Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Overview

undergraduate major and minor in ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

Entrepreneurship is characterized by a spirit of innovation and risk-taking. Entrepreneurs imagine new ways to solve problems and create value. They use drive and a willingness to manage risk in order to develop and manage new business ventures.

USF offers students in the entrepreneurship major two career paths. The first path is that of business ownership by creating their own business venture. Students have the opportunity to design and validate their business concept with the help of mentors from the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, potential investors and faculty. They can obtain office space in the USF Student Innovation Incubator which offers mentorship, secretarial support and plentiful opportunities to pitch their business ideas to investors and other stakeholders in one of the many pitch competitions at USF and in the Tampa Bay area.

The second path is that of an intrapreneur or a corporate innovator. Every company needs constant renewal in an ever-changing competitive environment to ensure that it offers products and services that are wanted by existing and new customers. Intrapreneurs help existing companies become more entrepreneurial and innovative by starting new product or service lines, creating new divisions or business units, exploring new markets and by running corporate incubators.

b.s degree (major) in entrepreneurship

The entrepreneurship program will prepare students to leverage your knowledge to assume roles of a change agent within existing companies, or to take their own idea to market. Coursework utilizes an interdisciplinary approach and provides well-rounded knowledge of business. Students learn about each step in the entrepreneurial process; recognizing opportunities; evaluating opportunities, selecting the most promising opportunity; and building a team, crafting a business model and implementing a strategy to exploit the opportunity. And this process takes place in an entrepreneurial context with various stakeholders that can facilitate entrepreneurial action and economic growth.

The Nault Center for Entrepreneurship offers undergraduate courses and programs for all USF students (business and non-business). Whether students would like to increase their entrepreneurial business skills, pursue their own business ideas, or learn ways to bring innovation and entrepreneurial leadership into existing positions and businesses, an entrepreneurship minor or concentration teaches valuable skills that will complement any degree program. There is no need to declare a minor or concentration to take entrepreneurship courses. Many courses are offered online.

To learn more about the program please visit the USF Undergraduate catalog.

minor and concentrations in entrepreneurship

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation concentration for Marketing majors (ENTC)
  
  
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor for Business and Industrial Engineering Majors (ETB)
  
  
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor for Non-Business and Non-Industrial Engineering Majors (ETN)

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

The key aim of the entrepreneurship major is to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in our students regardless of the career path they will pursue. It is that entrepreneurial mindset and spirit that creates value and new economic activity in the Tampa Bay area and beyond. The program is available on every USF campus. Some of the beyond-the-books learning opportunities this program offers include:

• Business Plan and Pitch Competitions
• Student Innovation Incubator and other local incubators
• Internships
• Study Abroad programs focused on working with foreign entrepreneurs
• Chamber of Commerce and events such as Million Cups
• Activities organized by the Greenhouse Entrepreneurial Academy

EMPLOYMENT INSIGHTS

Career Paths

DEMAND:

• Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship are the catalysts of progress and vitality for a healthy, and growing economy.
• Every organization, for-profit or non-profit, small or large, service or product-focused are in dire need of individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset who are able to help the organization develop and sustain a competitive edge regardless of the level of competition.

ALUMNI:

Entrepreneurship graduates hold positions at:

• iQor
• Enterprise Holdings
• Johnson Controls
• Waste Management
• Remax Metro
• NNN Pro Group
• Presence
• City Sleekers
   and more!