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VideoPh.D. Innovation Program
Reflecting Dartmouth's commitment to serving society through engineering, the Ph.D. Innovation Program addresses the nation's growing need for people with both technical and entrepreneurial expertise.
You'll earn your Ph.D. degree plus a certificate from the nation's first engineering Ph.D. Innovation Program. You'll receive up to five years of support—two years funded by sponsored research with the faculty advisor of your choice, plus up to three years of unrestricted program funding to allow full exploration of your ideas and build the skills needed for commercialization.
Questions? Concerns? Want to run a project idea by us? Contact Carrie Fraser, Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Affairs at carolyn.fraser@dartmouth.edu or call toll-free from U.S. or Canada: 1-888-THAYER6 (1-888-842-9376); all others call 1-603-646-3483.
Below, hear Dean Helble's description of the program meant to provide graduates with the entrepreneurial training they need to turn research discoveries into marketable applied technologies. Also check out our student video testimonials.
Curriculum
The Innovation Program modifies and supplements the doctoral engineering curriculum with entrepreneurial studies, including:
President Clinton and PhD Innovation Program graduate Ashifi Gogo at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). Photo: CGI- new venture creation
- finance
- accounting
- patent law
- marketing
- a 3- to 6-month internship in a startup or other entrepreneurial enterprise
See Requirements for the Ph.D. Innovation Program for more details.
Eligibility
New applicants to the Ph.D. program as well as current students in the Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. programs are eligible to apply. Entering students should send a single PDF file containing the application materials (specified below) to Engineering.Admissions@Dartmouth.edu, and check the appropriate box on the online application form, indicating they are applying. Current students should contact the program director, Dean Joseph Helble, with questions about eligibility.
Funding
Students are supported primarily by research assistantships for the first two years of their Ph.D. enrollment, and then by Innovation Program funding for years 3-5. This funding covers the costs of tuition, fees, and student stipend*, and provides a small annual discretionary fund for research project work.
*Students generally do not receive stipends while on paid or unpaid internships. During internships students are eligible for health insurance through Dartmouth if they request it.
No additional application materials beyond the required (standard) graduate program application and Innovation Program supplemental application essays (see below) are required.
Application and Admission
Students are admitted to this track of the Ph.D. program through an additional application.
Applications for the 2011-2012 academic year are due on or before January 1st and should be submitted to Engineering.Admissions@Dartmouth.edu.
PhD Innovation Program candidatesApplicants to the program should submit the following documents as a single PDF file with the title <****-INNOV>, where **** is replaced by the applicant's last name and initials (e.g., John Q. Doe would submit his file as DoeJQ-INNOV.pdf):
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A statement (2-page max) describing
- reasons for interest in innovation
- why innovation is relevant to your long term career goals
- an example demonstrating creativity in arriving at a solution
- A statement (2-page max) describing a broad technology development problem that interests you. This should be written in the general form of a proposal for funding. Note: students who do not yet have a thesis advisor should identify the name(s) of 1 or 2 potential Thayer School faculty advisors for their proposed work.
- A C.V. (3-page max). Note: candidates who are simultaneously applicants for admission to the Thayer School Ph.D. program may instead elect to have their application materials used to meet this requirement.
- Currently enrolled Thayer students also need to submit a signed letter of approval from their thesis advisor.
Dax Kepshire, a member of the first class of PhD Innovation Program students, co-founded SustainX, winner of the 2010 GE Ecomagination ChallengeAdmission to this program will be determined by a committee consisting of the Director of Graduate Programs or a faculty appointee, the Dean of the Thayer School or a faculty appointee, and members of the faculty, drawn from those serving on the program Advisory Board. Finalists will be interviewed, either in person or by videoconference, by the selection committee.
Email questions to Engineering.Admissions@Dartmouth.EDU.
Meet a student
Clare Boothe Luce fellow and Ph.D. Innovation Program candidate Regina Salvat discusses her work in the biotechnology lab de-immunizing beta-lactamase enzymes used in cancer therapy: