ANN ARBOR – The University of Michigan’s master’s degree program in entrepreneurship, a joint program between U-M?s Ross School of Business and College of Engineering, awarded its first 17 students degrees last Friday.

“The University of Michigan is ideally positioned to deliver such a program,” said Ross School Dean Alison Davis-Blake. “Our top-ranked business and engineering schools have a long history of successful collaborative ventures. This new joint degree program gives students access to real-time technology and resources to turn a business idea into a market-ready venture within 12 months.”

David Munson, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, said it’s exciting to see the program succeed.

“This partnership is equipping our students in engineering, technology, science and math with the skills to identify opportunities and bring those ideas from the lab to the real world to benefit society,” he said.

Startups have played a big role in the country’s economic recovery from the 2008 financial collapse.

Venture capital investment in Michigan jumped to $232.3 million, up from $84.7 million in 2011, according to research from the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Ross. That represents the third-best year for such investment in the state since 1995. And Michigan’s University Research Corridor places at or near the top of seven university innovation clusters in the United States with a $15.5 billion economic impact statewide.

Bill Lovejoy, a professor at the Ross School and co-director of the program, said it grew from student interest in entrepreneurship.

“My read on that is what they are seeing is the old social contract, where you work for a company that takes care of you, is broken. They see their parents being laid off. And they decide that maybe it’s time to make their own breaks,” Lovejoy said. “I think it’s all about taking command of their own economic destiny.”

Many of the students have undergraduate degrees in science, technology or engineering and want to bring about positive social change. For example, one student wants to improve infant mortality rates through new uses of warming technology.

“The students themselves were instrumental in the success of this program in its first year,” said Aileen Huang-Saad, program co-director and associate director of academic programs at the College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship. “They created their own opportunities and took a major role in shaping their future.”

Throughout the program, students receive guidance from faculty and career advisers to help develop post-graduation plans.