Course Credit & Real-World Credibility
Gain experience and course credit while working for startups in the Startup Consulting Practicum class. Graduate students from all majors are welcome, with many from the MBA, law, engineering, pharmacy, and natural sciences programs.
Students participate in semester-long consulting projects working across disciplines and applying academic principles to real-world challenges alongside the company’s founders. Students will gain valuable skills while working closely with two startup companies on market validation, competitive analysis, financial analysis, and business model assessment. Practicum students also have the opportunity to network with and learn directly from professors, founders, and investors.
The application for the Spring 2027 Startup Consulting Practicum is open. UT Austin graduate students with an interest in entrepreneurship should apply.
Meet the Instructor
David Richard teaches at the intersection of business, design, and emerging technologies. Since 2022 he has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses on the value of design in business (ITD 104, DES396) in the School of Design and Creative Technologies. He is currently the instructor for The Startup Consulting Practicum (MAN385) in addition to Design, Build and Think with AI (ITD 310T). His courses integrate business frameworks with design thinking methods, using the tools and practices of modern software development. He brings more than two decades of industry practice to the classroom.
Fall 2026 Cohort
Startup Consulting Practicum students work with a wide range of startups, both pre- and post-revenue from our Accelerator program.