The Certificate in Product Innovation allows undergraduate students in the schools of the Arts, Business and Engineering to develop competency in the area of product innovation.

Employing an interdisciplinary perspective that embodies concepts from each of the three schools, students receive a robust learning experience that leads to an understanding of the challenges associated with and means for managing product design, product development and new-product introduction endeavors.

The Certificate in Product Innovation program runs concurrently with a student’s major and is not a stand-alone program. Students must have a declared major in the School of the Arts, the School of Business or the School of Engineering to participate in the program.

Interested students should first contact and then submit their application to the da Vinci Center for Innovation, which houses the certificate program. Students should apply to the program during or after taking the introductory course, INNO 200 Seminar in Product Innovation.

The certificate requires a minimum of 15 credit hours of approved course work as follows:

INNO 200 Seminar in Product Innovation
Two non-discipline electives (Choose the courses offered by the schools outside the major.)

Two discipline-specific electives (approved 300- or 400-level courses in the major)*
INNO 460 da Vinci Project*

* Students may take only one discipline-specific elective course while enrolled in INNO 460.

The director of VCU’s da Vinci Center for Innovation will approve all course work intended to satisfy all elective requirements.

For more information, contact Lisa Crawford, program coordinator for the da Vinci Center for Innovation, at (804) 828-71188 or lfcrawford@vcu.edu.