Entrepreneurship (Minor)

Business and Economics Department

Pamela O'Brien, Ph.D., Dean, School of Arts, Sciences and Business
Leslie A. Korb, Ph.D., Chair
Ademar Bechtold, Ph.D.
Lawrence Beyer, C.F.A., M.B.A.
Charles E. Yoe, Ph.D.

Degrees offered

Minor

Campuses

Main Campus

At Notre Dame of Maryland University, the Entrepreneurship minor provides the basic tools to recognize and take advantage of business opportunities. The Entrepreneurship Minor covers:

Phases of entrepreneurship, from developing opportunities to starting, growing and renewing businesses
Functions core to entrepreneurship such as financing a venture or idea generation
Particular contexts for entrepreneurship, such as family enterprise, global environments, or specific industries (e.g. fashion, food)

Summary

The Entrepreneurship Minor provides students with an opportunity to develop a business plan for either a social or for-profit entrepreneurial organization that is appropriate for pursuing investors or grants. The Entrepreneurship Minor provides all students whose professional plans would benefit from entrepreneurial perspectives and skills a chance to develop their problem-solving, negotiation, organizing, ambiguity and risk tolerance skills.

The Minor requires the completion of 7 courses (21 credits): BUS-202 Principles of Management, BUS-2303 Principles of Marketing, BUS-416 Managing Financial Resources, BUS-401 Entrepreneurship I, BUS-402 Entrepreneurship II, plus two elective courses offered by several departments on campus and chosen and approved in consultation with the Chair of the Business and Economics Department. Business majors do not take BUS-416. No more than three courses from the student's Major may be applied to the completion of the Entrepreneurship Minor.

Curriculum

Required Courses

BUS-202 Principles of Management
BUS-203 Principles of Marketing
BUS-416 Managing Financial Resources
BUS-401 Entrepreneurship I
BUS-402 Entrepreneurship II

Elective Courses

Choose two approved elective courses offered by several departments on campus in consultation with the Chair of the Business and Economics Department.

Note: Business Majors can not take BUS-416. No more than three courses from the student's Major may be applied to the completion of the Entrepreneurship Minor and only after consultation with the department chair.

Courses

BUS-202 Principles of Management

Examines organizational, human resources, operational, and functional aspects of ethically managing activities of diverse workforces in organizational settings. Analyzes traditional managerial functions of planning, organizing,leading and controlling within the context of changing demands in orgsnizations that compete effectively in an interconnected, global environment. [ 3 credits ]

BUS-401 Entrepreneurship I

Provides a thorough overview of the complete process of developing and launching for-profit, non-profit or social business ventures. Topics include idea generation strategies, executive summaries, brand creation and selection of business names. Students will gain an understanding of bootstrapping, scalability, promotion, distribution and pricing. The importance of laws and regulations for all aspects of a new venture will be explored. Patents, copyrights, contracts and regulations will also be discussed. The major component of this course will be application of market research skills to research databases and primary/secondary sources of information to complete a formal assessment of the viability of a business idea. This course will culminate in the completion of a feasibility analysis to test assumptions derived from market research. Prerequisite: BUS-303 or permission of chair. [3 credits]

BUS-402 Entrepreneurship II

Continues the progression set forth in Entrepreneurship I by teaching students the process for developing a comprehensive business plan for an entrepreneurial start-up endeavor. Additionally, students will be assigned a successful entrepreneur from the student's field of interest to serve as their mentor throughout the semester. Students will learn how to prepare a financial plan. They will analyze actual business agreements to gain familiarity with the language of and issues contained in those documents. Students will build marketing competencies essential to building and sustaining a new venture, such as how to identify customer needs, determine correct target markets and develop sales/marketing tactics and strategies. Students will also prepare and deliver an oral presentation of their plan from the perspective of an entrepreneur presenting to potential investors. Prerequisite: BUS-401. Corequisite: BUS-416 or BUS-321 or permission of chair. [3 credits]

BUS-416 Managing Financial Resources

Provides students with an overview of the accounting and financial tools necessary for managers. Addresses the development and analysis of basic financial statements, the development of budgets (both operating and capital), and other techniques of financial analysis for management decision-making. Prerequisite: general education mathematics requirement. Business majors may not take this course; students who have taken BUS-255 may not take this course. [3 credits]