Department of Business Management
Division of Social Sciences

Entrepreneurship is the process of developing concepts into finished, actionable plans which ultimately allow us to offer marketable products or services to a defined consumer base. To move a concept from a thought to a finished plan, an entrepreneur needs to carefully develop virtually all aspects of a sound business model. It is not sufficient to have an idea, gather some money, hang a sign, and consider oneself “in business”. Today’s business environment demands careful planning at each step along the way. Students will learn how to create for-profit as well as nonprofit organizations that can help boost prosperity while also developing a corporate social responsibility mindset that fosters economic justice, social equity, and environmental sustainability.

Entrepreneurship Minor Requirements

BUS 220 Creativity&Innovation for Products&Serv is a gateway course that allows students to determine if this is the path they take before enrolling in required business management courses. By examining case studies of successful and unsuccessful corporate ventures, students build connections between their ideas for new products or services and the knowledge and skills necessary to develop these ideas into marketable offerings that could sustain a new business or expand an existing business. The required business management courses ensure that students learn the basics of accounting and marketing before taking BUS 320 Entrepreneurship, ensuring that they acquire the foundational tools critical to the successful launch and maintenance of a business or nonprofit organization. Elective courses offer additional depth in areas of particular interest to the student. 

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Courses		20
BUS 220	Creativity&Innovation for Products&Serv
ECN 111	Principles of Macroeconomics
BUS 111	Principles of Marketing
BUS 112	Intro to Financial Accounting
BUS 320	Entrepreneurship
Electives		8
Select two of the following:
BUS 212	Managerial Accounting
BUS 234	Intro to Nonprofit Management
BUS 302	Organizational Behavior
BUS 303	Legal Environment of Business
BUS 323	Consumer Behavior
BUS 334	Leadership
BUS 351	Advertising
BUS 360	Corporate Social Responsibility
BUS 401	Strategic Management
Total Credits		28

With the prior permission of the Director of the Entrepreneurship minor or the Chair of the Department of Business Management, relevant special topic courses from other Washington College departments or courses taken at study-abroad partners may also be counted for the minor. See the catalog entry for the Business Management major for more information regarding study-abroad partners offering business-related courses.

Advising Notes

Business Management majors may not double-count courses required for the major as electives for the Entrepreneurship Minor.

Students who are also majoring in Business Management and planning to write a Business Plan Capstone are encouraged to select Managerial Accounting as one of their electives.

Students whose primary focus is in the arts are encouraged to consider the Arts Management and Entrepreneurship Minor, which focuses on literacy in the arts, arts industries and organizations, and experiential learning/fieldwork, rather than the Entrepreneurship Minor.

Experiential Opportunities and Funding

The IDEAWORKS Makerspace provides expertise and equipment that complements classroom learning, supporting students by allowing users to design and fabricate items using modern digital tools, as well as traditional fabrication methods. Embracing the power of the Maker Culture, the Makerspace provides access to training and tools such as 3D Printers, laser cutting and etching, electronics prototyping, sewing, traditional fabrication tools, and more.

The Warehime Fund for Student Excellence in Business supports student experiential opportunities through funding student-faculty research, senior capstone projects, internships, and microgrants. Students pursuing the Entrepreneurship Minor will be able to apply to the Warehime Fund for support of prototype development, skills building, and other co-curricular complements to the Entrepreneurship minor.

Caddie Putnam Rankin, Director