Here are answers to some of the questions we’re asked most often:
Established through a generous gift by the Hillman Family Foundation, The Southern Management Leadership Program offers a new model in entrepreneurial education. The program supports students who have an interest in entrepreneurship and an enthusiasm for starting a business venture, launching a new technology, or leading a company.
Designed to train entrepreneurial leaders who will become the ethical leaders of tomorrow’s local economy, this is a sophomore year program at Montgomery College that continues through to graduation at the University of Maryland, College Park, where students earn their bachelor’s degree in any major.
- At Montgomery College, students receive 55% tuition in scholarship funds as well as funds for books and technology.
- A one-time merit scholarship can be earned upon successful completion of the first semester in the program with a GPA of 2.75.
- Students also receive significant support from full-time mentors at each institution.
- In addition to taking courses in their program of study, students participate in community and team-building activities and take classes in entrepreneurship and leadership.
Students are expected to transfer to the University of Maryland College Park in pursuit of their bachelor’s degree where they receive up to 50% of their tuition and continued mentorship and involvement in their growing network of students. All Southern Management Leadership Program students pursue a minor in technology entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland. The program is a junior/senior program at the University of Maryland.
Southern Management Leadership Program students come from a wide variety of transferable majors, including communications, business, engineering, math, information systems, psychology, education, arts, and the sciences. Some are traditional college-aged students, while others have had years of life experience and careers before joining the program. Some are raising families, while others are supporting their parents. Many are working while going to school and juggle many obligations, knowing that gaining a college education will help them build a better future for themselves, their families, their communities, and the world.
Southern Management Leadership Program students possess resilience, persistence, and entrepreneurial mindset, and the drive to finish their education and succeed as entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial leaders. They have also demonstrated an ability to be successful academically and to graduate from Montgomery College and, ultimately, from University of Maryland College Park.
- Students must be pursuing their first bachelor’s degree.
- Students must be Maryland residents (U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or covered by the Dream Act).
- Students must have completed a minimum of 30 credits by Fall program entry. Students must have taken one transferable math course or be eligible to take a college-level math course during their first semester in the program.
- Students must have and maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher to be accepted and remain in the program.
- Students must be available for a daytime Southern Management Leadership Program credit course each semester on the Germantown campus.
- Students must be committed to additional programmatic and team-building activities outside of class.
- Students must make successful progression towards graduation with an associate’s degree in a transferable major at Montgomery College and towards graduation with a bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland College Park.
- Students must have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
- Complete the online application and attach a resume that includes recent work experience, co-curricular activities, and community service.
- Request a letter of recommendation from a professor, employer, community leader, or another who can discuss your potential for success in the program. Your recommender will submit his other letter directly to the smlp@montgomerycollege.edu.
- Submit a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Students must have and maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher to be accepted and remain in the program at Montgomery College and to transfer to University of Maryland College Park. For majors in limited enrollment programs, a higher GPA may be required.
Limited Enrollment Programs are competitive majors at the University of Maryland that control enrollment numbers to maintain program quality. Once a student has earned 45 credits, he/she must have successfully completed a specific set of courses called “gateway” requirements. Only one “gateway” or performance review course may be repeated to earn the required grade, and that course may only be repeated once. If a student receives a grade of “W,” the course must be repeated. For more information on limited enrollment programs, please refer to this webpage at University of Maryland College Park.
Students should consider an alternative major to transfer to University of Maryland College Park.
Montgomery College cannot consider applications from students with scholarships that require a student to apply to or attend a school other than University of Maryland College Park.
Southern Management Leadership Program students must take one class together each semester. The required course is selected to enhance students’ entrepreneurial knowledge. The required courses at Montgomery College transfer to the University of Maryland as part of the University’s I-Series:
- MGMT 140 – Discovering New Ventures – Foundations of Entrepreneurship
- MGMT 210 – Entrepreneurial Opportunity Analysis & Decision-Making in Technology Ventures
ISTD 140 credit will transfer to the University of Maryland as a general elective course, while ISTD 210 will be credited toward the minor in technology entrepreneurship.
Southern Management Leadership Program classes meet on Friday afternoons in the PK building at the Germantown campus. MGMT 140 is offered in the fall semester, and MGMT 210 is offered in the spring semester.
Southern Management Leadership Program courses at Montgomery College and at the University of Maryland are offered only in the afternoon. Also, College Park is geared to full-time students who take classes during the day. Southern Management Leadership Program applicants must show they have the flexibility in their schedules to matriculate to University of Maryland, College Park.
The program is for students who intend to stay in Maryland and contribute to this community. International students with a permanent residency are eligible to apply.
It is based on financial need and merit. Submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid is required to receive the scholarship at University of Maryland College Park.
Recruitment for the Southern Management Leadership Program begins during the spring semester.
The application deadline is May 1.
David Hillman, founder and CEO of Southern Management corporation, founded the Southern Management Leadership Program (formerly the Hillman Entrepreneurs Program). Mr. Hillman, a life-long resident of this area, started his property management company in 1965. Today with approximately 25,000 units in the Mid-Atlantic region, Southern Management is a leader in the field. The Southern Management Leadership Program is a collaboration of the Hillman Family Foundation, Montgomery College, Prince George’s Community College, and the University of Maryland College Park.
Ms. Rebecca Razavi
Program Director, Southern Management Leadership Program
Germantown Campus, Montgomery College
Paul Peck Academic & Innovation Building (PK), Room 175G
20271 Goldenrod Lane
Germantown, MD 20876
240-567-2019
smlp@montgomerycollege.edu
