Draper University

Draper University


Established – 2012
Founder – Timothy C. Draper
Location – 44 E 3rd Avenue San Mateo, CA 94401
Website – http://www.draperuniversity.com/

Draper University , also known as  Draper University of Heroes  is a private, for-profit school focused on teaching entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. Located in San Mateo, California, Draper University is known for its unconventional methods of teaching business and entrepreneurship through real-world scenarios, unlike traditional lecture-style classroom environments. This school has 500+ alumni from 50 countries and has launched 280+ startups that have raised $ 51M + in funding from venture investors. Draper University recently teamed up with Arizona State University to offer students 15 course credits for a sixteen-week Semester program. Prior to that, the school was unaccredited.

History

Draper University was established in 2012 by venture capitalist Timothy C. Draper, co-founder of DFJ. The university building was formerly the Benjamin Franklin Hotel. Since the the school has grown to offer Fall, Spring and Summer programs for both students as well as executive education for CEO’s and governmental officials.

In April 2015, a reality program called  Startup U  featured Draper University’s seven-week program in a 10-episode series. The show includ ed Miss USA 2013, Erin Brady, who joined the series to help develop and find investors for her company, Romeo in a Box.

Draper University announced a partnership with Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley in May 2016 to launch an entrepreneurial program combining Draper’s innovations in education with ASU’s curriculum and large student body. Dubbed the ASU Draper GSV Accelerator, the program includ es the Draper University entrepreneurial boot camp with a network of experts. Six scholarships were given to ASU students to attend the program. Since then, Draper University has launched a new partnership, teaming up with ASU to offer 15 college credits and a certificate of entrepreneurship for the Fall 2017 program.

Program

The Draper University runs a five to seven-week program with four sessions each year, but will begin its 16-week semester long program in Fall 2017. The program is aimed at 18 to 28 year-olds, and has 500 alumni.

In addition to the program, Draper includ es a co-working business incubator space called Hero City, VCx, a one-week program teaching early stage investment, and a one-week program aimed atinations adding innovation to corporations. Draper also offers online courses, including a Bitcoin course.

Demographics

Draper’s spring 2016 class was 45 percent female. The school initially offered scholarships for women including the Meera Kaul Foundation, Women Who Code, and SoGal. 45 percent of students are international. Unlike a traditional faculty, Draper has guest lecturers under a variety of themes.