The growing Department of Public and Applied Humanities is adding Entrepreneurship as its latest emphasis, partnering with the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship to offer students a degree that integrates professional skills and a foundation in the humanities.
The Entrepreneurship emphasis for the B.A. in Applied Humanities will launch in Fall 2026.
Both the Department of Public and Applied Humanities and the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship are national leaders in their respective fields and the Entrepreneurship emphasis will integrate the technical and practical knowledge inherent to entrepreneurship with a foundation in the applied humanities that stresses collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, strategic storytelling and other high-demand career skills.
“The Applied Humanities program is a premiere destination for the entrepreneurial humanities and a national model for 21st-century, career-oriented liberal arts education within public research universities,” said Matthew Mars, Professor and Interim Head of the Department of Public and Applied Humanities. “We’re pleased that students will have new opportunities as a result of this partnership with McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, a longstanding, well-respected pioneer in the entrepreneurship education field that has cultivated an environment where innovation thrives, responsible leadership flourishes, and entrepreneurship becomes a powerful force for positive change across society-at-large.”
The Eller College of Management was one of the College of Humanities’ first partners when the Applied Humanities major began in 2018, with the Business Administration emphasis one of four original options for students.
“One of the goals of this emphasis is to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset, the ability to identify opportunities, take informed risks, and act decisively in ambiguous, real-world situations. This mindset is increasingly essential regardless of career path, as industries, technologies, and jobs evolve at an accelerating pace. Rather than relying solely on predefined roles or stable career ladders, entrepreneurial thinkers are better equipped to adapt, create value, and lead change,” said Bob Griffin, Executive Director of the McGuire Center.
Entrepreneurship will be the 12th emphasis students can choose in pursuing a B.A. in Applied Humanities, joining: Business Administration; Consumer, Market & Retail Studies; Engineering Approaches; Environmental Systems; Fashion Studies; Game Studies; Medicine; Plant Studies; Public Health; Rural Leadership & Renewal; and Spatial Organization & Design Thinking.
The Applied Humanities program has grown significantly since it began in 2017, with approximately 400 current majors and nearly 300 alumni. For Applied Humanities majors, an internship and pre-internship career readiness course are requirements for graduation, and many students have already designed their own entrepreneurial internships.
For more information, contact Mars at mmars@arizona.edu.