The Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business offers an eight-course entrepreneurship minor that can be taken by undergraduate students in all faculties (the exception is Engineering, which has the Entrepreneurship Option). It is designed for students with a passion for entrepreneurship who wish to leverage their academic and technical background with the business skills required to move ideas from concept to commercial, organizational, or social success. It is built upon a uniquely Waterloo approach to entrepreneurship education that integrates academic and experiential learning to develop an individual’s capabilities. This is achieved through a combination of co-operative or capstone project educational experiences and academic content.
While it is common to associate entrepreneurship with venture creation, there is an increasing demand for students who can act as ‘entrepreneurs within organizations’, sometimes referred to as corporate entrepreneurs, or intrapreneurs. As well, many students are interested in social entrepreneurship. The Minor is designed to allow students to focus on any of these vital aspects of entrepreneurship.
Experiential education is a critical component of the Minor. As such, students must participate in a milestone related to entrepreneurship. One possible milestone is an Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) credit or Entrepreneurial Experience Term for non co-op students, pursuing opportunities that lead to the formation of commercial or social venture. Other milestones include a capstone-style: project, thesis, major project course, or a senior course containing a major assignment that could lead to a corporate enhancement or social contribution. Approval of capstone milestones as an appropriate entrepreneurial experience will rest with the minor’s academic co-ordinator. This approval will be based on whether the proposed capstone satisfies the experiential intent of the plan, as well as, having a suitable faculty supervisor for the project.
Three Core Courses
Five Electives
- A minimum of three additional BET courses.
- Up to two more BET courses or electives available through the student's home faculty. A guiding principle for approval of discipline-based elective courses is that they support the experiential milestone.
Successful Completion of the Entrepreneurship Minor
To be awarded the Entrepreneurship Minor, students must complete all courses (core and electives) with an overall average of 65% and no course with a grade less than 60%, as well as completing milestone requirements.
Specification for the Milestone Associated with the Entrepreneurship Minor
E Co-op Milestone: This milestone is only available to students in co-op and requires successful completion of the following:
- Completion of an approved E Co-op term, approval based on an application and interview with the co-ordinator, and demonstration that there is an accessible market, realistic potential to create and deliver the proposed product or service, and a suitable work plan.
- 100% attendance of workshops and presentations during the initial week of the term.
- Submission of acceptable regular progress reports based on the agreed term work plan as assessed by the E Co-op co-ordinator.
- Submission of an acceptable end-of-term progress report as assessed by the E Co-op co-ordinator.
Entrepreneurship Experience Term: This milestone is available to any student engaged in starting a business. It requires:
- Approval of the entrepreneurial experience based upon an application and interview with the E Co-op co-ordinator. There must be an accessible market, realistic potential to create and deliver the proposed product or service, and a work plan. Note: It is expected that the experiential portion of this term will require engagement in the venture for 35 hours per week for a full 12- to 16-week term.
- 100% attendance of workshops and presentations during the initial week of the term.
- Submission of acceptable regular progress reports based on the agreed work plan as assessed by the E Co-op co-ordinator.
- Submission of an acceptable end-of-term progress report as assessed by the E Co-op co-ordinator.
Capstone, Thesis, or Project/Senior-Level Course with Major Assignment: This milestone is available to any student. It requires:
- A capstone project, thesis, or project/senior-level course with a major assignment satisfying the entrepreneurial experience requirement of the plan, as determined by the minor academic co-ordinator.
- The milestone must have a faculty supervisor.
- The milestone must be able to lead to a potential commercial or social application.