Beats Founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine Fund USC Entrepreneurship Academy

Hip hop artist Dr. Dre and producer Jimmy Iovine have given $70 million to the University of Southern California for a new academy that will be of particular interest to business students. The program will offer a four-year degree designed for budding entrepreneurs in the arts and entertainment.

The new academy, which will enroll its first class of 25 students in the fall of 2014, will be taught by faculty from USC’s Marshall School of Business as well as the schools of fine art, engineering, and music, the university announced. The core curriculum will focus on arts and entrepreneurship; technology, design, and marketability; concept and business platforms; and creating a prototype. In the final year of the program, students will take up residence in an experiential setting called the “garage,” where self-directed teams will plan and work on a final project that can be developed into a prototype before they graduate.