Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Business Certificate of Achievement

This certificate program is designed to prepare Business students to engage in the world of entrepreneurship. The program’s interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship equips students with relevant tools in exploring various pathways to entrepreneurship such as full-time business ownership, subcontracting (freelancing), consulting, corporate intrapreneurship or mission-driven social entrepreneurship.

The projected number of annual completers for the Certificate of Achievement – Entrepreneurship degree is 3 - 7 students.  This estimate is solely based on course enrollment data for two semesters since the program started in fall 2018.  Projections made were based on the macro and microeconomic environment surrounding the program.

The goals of the Certificate of Achievement –Entrepreneurship prepares students for the world of entrepreneurship. The program equips students with the foundational tools necessary for every startup. The program helps develop students not only for-profit but also for social enterprises that yield positive social impact.It will also enrich student skillsets for corporate intrapreneurship. 

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Apply an entrepreneurial mindset that breeds business creativity and innovation.
• Use terms and concepts related to functional areas of entrepreneurship necessary for startups.
• Analyze the marketing environment to identify entrepreneurial opportunities and areas for growth and development.
• Develop an agile and lean business plan for startup project/enterprise that is ready for pitching.
• Compare different entrepreneurship pathways in relation to a project or business idea.

The program starts with the introduction of basic entrepreneurial skills needed to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and help the student come up with an idea to bring to market. It also helps students decide what type of entrepreneurship they would like to pursue. The interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum leverages on the existing small business and general business foundations offered by the department. Three foundational courses are required to prepare students to acquire intrapreneurial skills that are highly sought by employers today. ENTR 101 Introduction to Entrepreneurship, ENTR 102 Applied Design Thinking and MRKT 140 Introduction to Marketing all address the foundational base of entrepreneurship.

The program allows students to choose nine more units to gain the knowledge and skills in marketing, and finance as the student deemed important. For those who are already registered under these disciplines, the Certificate in Entrepreneurship can be stacked over the one they are currently taking.  

First semester courses                                      Units         Sequence

 

ENTR 101       Introduction to Entrepreneurship       3.00          S1, Y1

MRKT 140      Marketing Principles                              3.00         S1, Y1

Choose one from the following courses:

BSL 1               Business Law                                         3.00         S1, Y1

MABS 60         Computer Application in Business      3.00          S1, Y1

MGT 231         Introduction to Supervision 

                         and Management                                 3.00          S1, Y1

                                                                                                 Total   9.00

Second semester courses                                 Units            Sequence

DSGN 105      Design Thinking                                     1.50          S2, Y1

ENTR 102       Applied Design Thinking 

                        in Entrepreneurship                              1.50          S2, Y1

Choose two from the following courses:

SMBS 135       Ownership and Operations 

                         of Small Business                                  3.00         S2, Y1

GNBS 119      Introduction to Business                       3.00         S2, Y1

MRKT 122      Professional Selling                                3.00         S2, Y1

MRKT 180      Social Media Marketing                          3.00         S2, Y1           

Total    9.00   

                                                                       Certificate Total 18.00

The Certificate of Achievement in Entrepreneurship is relatively new and is continuously evolving. This curriculum is designed to only provide the foundational knowledge for a startup and advises students to take further courses in finance, marketing, or general business to dive deeper to other functional areas of business.

There are 13 community colleges in the Bay Region issuing 52 awards on average annually (last 3 years) on TOP Code 0506.40 - Small Business and Entrepreneurship. There are three colleges in the Mid-Peninsula Sub-Region issuing 6 awards on average annually (last 3 years) on this TOP code. There are twelve 4-year universities or colleges offering undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in Entrepreneurship, or BS in Business with concentration in Entrepreneurship (University of California Berkeley, Stanford, UC Santa Cruz, CSU East Bay, Dominican University, Menlo College, Saint Mary’s College, San Francisco State, San Jose State, Santa Clara University, Sonoma State and University of San Francisco).