Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

Graduate Courses in Innovation & Entrepreneurship

The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences offers two graduate courses appropriate to the study of Innovation & Entrepreneurship:

ECO 6345/POEC 7327 Innovation Dynamics & Economic Change (3 credit hours)

This course examines the phenomenon of innovation. While the primary focus will be on technological innovation, alternative conceptualizations including organizational innovation will also be addressed. We will begin by noting that the role of innovation in theories of economic growth (and related dimensions of economic performance) has not always been explicit, even as the concept of innovation itself has evolved since at least the 19th century. More recently, as innovation has assumed a key role in accounting for today's aggregate growth and productivity, the literature it has inspired has grown seemingly exponentially. Many of the most compelling and accessible treatments of innovation are focused on specific industries and their patterns of change. Therefore, it is at that level - between the aggregate macro economy and the more micro domain of entrepreneurs and firms that we will spend the bulk of our time. In the topic list, I have selected a variety of contexts within which it is useful to understand and appreciate the contribution of innovation to our thinking today.

SCI 5V06-001 Special Topics: Biotechnology Ventures in DFW (3 credit hours)(cross listed as POEC 7329-001)

Biotechnology Ventures in DFW will explore trends and dynamics in the United States and globally and address was in which how may shape the prospects for an emerging bioscience and technology-intensive industry base in the DFW Metroplex. Special attention will be devoted to the potential for identifying commercial and technological strengths in the DFW regional economy that could lead DFW becoming a leading center of biotechnology activity. Course sessions will be organized around a series of "key questions," each bearing on the emergence of a major bio-S&T "cluster."