Minor in Entrepreneurship

Ranked in the Top 25 Best Undergraduate Programs in the Nation

At John Carroll University, we believe that entrepreneurship is a mindset—one that can be applied to any field.

That’s why our entrepreneurship minor teaches students about the value of entrepreneurship in all areas of business, including for-profit and non-profit organizations. It’s also why we make sure that every student has access to the same opportunities, regardless of their major—because we know that no matter what they choose to do with their lives, they will need to be able to recognize opportunities when they come up.

Our program is ranked in the top 25 best undergraduate programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report because it’s grounded in our Jesuit values-based education, which emphasizes critical thinking, ethical global issues, reflection, and service to others. The program is designed to support all majors, with half of its students coming from the College of Arts and Sciences and half from the Boler College of Business.

Core Courses

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The Liberal Arts and STEM Pathway (18 hours)

The Liberal Arts and STEM Pathway (18 hours)
ER 2201	Creativity, Innovation, and Development Students practice creativity through techniques for improving the flexibility and originality of their thinking, thereby developing an entrepreneurial mindset. Using this mindset, students generate ideas and recognize problems worth solving using different creative approaches in various settings and fields. Students work with a team to develop an innovative solution to one of these problems, to identify an audience for it, and to communicate the solution to that audience.Offered: Fall and Spring.
ER 3301	Introduction to Entrepreneurship This experiential course continues the process critical to the entrepreneurial mindset. Students will practice human-centered design processes, idea generation and validation, product prototyping, business design and modeling, customer development, and persuasive pitching. This course requires individual and team presentations. Prerequisites: EN 1250 (or equivalent) and (ER 201 or ER 2201).
ER 3304	Social Entrepreneurship Applies the skills developed in ER 301 to social enterprises. Introduces the meaning and importance of social entrepreneurship in the modern economy and demonstrates how entrepreneurial orientation can assist in the attainment of nonprofit and social objectives as a means to obtain social justice. Students work in teams to develop a social entrepreneurial project and then present it in oral and written form to entrepreneurs. Prerequisite: (ER 201 of ER2201) and (ER 301 or ER3301). Offered: Fall and Spring.
ER 3305	Accounting & Finance for Entrepreneurs Introduces accounting and finance concepts and fundamentals for an entrepreneurial venture or idea. Focuses on the money needed to start a venture, revenue and expense forecasting, and sources of start-up capital. Also covers business ownership options and issues, and ethical issues as they relate to entrepreneurial finance. Prerequisite: ER 3301 or ER301; College of Arts and Sciences students only. Offered: Fall only.
ER 3306	Entrepreneurial Marketing & Sales* Introduces marketing and sales concepts for entrepreneurial ventures, using real-life experiences and products to develop marketing and sales programs and to present them to entrepreneurs and business owners. Involves working in teams to develop marketing sales plans and the ability to present ideas in both oral and written form. Prerequisite: ER 3301 or ER 301; College of Arts and Sciences students only. Offered: Spring only.
COM 3342	Communication In Sales & Marketing* This course is designed to introduce principles and practical skills of professional selling. Students will develop their communication skills (verbal, written, and listening), learn and demonstrate the selling process through in-class assignments. They will develop knowledge and skills in sales, advertising and marketing.
ER 4480	Entrepreneurship Field Experience** A capstone course that uses and expands upon the entrepreneurial mindset and skills developed throughout the minor. Students complete a group project that involves the development of a new idea from conception to launch, the presentation of the idea to a group of entrepreneurs. Prerequisite: Completion of at least 12 hours of course work in the entrepreneurship minor. Offered: Fall, Spring.
ER 4481	Entrepreneurship Internship Capstone** A capstone course that involves directed and supervised work experience in organization on entrepreneurial ventures. Students will complete a final project and presentation. Prerequisite: Permission of the Program Director, completion of at least 12 hours of course work in the entrepreneurship minor. Offered: Fall, Spring, and Summer.

ER 3305, ER 3306: Open only to majors in Liberal Arts and STEM.

*Student may chose to take either ER 3306 OR COM 3442

**Students must chose to take either ER 4480 OR ER 4481

The Business Pathway (18 hours)

The Business Pathway (18 hours)
ER 2201	Creativity, Innovation, and Development Students practice creativity through techniques for improving the flexibility and originality of their thinking, thereby developing an entrepreneurial mindset. Using this mindset, students generate ideas and recognize problems worth solving using different creative approaches in various settings and fields. Students work with a team to develop an innovative solution to one of these problems, to identify an audience for it, and to communicate the solution to that audience.Offered: Fall and Spring.
ER 3301	Introduction to Entrepreneurship This experiential course continues the process critical to the entrepreneurial mindset. Students will practice human-centered design processes, idea generation and validation, product prototyping, business design and modeling, customer development, and persuasive pitching. This course requires individual and team presentations. Prerequisites: EN 1250 (or equivalent) and (ER 201 or ER 2201).
ER 3304	Social Entrepreneurship Applies the skills developed in ER 301 to social enterprises. Introduces the meaning and importance of social entrepreneurship in the modern economy and demonstrates how entrepreneurial orientation can assist in the attainment of nonprofit and social objectives as a means to obtain social justice. Students work in teams to develop a social entrepreneurial project and then present it in oral and written form to entrepreneurs. Prerequisite: (ER 201 of ER2201) and (ER 301 or ER3301). Offered: Fall and Spring.
ER 4480	Entrepreneurship Field Experience* Applies the skills developed in ER 301 to social enterprises. Introduces the meaning and importance of social entrepreneurship in the modern economy and demonstrates how entrepreneurial orientation can assist in the attainment of nonprofit and social objectives as a means to obtain social justice. Students work in teams to develop a social entrepreneurial project and then present it in oral and written form to entrepreneurs. Prerequisite: (ER 201 of ER2201) and (ER 301 or ER3301). Offered: Fall and Spring.
ER 4481	Entrepreneurship Internship Capstone* A capstone course that involves directed and supervised work experience in organization on entrepreneurial ventures. Students will complete a final project and presentation. Prerequisite: Permission of the Program Director, completion of at least 12 hours of course work in the entrepreneurship minor. Offered: Fall, Spring, and Summer.
AC 2202	Accounting Principles II Elements of accounting theory, covering revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity; account classification; analysis and recording of transactions; sources of accounting data; corporation accounting; theory of accounting valuations; preparation of financial statements; manufacturing cost flows and analysis. Prerequisite: AC 201 or AC 2201.
MK 3301	Marketing Principles* Introduces students to the field of marketing. Provides an overview of marketing concepts and strategies critical to value-driven marketing. Emphasis on how to develop, promote, distribute, and price an organization’s offerings in a dynamic economic, social, political, and international environment. Ethical issues are also examined.Prerequisite: Sophomore standing with a minimum of 25 credit hours.

Discover JCU’s Home of Entrepreneurship

The Edward M. Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship was created in 1999 with a gift from Mr. Muldoon, a 1948 John Carroll graduate, and a matching gift from the Boler Challenge Fund, to establish a permanent home for the entrepreneurship program of the University. The Muldoon Center’s objective is to inspire the John Carroll University campus and stakeholder communities to launch innovative change that creates value.

Discover the Edward M. Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship

Social Innovation Fellows

If you’re an incoming freshman at John Carroll University and you want to be a social innovator and entrepreneur inspired by Ignatian values, then the JCU Signature Scholarship Program is for you.

This program is a scholarship and growth opportunity for incoming freshman that produces graduates who can identify opportunities for innovation in the marketplace and can design and execute solutions for sustainable social change.

Become a Social Innovation Fellow

75%

of All Entrepreneurs Started as Arts & Sciences Majors

LaunchNET

A Cross-Campus Program Funded by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation That Expands Opportunities for Students to Develop and Implement Their Ideas Beyond the Classroom.

25%

Of JCU Students Who Enrolled in an Entrepreneurship Center Program

Related News & Events

Literal Food for Thought Provides Lessons in Social Entrepreneurship

Experiential learning and community engagement are hallmarks of a John Carroll University education, and they come to life with the Food for Thought food buggy. The food buggy fulfills JCU’s comprehensive and holistic Jesuit mission while actualizing the University as a social entrepreneurship leader in Northeast Ohio.