Penn GSE secures $3m scholarship fund for education entrepreneurs

The endowed fund will support students on the University of Pennsylvania’s Education Entrepreneurship master’s program, whose graduates have launched nearly 150 education enterprises since 2014

Penn GSE has secured a $3 million commitment to establish permanent scholarship funding for its Education Entrepreneurship M.S.Ed. program

The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education has secured a $3 million commitment to create permanent scholarship support for students pursuing education entrepreneurship.

The Gregory and EJ Milken Foundation is funding the new Milken Endowed Scholarship for Education Entrepreneurship Fund, which will support students enrolled in Penn GSE’s Education Entrepreneurship, M.S.Ed. program.

The money goes into an established program rather than a new course. Penn GSE launched the master’s degree in 2014, combining education, business and innovation for professionals looking to develop and scale ventures across K-12, Higher Education, workforce development and edtech.

Graduates have since launched nearly 150 education enterprises.

Scholarship targets access to entrepreneurship program

The one-year program is delivered through a hybrid executive format, mixing on-campus and online weekends with summer intensives so participants can continue working full-time while studying.

Teaching draws on faculty from Penn GSE, Wharton, the Weitzman School of Design and Penn Engineering, giving students access to expertise beyond the education school itself.

The new endowment is intended to reduce the financial barrier to joining that program rather than fund a fixed number of places for a single intake.

“This extraordinary gift will open doors for talented students to explore innovative and entrepreneurial opportunities regardless of their financial circumstances,” says Katharine O. Strunk, Dean of Penn GSE and the George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education.

She adds that the funding will strengthen Penn GSE’s ability to develop future education innovators.

Nearly 150 education ventures launched since 2014

Penn GSE positions the program around building and sustaining education-focused organizations, with students working across areas that include schools, universities, workforce development and educational technology.

Gregory Milken, a member of the Penn GSE Board of Advisors and a venture capitalist, links the scholarship to the type of leaders the program is trying to develop.

“Penn GSE's Education Entrepreneurship program is helping to develop leaders who will bring fresh ideas and commitment to education,” he says.

The Gregory and EJ Milken Foundation focuses its grantmaking on education alongside health and community initiatives.

The $3 million commitment will now establish an ongoing source of scholarship funding for future students entering Penn GSE’s Education Entrepreneurship M.S.Ed. program.