Given that 95% of all firms are considered small and medium enterprises and small businesses produce the majority of new jobs, the Entrepreneurship/Family Business major provides preparation in starting your own venture or working for a small, entrepreneurial, and/or closely-held firm. Emphasis is placed on practical issues and interactions with individuals who work with and/or advise such firms across individual, social, and corporate entrepreneurship. While it is anticipated that Entrepreneurship majors are interested in starting their own ventures, majors are also well-prepared to work for businesses and organizations that interact with small, entrepreneurial, and family venture on a regular basis, including firms in the accounting, banking, financing, information systems, legal, and marketing industries.
The Entrepreneurship major includes the process of ideation, conceptualization, formulation, and implementation of new venture ideas. In addition, it includes detailed information on organizational forms (C-corps, S-Corps, partnerships, proprietorships, and LLC's); accounting, financial, information systems, tax, and legal issues for new venture start-ups as well as those issues that are unique to family and privately held firms. All Entrepreneurship majors are required to complete a senior capstone field experience with a small, entrepreneurial, closely held firm, larger organization, or non-profit to apply first hand the knowledge gained throughout the curriculum.
While the aspiring entrepreneur will find this program quite appealing, students are well prepared to work for larger businesses and support organizations that interact with small, entrepreneurial, and family owned ventures. In addition, coupling the Entrepreneurship major with another major and/or minor enhances the student's entrepreneurial and/or organizational career options. For instance, a double major with information systems could lead to work as an independent consultant or work for a larger firm servicing small, entrepreneurial, and/or family owned ventures; a double major with accounting could lead to opening an independent tax consulting business or a career with a larger accounting firm in its small and medium sized business division.
Entrepreneurship Major Curriculum
Majors take a total of seven courses (four required and three electives totaling twenty-eight quarter hours) that cover the following five broad concepts:
Graduate Level Entrepreneurship Courses
Entrepreneurship New Venture Creation – ENTR 705 This is the foundational core MBA Entrepreneurship course. Over the past 18+ years, it has served as the focus of student new venture creation and serves as the primary formational course for student new venture business plan competitions. The last four teams to go on the road to successfully compete in intercollegiate competitions (including our own Spirit of Enterprise Graduate Business Plan Competition) have come from this course. Currently, typically offered in the Fall and Spring, a strong representation from the College of Engineering has been registering for this course the past several years.
Special Topics: Entrepreneurial Case Study – BA 782 This course involves actual field case work and consulting with outside companies. Strategic consulting and implementation are the focus.
