The Undergraduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship is available to students outside
of the School of Business who wish to acquire entrepreneurship and business skills
that will make them more marketable to employers or help them launch companies of
their own.
Our 15-credit program aligns nicely with students majoring in music, the arts, computer science, pharmacy
and health sciences who may want to start their own businesses someday and/or develop
new lines of business within existing firms.
Students choose between two tracks:
Startup Track The Startup Track gives students the opportunity to develop new business ideas and
actually launch them in teams, with the School providing each team up to $5,000 in
support.
Corporate Venturing Track The Corporate Venturing Track teaches students how to create new products or services
within an existing small or large company through engaging consulting projects.
Program Information
The Undergraduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship is available to students outside
of the School of Business who wish to acquire entrepreneurship and business skills
that will make them more marketable to employers or help them launch companies of
their own.
Business Law is an introductory course exploring the nature of laws, its sources,
and its relation to society, government and business. The course focuses on traditional
business law topics: property, contracts, torts, agency, business organizations, and
government regulation.
3 credits
This is the first of two semester-long 3-credit courses (ENTR 301/302). The course
is available only to entrepreneurship majors and is typically taken in the fall of
sophomore year but can be taken at other times by arrangement. In the course, students
will pitch ideas and select concepts for new micro-ventures. With faculty guidance
students form teams, receive an “investment” of $5,000, and start a business. The
instructor will provide an introductory sequence of new venture learning modules,
help teams set deliverables, and support the operations of the businesses throughout
the year.
3 credits
This course is the continuation of ENTR 301. The course is available only to entrepreneurship
majors and is typically taken in the spring of sophomore year but can be taken at
other times by arrangement. Teams will continue to operate their businesses and report
progress to the instructor. Course experiential and knowledge content will focus on
continuing operations, pivoting as needed, improving products using customer feedback,
marketing, selling, and exiting the business.
3 credits
An introductory course that provides an understanding of terminology and key concepts
and requires students to create a business plan. The course utilizes entrepreneurs
who have started businesses. This course is required for students prior to enrolling
in other Entrepreneurship courses.
Financing, Valuing, and Exiting Business 3 credits
Students will learn techniques for valuing firms, estimating required financing, obtaining
financing and designing and evaluating exit strategies. Emphasis is placed on both
analysis and the communication of the results of this analysis to both technical and
non-technical audiences.
Guerilla Marketing 3 credits
The primary purpose of this course is to address the marketing challenges that small
and medium-sized enterprises face with commercializing a product or service. It focuses
on marketing fundamentals, market research, product development, market planning and
sales execution. This course is intended for students who expect to utilize marketing
techniques in an entrepreneurial environment.
Corporate Venturing Track
3 credits
Business Law is an introductory course exploring the nature of laws, its sources,
and its relation to society, government and business. The course focuses on traditional
business law topics: property, contracts, torts, agency, business organizations, and
government regulation.
3 credits
This course takes a three-pronged approach for instilling in students actionable knowledge
critical for navigating the opportunities and challenges inherent in managing themselves
and others in organizations. First, students review contemporary management research,
focusing, for example, on micro-level theories of motivation and decision-making,
meso-level theories of teamwork and leadership, and macro-level theories of organizational
culture and structure. Second, students apply these theories to analyze real-world
situations, to generate and evaluate alternative courses of action, and to recommend
and defend best courses of action. Third, students are provided opportunities to enhance
their interpersonal and teamwork skills as well as their communication skills, which
are essential in the workplace.
3 credits
An introductory course that provides an understanding of terminology and key concepts
and requires students to create a business plan. The course utilizes entrepreneurs
who have started businesses. This course is required for students prior to enrolling
in other Entrepreneurship courses.
3 credits
The primary purpose of this course is to address the marketing challenges that small
and medium-sized enterprises face with commercializing a product or service. It focuses
on marketing fundamentals, market research, product development, market planning and
sales execution. This course is intended for students who expect to utilize marketing
techniques in an entrepreneurial environment.
3 credits
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is incorporated into the program. This
course is the capstone experience for the Entrepreneurship concentration. Students
have an opportunity to complete one of the following activities: write a business
plan for an existing company, work on a project for a small business other than a
business plan, or write their own business plan for a venture they would like to start.
Prerequisite: Instructor approval.
