What were you doing at the tender age of two? Probably not winning national competitions. But that’s what WCU’s master's program in entrepreneurship did in the second year since its inception. 
 
In 2005, WCU’s program was named first-prize winner in the National Model MBA Program Award competition, sponsored by United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. 

“Innovative,” “comprehensive,” “detailed,” and “well thought-out” were some of the terms used to describe the award-winning program, which has been designated a national model for universities planning to develop graduate programs in entrepreneurship.

Designed by professional entrepreneurs and WCU alumni Jim Carland MBA ’77 and JoAnn Carland MAEd ’78, the program is itself a case study for entrepreneurship. “Rather than just adapting an MBA program to accommodate entrepreneurship students, Jim and JoAnn did extensive work in creating an entire master’s program focused on how best to educate graduate students preparing to begin entrepreneurial activities,” says Robin Anderson, vice president of the USASBE entrepreneurship education division. 
 
Like a smart entrepreneur, WCU’s ME program understands its market and is sensitive to the latest trends. Students can enroll in either a traditional residential program or study online via an Internet-based distance learning program. The program also includes significant coursework in ecommerce, one of the hottest areas of entrepreneurship.

WCU also offers the first undergraduate program for entrepreneurship in North Carolina. Not bad for a program just out of its infancy.