e5 Program

Eligibility

Participation is open to all undergraduates in the College and the Eastman School of Music with the following exceptions: Contact information for the e5 Program can be sent via email to: e5program@rochester.edu as well as via this link to schedule a meeting – please select the “e5” meeting option.

• Transfer students may not apply during their first semester at the University
• Take Five Scholars may not apply for the e5 program
• Seniors may only apply during their first term as a senior

Application Process

Qualified students may apply online. Prior to the application deadline, several information sessions are held each semester. Applications are due no later than Sunday, November 2nd @ 11:59pm in the fall semester or the first Thursday after Spring Break in the spring term. Students may stop by Lattimore 312 and ask either the Peer Advisors at the window or the Front Desk to see a binder of accepted e5 applications from past years.

Applications require:

• Proposed e5 Course Schedule
• e5 Advisor
• One-Page Action Plan
• Essay
• Resume
• Two Letters of Recommendation:
  • Academic Recommendation (Must be a full-time faculty member at UR)
  • Program Recommendation (Student’s Program Recommender also will work with the student as their e5 Advisor). This can be any qualified individual able to advise a student during their program and write a letter recommending the student’s proposed e5 Program.

  A list of entrepreneurial courses has been compiled and can be viewed online. Students should consult with the faculty whom they plan to study with and/or departmental administrators to ensure the courses they wish to take will be offered and verify that they are adequately prepared for those they intend to take. Each applicant must have two letters of recommendation sent to the e5 Review Board on his or her behalf. One letter should focus on academic preparedness, while the other informs on the proposed e5 program.

  A special review process exists for all proposed courses taught at the graduate level or outside the Colleges of Arts, Sciences, Engineering and Eastman School of Music; such courses are normally not approved. Undergraduate courses taught at the Simon School are acceptable, however.

Criteria of the e5 Review Board

The e5 Review Board assumes that the following criteria will be met:

• The intent of the proposed program is to create a new enterprise that generates value or to analytically examine such an enterprise, the value it created, and the processes involved.
• The proposed e5 courses and University activities will relate to one another; most if not all of them will be above the introductory level.
• The proposed program will not be used to obtain an additional major or degree.
• Study Abroad programs must be completed by the end of the fourth year.
• The proposed courses cannot be used to complete Rochester Curriculum requirements, major requirements, or to obtain a graduate or additional undergraduate degree.
• Credits earned during the tuition-free semester(s) cannot be applied toward the 128-credit hour degree requirement.

Applications will be judged on:

• The coherence of the applicant’s program of study:
  • How do the proposed courses fit together?
  • How do they demonstrate progress toward the achievement of the student’s proposed enterprise?
  • What value can be expected to be gained by the success of the venture?
  • Is the enterprise undertaken or studied in keeping with the University’s definition of entrepreneurship?
• The added value of creating or studying the enterprise at the University of Rochester.
• The quality of the writing.

Important Information

E5 applicants should be aware of the following:

• Fifth year students are now eligible for On-Campus housing in Valentine and should contact ResLife for more information. Students are responsible for all costs, other than tuition, associated with their fifth year of study (this includes any start-up costs). Students should contact the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible to determine what sort of aid, if any, they are eligible for in their fifth year.
• Upon acceptance to the program, international students will need to submit two forms to update the I-20 with ISO: Program Extension Request and Financial Update. Both of these forms are to be completed online through UR Compass. The program extension request needs to be filed and processed before the program completion date listed on the student’s Form I-20. Financial documentation for expenses not covered by the tuition scholarship is required with the Financial Update form (off campus students $20,274)*. Processing times to obtain a new Form I-20 from ISO is up to 10 business days.
• Degrees are awarded and diplomas issued after the completion of the e5 semester or year, and only after all e5 courses are completed. Beginning with May 2026 conferral, students entering the e5 Program will have their degree(s) conferred prior to the start of their tuition free terms
• Grades for courses taken in the fifth year will be included in the GPA, and the final (end of the fifth year) GPA will be used to calculate Latin Honors. Beginning with the Fall 2026 semester, a student’s Latin Honors are calculated based on their GPA at the end of their senior year. As their degree(s) will be conferred prior to the start of their e5 Program, e5 classes will also not affect their undergraduate GPA despite students continuing to receive grades in their e5 Courses.
• e5 courses cannot be audited or used to repeat previous coursework. However, one course per semester may be taken on the S/F option.
• All e5 Students will, in their tuition free term(s), be required to participate in a once-per-month 1 credit P/F Practicum course.

Additional details about Commencement, yearbooks, etc. are available in the e5 Program Acceptance Manual distributed to each student after being accepted into the e5 Program. A link to the PDF of the Program Acceptance Manual is also linked on the righthand side of this page.

Application 

e5-Acceptance-Manual