Bachelor of Innovation™ family of degrees

Welcome to the UCCS Bachelor of Innovation™(BI) Program Home Page. Like a Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA), the BI is not a single degree but a family of related majors. The BI has a major field of study, just like a BA or BS, but it also has a common core in innovation and entrepreneurship including a unique long-term, multi-disciplinary team experience. A survey of Colorado companies shows that BI students will have a significant advantage in the market.

For more information, please watch this video.

This program is motivated by a national need for innovation , and builds on our national reputation such as U.S. News and World Report rankings US News and World Report, the UCCS College of Engineering and Applied Science  national ranking in its class (masters/bachelors focused universities) tied it for 6th among public institutions, and 20th overall.  Overall UCCS has been ranked by US News as a "Best in the West", with 2009 ranking 6th among public western regional universities. UCCS has been ranked in the top 10 western regional public universities each year since 2002., that recognize UCCS as a leading university focused on undergraduate education. While one does not have to be a leader to innovate, it certainly helps.

We see 4 major components of innovationTechnology, Entrepreneurship, Creative Communications and Globalization, all of which come together in the BI family. And of course, innovation needs creative people, like you, in the BI program. A major component of the program is multi-disciplinary innovation teams working on real projects for real companies. New and exciting projects are being actively pursued everyday by students in the BI program.  Many companies in our community are actively involved in current projects, see our Success Pages for more examples.  The ability to team with the community on projects, a cornerstone of the program, is nothing new for UCCS, which has been recognized for its nationally leading community engagement.The American Association of State Colleges and Universities' last ranking placed UCCS first, tied with Arizona State University-West, as America's most engaged college campus.

The strong multi-disciplinary teaming nature of the BI program provides critical experience working across fields and across ages as well as a positive and diverse social network for the students to draw upon. It is expected to further enhance our efforts toward supporting and retaining minorities and women in engineering.The American Society for Engineering Education ranked universities that grant 50 or more engineering degrees annually by the percentage of degrees awarded to women for 2004 and 2005. At UCCS, 29 percent of the engineering degrees awarded were to women, placing the university seventh nationally among U.S. public universities and the highest in the Rocky Mountain Region.

This is a bold new type of degree for students who want to be innovative, and students who want to change the world and add value to society. If you want to be engaged in real projects with real companies, and if you want to set yourself apart from the same old BS, then this may be the type of degree for you. If you want to be different, then do something different.

Did you notice the trademark (TM) in the name?Bachelor of Innovation™ (BI) Here at UCCS we are not just teaching innovation: We live it and breath it. Now, we own a piece of it. Even our recruiting is innovative. If you have not found the interactive aspects of this page, move your mouse around and find at least 5! ;-)

By the end of our second summer of operations, BI student/faculty teams will have supported local companies in pursuing  $2.5 Million in funding, with a  $200K awarded so far and $2 Million pending. The teams have sold their own games on the Apple Apps store,  been involved in four ongoing startup and partnered with more than half a dozen local entrepreneurs.   In 2009, as in 2008, we had more companies and funding for student "workshops" (paid positions working on BI teams), then we had qualified BI students willing to work. With all the pending proposals, we hope to keep up that "problem" of more money than students even as the BI program rapidly expands. While we are doing well at raising partnerships and funding, we are growing fast. The CU foundation has put together a fund-raising effort for the BI, including the video on the right.   If you are a student the video will show you some of the unique reasons to consider the BI.  If you are a parent, business owner or  philantropist, you'll see reasons to invest your time and money to partner with and support the BI.  Check out our partners or success pages for some examples of how to get involved.

The BI is, internationally, a unique family of degrees, found only at UCCS. Join us and prepare for your personal innovation!