<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>I’m currently a sophomore at Notre Dame studying biology. I plan on going to graduate school (hopefully for cancer research or some other type of bioinformatics work), but I’m also interested in entrepreneurship and biotech. Because of this, I was thinking about eventually applying to Notre Dame’s new [ESTEEM</a> program](<a href=“http://esteem.nd.edu/"]ESTEEM”>http://esteem.nd.edu/), which is a joint science/engineering/business program that awards a Master of Science degree after one year.</p>
<p>Two questions:</p>
<p>1) Do you think ESTEEM would be worthwhile for someone who intends on going to grad school and earning a Ph.D.? I know a number of professors who have spun off their research into commercial ventures, so having business experience (through ESTEEM) seems like it could be helpful. (I eventually plan on posing this question to some of the ESTEEM directors and students, but I figured I might as well ask here, too.)</p>
<p>2) I know that grad schools have varying guidelines about allowing deferrals, ranging from “automatic, just fill out this form” to “we’ll consider it, but we only grant 1-2 a year”. Do you have any sense of how willing grad schools would be to grant a deferral to someone pursuing a program like ESTEEM, or is it just too hard to say?</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice!</p>
<p>Well…it depends on what you are looking for. </p>
<p>(1) If you are looking to run your own company, then an MBA is probably what you are looking for. The ESTEEM program looks a little light for someone who wants to strike out on their own.</p>
<p>(2) If you are looking to take your innovations and use them to start a business relying on venture capital, then you do not NEED anything other than those innovations. Generally, the goal of seeking out such contributors is to get seed money and business expertise, and it works out reasonably well for most people.</p>
<p>(3) If you are looking to start your own business, farming out the hard stuff to a VC or other expert, AND are afraid that you will get screwed with your pants on because of your ignorance of the business world, then the ESTEEM program might help a little.</p>
<p>As far as the deferral thing goes, it really is just too hard to say - every school has their own policy, and it depends a lot on how desirable a candidate you are. In general, if they will not grant you a deferral then you can probably just apply again the following year and get a similar range of offers - maybe not the same schools, but similar. That’s the best I can do for ya.</p>
<p>cosmicfish: Thanks for the help, particularly the recommendation to look into MBA’s. I’ve generally gotten the impression that most people who are interested in both research and entrepreneurship just go for a PhD and “wing it” (or find more business-savvy collaborators) if/when they start a business. Does this coincide with your experience, or have you heard of people pursuing an MBA and then a PhD (or vice versa)?</p>
<p>I do not personally know anyone who has gone the PhD/MBA route, but I have heard of some who have done so or are planning to do so. All of the entrepreneurs I know personally found “more business-savvy collaborators”. That would be option 2 in my original reply. </p>
<p>The big question is: what role do YOU want to play? If you see yourself largely leaving the technical realm in favor of business leadership (ala Bill Gates), then do the PhD/MBA. If you see yourself as a technical expert, then just focus on the PhD and realize that you will have to trust certain people. If you want to split the difference, or have trust issues, get an “MBA-Lite” like the ESTEEM degree. These correspond to the 3 options from my last reply.</p>