Program Courses

Rewards of an Entrepreneurial Life (ESP 151)

Students participating in the Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community will take this course during their first semester. The seminar explores the rewards, challenges and opportunities of an entrepreneurial career path.

Introduction to Entrepreneurship (ESP 201)

Explores the basic principles of entrepreneurship and includes the “$20 Business Plan” assignment in which students develop, launch, and harvest a $20 business concept throughout the semester.

Entrepreneurial Finance (ESP 306)

The course focuses on the financial issues and needs confronting start-up entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs attempting to grow their businesses. It is targeted to non-finance majors and does not require an extensive accounting or financial background. Students will be exposed to a number of tools, concepts and approaches related to the financial operations of start-up ventures, with emphasis on the application of this material using a series of real-world cases.

Entrepreneurial Marketing (ESP 311)
ESP 311 examines the role of marketing in start-up ventures and the role of entrepreneurial thinking in marketing efforts. The course explores customer needs as the driving force in entrepreneurship and looks at approaches to defining markets and market segments, examines inexpensive ways to conduct relevant market research, and identifies ways to leverage marketing resources and rely on networks to accomplish marketing tasks. Students will be encouraged to identify unique approaches to creating value through each of the elements of the marketing mix.

Creativity, Imagination and Entrepreneurship (ESP 366)
Explores the creative process and helps students identify their own creative problem-solving styles. Students develop innovative solutions to a wide range of business problems centering around new product, service and process development. Students also learn to judge the quality of their creative solutions. Emphasis will be placed both on individual creativity and creativity in teams and in a work context.

Emerging Entrepreneurial Consulting (ESP 461)
Student teams apply a problem-solving methodology by consulting with selected small businesses that have requested assistance. Each selected company will have a wide range of problems crossing the fields of finance, marketing, accounting, production, human resources, information systems, strategic and tactical planning, growth or down-sizing problems, procurement issues, inventory control, quality control, and forecasting. Through this consulting experience, students learn to integrate and apply their business knowledge to “real-world” settings and to test their analytical skills by solving complex business problems.

Emerging Entrepreneurial Consulting Special Section (ESP 461.S)

In this course, student teams apply logic models and problem-solving methodology by consulting with Social Entrepreneur Corps’ sister organization, Community Enterprise Solutions, in Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua, or South Africa. Each team will tackle a range of problems in “Base of the Pyramid” markets including marketing strategies, accounting, production, strategic and tactical planning, expansion, inventory control, and quality control. Through this consulting experience, students learn to integrate and apply their business knowledge to “real-world” settings in the developing world. No previous business experience is necessary.

Social Entrepreneurship (ESP 464)

This course explores the concepts, opportunities and challenges of social entrepreneurship while encouraging students to think critically about the role of social entrepreneurship in creating innovative responses to critical social needs (e.g., hunger, poverty, inner city education, global warming, etc.) Students will engage in an experiential learning process with others to develop a better understanding of the domain of social entrepreneurship including implementation and funding of social entrepreneurial solutions.

Social Entrepreneurship: A European Perspective (ESP 464.S)

This course explores the concepts, opportunities and challenges of social entrepreneurship from a European perspective. It is closely aligned with ESP 464 and encourages students to think critically about the role of social entrepreneurship in creating innovative responses to critical social needs from the point of view of European social entrepreneurial organizations.

New Venture Creation (ESP 467) Capstone
This capstone course examines the nature of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process. ESP 467 explores a variety of issues surrounding new venture creation, including how to recognize and assess an opportunity, the process and steps in starting a new venture, the financials of the new business, determining and acquiring resource needs, marketing requirements, deal structure and exit strategy, technology issues, legal and ethical issues, and creating a written business plan in support of the new venture.  Small teams are formed to work on a new business venture which is presented in an oral presentation and written business plan. 

Corporate Venturing (ESP 469)
Focuses on ways to facilitate and sustain entrepreneurship in larger, established organizations. Students will be introduced to the organizational life cycle concept, and challenged to identify reasons that companies lose the entrepreneurial orientation as they evolve. Key obstacles to entrepreneurial behavior in organizations will be identified. Attention will be devoted to such topics as reward and appraisal systems, company structure, control systems, communication systems, goal setting, strategy, culture, policies and procedures, and people issues.

Independent Study in Entrepreneurship (ESP 477)
The Institute for Entrepreneurship will consider proposals for independent studies that meet the following criteria:

• The proposed activity does not duplicate what is available through a scheduled entrepreneurship class.
• The proposed activity integrates two or more aspects of the entrepreneurial process.
• The proposed activity adds to the student's understanding of entrepreneurship.

The number of credit hours approved for an independent study project is based on the following formula -- one credit hour for each 45 hours of work associated with the project. If a proposal for independent study is approved, the faculty sponsor and the Institute director shall determine the appropriate number of credit hours to be earned.  Students need to complete an application requesting an independent study which is available in 2078 Farmer School of Business.

Product Planning, Innovation and Technology (ESP 481)
The foundation for those students interested in understanding technology, new product and service development and integrating IP into the business and market place. New product development is approached from a management perspective with special emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. This course is ideal for technical students wanting to develop skills to develop and support innovation within organizations and for all students who want to learn more about the cross-functional management of technology.

e-Enterprising, Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital (IMS 333)
This course is positioned within the Interactive Media Studies (IMS) program and the Entrepreneurship program. It focuses on building new interactive/digital ventures, venture capital, and private equity with respect to networking technologies in both existing and emerging industries based on opportunity and assembling the resources required.

Special Topics in Entrepreneurship (ESP 490)
Issue-oriented seminars for juniors or seniors focusing on a contemporary topic related to the rewards, requirements and challenges associated with entrepreneurship in different environments. Prerequisite: Permission from instructor.

Entrepreneurship at the Base of the Pyramid (ESP 490)

This course explores innovative development models in the field of social entrepreneurship including Microfinance, Microfranchise, and the MicroConsignment Model, which was developed by the leadership of Social Entrepreneur Corps. Readings and discussions will provide introductory knowledge of the models and facilitate dialogue related to the opportunities and challenges of these development models.

Franchising (ESP 490)

This topic focuses on the challenges and opportunities of franchised business models.

Entrepreneurship and the Future of Journalism (ESP 490)

This topic focuses on using the entrepreneurial mindset to strengthen the field of journalism.

Entrepreneurial Sales (ESP 490)

This seminar explores the role and techniques of sales from an entrepreneurial point of view.

Entrepreneurial Mentoring (ESP 490)

A networking module that allows each entrepreneurship student to engage with and be mentored by Miami Alumni to augment their understanding of the entrepreneurial world.

Entrepreneurial Ethics (ESP 490)

This topic explores the role of personal and business ethics in an entrepreneurial context.

Entrepreneurship and Intellectual Property (ESP 490)

This seminar examines intellectual property law and new technologies in an entrepreneurial context.

Social Entrepreneurship through Film (ESP 490)

This sprint course is designed to demonstrate the role of social entrepreneurship in major social issues through documentaries and films. The course engages students in a collaborative learning process to critically examine potential solutions, offer creative alternative solutions, and reflect on the issues of social entrepreneurship.

Last modified on 6/1/11 | Content maintained by Entrepreneurship