In the increasingly competitive world of academia, simply mastering your discipline is no longer enough to guarantee career success or personal fulfillment. The Entrepreneurial Scholar challenges scholars at all stages—from doctoral students to tenured professors—to break free from conventional academic pathways by adopting an entrepreneurial mindset. What opportunities can you create based on who you are, what you know, and who you know?
Drawing on her experiences in higher education, start-ups, and management consulting, as well as interviews with a range of academics and entrepreneurs, Ilana Horwitz provides a road map for those stifled by traditional academic norms and expectations. This book calls on scholars to create ideas—not just consume them. It offers strategies to thrive in academia with limited resources and in the face of uncertainty. Embracing an entrepreneurial mindset entails viewing yourself as a knowledge producer, enhancing collaboration, creatively identifying resources, and effectively sharing your ideas.
Horwitz empowers all scholars—particularly women and first-generation, low-income, and BIPOC individuals—to see themselves as proactive agents in their educational and career trajectories, despite structural constraints, unclear expectations, or unresponsive advisors. With actionable advice, real-world applications, and inspiring success stories, this guide is vital for anyone aspiring to excel within and beyond the ivory tower.
Ilana M. Horwitz is assistant professor of Jewish studies and sociology and the Fields-Rayant Chair in Contemporary Jewish Life at Tulane University. She is the author of God, Grades, and Graduation: Religion’s Surprising Impact on Academic Success.
“The Entrepreneurial Scholar is the self-help book for aspiring scholars and established academics that we didn’t know we needed. Instead of lamenting that we are at the mercy of the job market or societal trends, we can use Horwitz’s guidance to reimagine what it means to be a scholar and entrepreneur of ideas, reclaiming the autonomy and empowerment that are so critical to our well-being.”—Isis Artze-Vega, coauthor of The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching and Connections Are Everything
“The Entrepreneurial Scholar is a much-needed antidote to the all too familiar belief that PhDs are only suited to, and trained for, an academic career. By sharing the stories of PhDs who proactively turned their training to a wide range of different successful and inspiring careers, Horwitz shows that the key element is an entrepreneurial mindset. Use this book to move from fear to conviction that there is a rich, fulfilling, and well-compensated life outside academia.”—Karen Kelsky, author of The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your PhD into a Job
“Ilana Horwitz shows how an entrepreneurial mindset can help scholars enhance their reach and impact. She offers an inspiring vision for the roles of scholars and scholarship in today’s world.”—Daniel R. Porterfield, author of Mindset Matters: The Power of College to Activate Lifelong Growth
“At first blush, the realms of scholarship and entrepreneurship may seem in tension, even oxymoronic. In this illuminating book, Ilana Horwitz details the many links between these practices and, in the process, illuminates both.”—Howard Gardner, author of Frames of Mind and coauthor of The Real World of College
“Every graduate student is the CEO of their own education. In this vital, bracing book, Ilana Horwitz shows how to do that job. The Entrepreneurial Scholar is filled with good stories—including Horwitz’s own—that point to how entrepreneurial thinking can unlock creativity you didn’t know you had. If you’re in graduate school or thinking of going, or if you teach graduate students, you should read this book.”—Leonard Cassuto, coauthor of The New PhD: How to Build a Better Graduate Education
“Ilana Horwitz has provided a valuable service to the profession. This book empowers graduate students to apply their skills to solving real-world problems. With her approach, they will see themselves as active agents in their education and careers.”—Zachary Shore, author of Grad School Essentials
