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Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship MSc

London, Bloomsbury

The MSc Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship will prepare you to become one of a new generation of global leaders and entrepreneurs. At the core of the programme is the concept of transformative entrepreneurship, which involves the development and implementation of innovations to address the causes and consequences of environmental degradation, economic inequality and social injustice.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2022/23)
£16,500
£8,250
Programme fees on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2022/23)
£26,600
£13,300
Programme fees on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2022
Applications accepted
All applicants: 18 Oct 2021 – 13 May 2022

Applications closed

Notification

Application closes at 17:00 GMT.

Entry requirements

A first or upper second-class UK Bachelor’s degree in an appropriate subject, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard from a recognised higher education institution. Evidence of extensive experience may be considered in lieu of the above, subject to approval.

English language requirements

If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.

The English language level for this programme is: Good

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level. International Preparation Courses

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

We find ourselves at a formative moment wherein growth-based financial models and increasing economic and social inequality are driving new forms of conflict, dislocation and ecological damage, challenging the veracity of our economic and political systems. These challenges necessitate a bold re-thinking of the relationship between economic activity and global prosperity.

At the core of this programme is the concept of transformative entrepreneurship, which involves the implementation of innovations that directly address the causes and consequences of environmental degradation as well as economic and social inequality. Entrepreneurship is widely associated with the promise of technological innovation and the emergence of new markets. Concepts such as social, sustainable, and community enterprise explore the potential of market actors and mechanisms to advance positive social and environmental change. The notion of transformative entrepreneurship takes these a step further by examining to the potential for entrepreneurship to provoke fundamental systemic change in the service of inclusive prosperity.

The MSc Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship will allow you to explore both the research and practice of transformative entrepreneurship. Conceptually, it provides a broad understanding of entrepreneurship as a practice, policy, intervention and institution. It also gives you an opportunity to critically explore both the promise and limits of entrepreneurial activity to provoke societal, economic, environmental and political change. Moreover, because standard notions of entrepreneurship are dominated by Western conceptions of markets and market activity, the Programme encourages different perspectives and forms of enterprise attuned to a variety of contexts and lived experiences. In this way, the Programme offers you the chance to embrace a genuinely global notion of transformative entrepreneurship. Practically, the Programme equips you with skills for evaluating the impact of social entrepreneurship, design thinking, prototyping with enterprise stakeholders, and values-based leadership.

Who this course is for

This programme will appeal to a range of students from around the world. In particular, individuals who already have a postgraduate degree and/or significant real-world experience in business, government, community, and third and fourth sector organisations are encouraged to apply. Entry to the programme is highly competitive and we are especially searching for students with diverse knowledge and abilities and a desire to work as part of a dynamic and inclusive community of entrepreneurs, organisational change makers and social innovators. We welcome students from social science and humanities, as well as natural science and engineering backgrounds with skills in both quantitative and qualitative research. Students with a strong personal vision for social, economic and digital transformation are especially encouraged to apply. Please also note that this is a unique transdisciplinary programme and is not a standard business, economics or development studies programme.
Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

The mission of the Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) is to rethink social and environmental prosperity and to generate new entrepreneurial models and measures to deliver prosperity. Prosperous communities are socially inclusive, equitable and sustainable; however, radical changes are required to overcome today's grand challenges and to enact such prosperity.

The IGP is pioneering research into questions of prosperity and driving forward novel transdisciplinary engagements to deliver new, more prosperous social and economic forms. As a student in the Institute, you will have the opportunity to become part of this emerging community, to learn from and participate in our research, and to help shape debates around what a prosperous society should be. We expect you to become value-driven leaders and entrepreneurs who go on to deploy in your future careers the ideas and practices you have learnt.

You will have the opportunity to engage with a range of IGP researchers, partners and affiliated fellows with possibilities of developing academic, policy or entrepreneurship projects. As a multidisciplinary global university with wide resources at its disposal, UCL is the ideal environment in which to study transformative entrepreneurship.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

After graduation, we expect you to go on to define new routes to prosperity through working in your chosen field. Alumni have gone on to a wide range of careers including in business, industry, entrepreneurship, social impact investing and finance, policy making and politics, NGOs and the third sector, and further advanced study. The Institute for Global Prosperity also coordinates an affiliated network of young entrepreneurs in London (Fast Forward 2030) and is establishing similar networks in Lebanon and Kenya. The Institute for Global Prosperity further has a network of entrepreneurial, academic, non-governmental and policy partners across the globe with dense networks in London, Lebanon and Kenya. Alumni of this program will thus have access to a global network of like-minded transformative entrepreneurs.

As a student, you will be strongly encouraged to engage with these networks, which will be mobilised, to contribute to dissertation activities, societal engagement, partnerships and creating future employment opportunities. The Programme as a whole is guided by the principles of the connected curriculum and calls for students to engage in research that reaches out beyond the academy. The programme is also shaped by a commitment to diverse global, social and cultural perspectives and a commitment to inclusivity, equality and equitable partnerships. These commitments are reflected in the diversity of the external networks that you will experience as one of our students. We run several events across the academic year to link students to alumni who provide an important network and resource for our new graduates. We aim to build a networked community of like-minded and self-supporting leaders for change and our alumni play a crucial role in achieving this and in enhancing your educational experience.

Employability

Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship builds on the need for a broad understanding of entrepreneurship as practice, policy, intervention and institution. It will encourage you to think beyond standard notions of entrepreneurship towards conceptions and practices capable of engendering systemic change. In addition, it will encourage you to think critically about both the promise and limits of transformative entrepreneurship, and equip you with skills in design thinking, prototyping with enterprise stakeholders, social impact assessment, and values-based leadership. The core module on theory and concepts ('Transformative Entrepreneurship and Prosperity: Core Concepts') will be drawn from a variety of disciplines with a strong focus on emergent topics and perspectives in ‘prosperity thinking’, entrepreneurship and organization theory. Complementing the conceptual aspects of the programme are modules in design thinking ('Transformative Entrepreneurship and Prosperity: Design'), a connected innovation project and dissertation. Through these modules, you will be exposed to rigorous theoretical training and engaged practice. The knowledge and skills gained in the programme will support your ability to respond to the challenges of building prosperous societies through entrepreneurship and social innovation, be it as a transformative entrepreneur, change-maker or policy leader.

A unique differentiator for the MSc is the holistic, interdisciplinary, and prosperity-oriented view of entrepreneurship and innovation. Within a few decades, entrepreneurship and social enterprise thinking and practice has infused all sectors of society and is quickly expanding globally. However, entrepreneurship and innovation teaching and training remain almost exclusively within the domain of business and management schools, which are overwhelmingly focused on for-profit enterprises and Western conceptions of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. We seek to recruit and enhance the skills of graduates with existing entrepreneurial backgrounds and those working across the public, private and non-profit sectors. In particular, the programme fills a market gap between the social and public sectors where there is a need for graduates with a deep understand of entrepreneurship and trained to deploy entrepreneurial skills in the pursuit of public policy, social impact, and non-profit aims.

Teaching and learning

The Programme involves various forms of assessment. They include:

  • Individual and group assignments, including case studies, essays, literature reviews, and a transformative entrepreneurship design project.
  • Business model design and pitching.
  • Innovation project with external stakeholders.
  • Dissertation.

Modules

Full-time

The Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship MSc is a one-year taught program that combines a range of class- and seminar-based teaching with practical research--based student activities.

Full-time students will undertake the “Theory and Methods” modules ('Transformative Entrepreneurship: Core Concepts' and 'Researching Transformative Entrepreneurship') during Term 1 and “Design & Practice” ('Transformative Entrepreneurship: Design' and 'Connected Innovation Project') during Term 2, with a focus on the dissertation for the rest of the academic year.

Optional/Elective Modules (30 Credits in total)

You must also choose up to 30 credits of optional or elective modules. Options can be chosen from the list below:

  • BGLP0001 Pathways to Prosperity 1: Global Legacies (15 credits)
  • BGLP0003 Pathways to Prosperity 2: Society and Livelihoods (15 credits)
  • BGLP0004 Collective Problem Solving for Inclusive Prosperity (15 credits)
  • BGLP0007 Debt, Finance and Prosperity (15 credits)
  • BGLP0008 China and Global Prosperity (15 credits)
  • BGLP0009 Urban Futures and Prosperity (15 credits)
  • BGLP0015 Social Theories of Prosperity (15 credits)
  • BGLP0016 Pathways to Prosperity 3: Regeneration and Ecology (15 credits)
  • BGLP0017 Prototyping Planetary Prosperity (15 credits)

Electives can also be drawn from across UCL. Students who wish to select an elective module from outside the agreed list for the programme should contact the Programme Leader in the first instance. Permission must be sought from both the Programme Leader and, in turn, the Module Leader of the module concerned. We encourage students to think broadly but permission to take any elective module is subject to timetabling and availability.

Part-time

In their first year, part-time students will need to take a minimum of 60 credits of modules. In the second year, you will take the remaining taught modules up to 30 credits, plus the dissertation (90 credits), for a maximum total of 120 credits.

Students must take 'Transformative Entrepreneurship: Core Concepts' ahead of 'Transformative Entrepreneurship: Design', and 'Researching Transformative Entrepreneurship' ahead of 'Connected Innovation Project'. We would also strongly encourage students to take the former Transformative Entrepreneurship modules ahead of the latter Methods and Practice modules.

Apart from the core modules, 30 credits of optional/elective modules will be distributed across the 2 years. The distribution of core and elective/optional modules should be discussed with the programme director ahead of initial enrolment.

Flexible

Students undertaking Modular/flexible study may choose to organise the distribution of their modules flexibly across the five years provided they complete 180 credits by the end of year five.

Modular/flexible students must still enrol first of the Transformative Entrepreneurship modules in order ('Transformative Entrepreneurship and Prosperity: Core Concepts' and 'Transformative Entrepreneurship and Prosperity: Design'), followed by the research methods modules ('Researching Transformative Entrepreneurship' and 'Connected Innovation Project') also in their order.

Modular/flexible students are expected to have completed the majority of their taught modules before undertaking their dissertation.

30 credits of optional/elective modules will be distributed across the 2 years and chosen upon discussion with their personal tutor and/or programme director, subject to timetabling and availability.

Compulsory modules







Optional modules











Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Fieldwork

Short, half-day field trips are a component of some of our modules. We still expect to be able to deliver these field trips subject to COVID-19-related guidance, either in person under regulations that may involve distancing or other precautionary measures, or using a range of virtual and case-study formats, depending on the situation at the time.

Fieldwork related to your dissertation, both in the UK or elsewhere in the world, will need to be assessed in discussion with the Programme Leader and according to the circumstances at the time.

Placement

The Connected Innovation Project module allows you to work on a project in collaboration with a partner of the Institute for Global Prosperity or another external organisation. These are not conceptualised as a formal internship.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.

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Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2022/23) £16,500 £8,250
Tuition fees (2022/23) £26,600 £13,300

Programme fees on a modular (flexible) basis.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

None.

If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc. on this programme, please get in touch with the Programme Administration (igp@ucl.ac.uk).

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

UCL offers a range of financial awards aimed at assisting both prospective and current students with their studies.

Any additional funding available from the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity and the Built Environment Faculty Office are advertised on the respective websites.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies
Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below.

Bartlett Promise Scholarship - Master's

Applications Open: 1 March 2022. Deadline: 31 May 2022
Value: Tuition fees plus £15,364 maintenance/yr (Duration of programme)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: UK

Bartlett Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Masters Scholarship

Deadline: 18 April 2022
Value: Fees, stipend and other allowances (1yr)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme (CSSS)

Applications for this scholarship are now closed for 2021/22
Value: Full fees, flights, stipend, and other allowances (1 year)
Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Institute for Global Prosperity BAME Scholarship

Deadline: 31st May 2022
Value: £2,500 towards tuition fees (1yr)
Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need
Eligibility: UK

Next steps

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications and £115 for paper applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

Your application must consist of both a personal statement and a CV. We place considerable emphasis on your personal statement and how you have tailored this for your application to the Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship MSc. Generic or template-style personal statements will not be strong enough for admission. Statements that do not fully engage with aspects of the degree programme will also be unlikely to succeed. We particularly value personal statements that outline a clear vision for transformative change and directly explain how the degree programme will help you realise the changes you would like to see happen. We also encourage students to explain how their past experiences have directly led them to this degree programme and to outline how the skills and knowledge they have acquired will help them to realise their goals for transformation.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • Why you want to study Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at graduate level.
  • Why you want to study Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IGP and UCL.
  • What particularly attracts you to this programme.
  • How your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme.
  • How you can make a unique contribution to our innovative academic community.
  • How you see this degree programme leading to a future transformative career.

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver. Please note that the programme is not a standard business, economics or development studies programme (though it contains elements of each of these). The programme aims to address major challenges in our current social, economic and environmental conditions, and students are encouraged to consider how they would work to contribute to addressing such challenges.

We advise applicants to upload any supporting documents related to research, work experience, extracurricular activities or other projects mentioned in the personal statement or CV.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes in any application cycle.

Got questions? Get in touch

Institute for Global Prosperity Department
Institute for Global Prosperity Department

igp@ucl.ac.uk

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.

This page was last updated 28 Sep 2021