technology innovation. The program will center on innovation thinking, a critical addition to business thinking, which will allow students to bring new ideas and energy to their leadership experiences and sociotechnical challenges. Coursework will examine the different ways leaders and social entrepreneurs strategically use innovative technologies and information to solve social, cultural, and environmental problems. 

There are five (5) three-credit courses required as part of the minor. 

All courses in the Technology Innovation Leadership minor are offered online by the UMD Information Science program through its Shady Grove campus location and are available to students from both College Park and Shady Grove campuses.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Describe and analyze the principles of technology innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
2. Assess the role entrepreneurship and technology innovation play in societal well-being and development.
3. Describe and apply practical, hands-on entrepreneurial and leadership skills through developing creative and innovative solutions to solve societal issues.
4. Analyze ways that Social Entrepreneurs strategically use innovative technologies and information to solve social, cultural, and environmental issues.
5. Implement best practices and knowledge to successfully lead, create, and discover while sustaining the culture of innovation in their organizations and teams.

Minor Completion Requirements
In order to complete the minor, students must:

• Complete all 15 required credits.
• Achieve a minimum grade of "C-" or better in all minor courses.
• At least nine credits must be completed at the 400-level to earn the minor. 
• Only six credits or two courses from the minor are allowed to satisfy a degree requirement towards your major. Please consult with your academic advisor for more information.
• Students who matriculate to the university starting in fall 2012 (freshmen and transfers) must achieve a cumulative 2.0 GPA in their minor and major courses.
• No more than 6 credits can be completed at an institution other than the University of Maryland, College Park. 
• The posting of a minor on a student's official transcript is done concurrently with the posting of the bachelor's degree. Therefore, all minor classes must be completed prior to graduation. 

More information about the minor declaration process can be found here.

Admission and advising for the Technology Innovation Leadership minor is managed by the UMD Information Science undergraduate team at the Universities at Shady Grove campus (Rockville, MD). 

Please note that advising questions related to how the Minor courses may count towards degree requirements or other program requirements should be directed to a student’s academic advisor.

If you have any questions about this minor, please email usginfosci@umd.edu.