Engineering & Architecture

The Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business offers an eight-course Entrepreneurship Minor that can be taken by undergraduate students in all faculties. Engineering students can take either the minor or the option, but not both.

To be awarded the Entrepreneurship Minor, students must complete all courses (core and electives) with a minimum overall average of 65% and no course with a grade less than 60%, as well as completing milestone requirements.

Three core courses:

• BET 100 Foundations of Entrepreneurial Practice
• BET 320 Entrepreneurial Strategy
• BET 340 Essentials of Entrepreneurial Planning and Execution

Five electives:

1. A minimum of three additional BET courses.
2. Up to two more BET courses, third- or fourth-year electives available through the student's home faculty as approved by the minor academic co-ordinator. A guiding principle for approval of discipline-based elective courses is that they support the experiential milestone.

Specification for the Milestone Associated with the Entrepreneurship Minor

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.

E Co-op Milestone: This milestone is only available to students in co-op and requires successful completion of the following:

1. 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.
2. 100% attendance of workshops and presentations during the initial week of the term.
3. Submission of acceptable regular progress reports based on the agreed term work plan as assessed by the E Co-op co-ordinator.
4. 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:

1. 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.
2. 100% attendance of workshops and presentations during the initial week of the term.
3. Submission of acceptable regular progress reports based on the agreed work plan as assessed by the E Co-op co-ordinator.
4. 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:

1. 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.
2. The milestone must have a faculty supervisor.
3. The milestone must be able to lead to a potential commercial or social application.
4. Students choosing the capstone design milestone must participate in the Esch Awards competition, the Hult Prize competition, Concept Grants, Velocity Fund Finals, or an equivalent as approved by the minor academic co-ordinator.