UAH will offer undergraduate concentrations in biotechnology and entrepreneurship from spring 2027. University of Alabama System trustees approved both Nov. 6.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville will offer two new undergraduate concentrations from spring 2027: one in biotechnology and one in entrepreneurship.

The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved both at its Nov. 6 meeting, UAH said in a news release. The university will now notify the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Both concentrations are built mainly on courses and faculty UAH already has.

The two concentrations

Biotechnology Entrepreneurship
Sits within the College of Science the BSBA in Management, College of Business
Credit hours 18 21
What is new a formal undergraduate track into biotechnology replaces the existing entrepreneurship minor as a fuller pathway

The entrepreneurship concentration adds two courses written for it:

  • Principles of Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • Lean-Startup Lab Practicum, in which students work on launching a new venture

Students will also use the College of Business’s entrepreneurship lab, The Forge, UAH’s Invention to Innovation Center and the UAH Small Business Development Center, the university said.

“Elevating our entrepreneurship program into a full concentration allows us to blend rigorous academic training with experiential learning, such as the Lean-Startup Lab Practicum,” said Jason Greene, dean of the College of Business.

Why biotechnology, and why now

The biotechnology track uses existing courses. It is meant to link UAH’s undergraduate study to its biotechnology-related graduate programs, through to the doctoral level, the release said. The curriculum also covers the growing use of computational methods and artificial intelligence in the field.

UAH tied the new track to the growth of North Alabama’s life sciences industry. It pointed to Eli Lilly and Company’s plan to invest more than $6 billion in a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Huntsville. The university said the project is expected to create 450 jobs, including engineers, scientists, operations staff and laboratory technicians.

“We want our students to gain the knowledge, skills, and experiences that prepare them to pursue fulfilling careers and make meaningful contributions in their chosen fields, right here in Alabama,” said Rainier Steinwandt, dean of the College of Science.

What it means for you

  • Current UAH students in science or business can ask their college’s advising office whether the new concentration fits their degree plan before spring 2027 registration.
  • High school students in Huntsville looking at local options for biotechnology now have a named undergraduate route at UAH.
  • The UAH Small Business Development Center, which the entrepreneurship track draws on, also advises small business owners in the Huntsville region who are not students.