BAEP 450 or BAEP 451 is a requirement that must be completed before declaring this emphasis and is the best course to help students decide if this Emphasis is right for them. 

Students are encouraged to speak to the Entrepreneurship and Innovation emphasis elective advisor or any entrepreneurship professor in the Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies to better understand if the Emphasis is right for them. 

Other ways to learn more include joining a student entrepreneurship club or getting involved in one or more of our programs. The Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies offers a portfolio of non-credit programming that students can access – including various guest speaker series (e.g., the Startup Survival Series, Fireside Chats), pitch and business model competitions (e.g., the New Venture Seed Competition), conferences (e.g., Athena Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit), and mentoring programs (e.g., Found Well, Trojan Solvers). For students who have early-stage business concepts, we offer the Blackstone Launchpad (idea stage, provides programmatic learning), the Marshall Greif Incubator (pre-seed or seed stage, provides training, office space, and access to other resources), and more. Any students with questions should visit us for more information, or email greifcenter@marshall.usc.edu.

Emphasizing in entrepreneurship requires only an interest in better understanding what it takes to launch and manage new initiatives in existing or new organizations. We welcome anyone who would like to learn more.

Students with this Emphasis will gain skills in identifying, evaluating, and pursuing new and innovative opportunities, plus the informational, human, and material resources needed to succeed. We view these skills and the Entrepreneurial Mindset as central to effective management within existing organizations as well as leadership of new organizations. The Emphasis is good for anyone with a desire to develop skills in problem-solving, creativity, adaptability, flexibility, and decision-making in conditions of dynamic uncertainty.

This Emphasis gives students practice and deep understanding of the general frameworks and skills useful in career advancement across an array of careers and industries. Though some in this Emphasis will graduate and become new venture founders or founding team members, many will use their new knowledge, skills, and mindset to advance in existing firms.

Students in this Emphasis will hear from founders and leaders from myriad organizations, who will share their experiences from idea through launch and growth. Students will also and importantly apply their learnings, in highly experiential environments, to consideration and development of diverse business opportunities.

Students who participate in the Marshall International Exchange program (IEP) may fulfill up to 6 units towards this emphasis while studying abroad. In order for the courses to be applied towards this emphasis, students must complete approved classes while abroad (a list of approved classes for each exchange location can be found on the IEP outgoing website). Students will work with the International Programs office to ensure that the approved classes they take abroad will be applied towards their emphasis.

This emphasis has been approved by the university to be STEM-eligible under the Department of Education CIP code of 52.1301 designation of Management Science. The degree stated on the I-20 refers to this designation. Students can find a memo of support from the department for the CIP code designation here.