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Entrepreneurship

Elective Course Guide

The Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

Entrepreneurship and Venture Management Concentration 
Technology Commercialization Concentration and Certificate Program
Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship 
Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Entrepreneurship and Venture Management Concentration

Description of careers for which concentration prepares students:
This concentration provides students with a thorough grounding in the entrepreneurial mindset and business skills needed to: (1) start a new venture; (2) manage a rapidly growing business, or (3) develop and execute new business models in established companies. The courses prepare students to recognize, evaluate, and exploit opportunities—our primary goal is to help students create a successful venture or to become part of an entrepreneurial team managing an emerging business or social enterprise. In addition to traditional entrepreneurial pursuits, our course offerings also include: corporate entrepreneurship; venture capital and corporate venturing; acquiring a new business; social entrepreneurship; and technology commercialization.

Description of the academic content and requirements for concentration:
The courses in this concentration foster an entrepreneurial mindset and help students develop an entrepreneurial skill set. A wide range of courses cover all aspects of starting, organizing, and managing new and emerging ventures. Skills such as idea creation, opportunity recognition, feasibility analysis, business planning and execution, customer acquisition and retention, and financial and business structuring are developed through the fundamental sequence of three courses: The introductory course (BAEP-549 or BAEP-551 or GSBA-550 or GSBA 550ab), Feasibility Analysis (BAEP-552 or BAEP-556 or BAEP-566) and Venture Initiation (BAEP-554).

Additionally, there are elective courses that focus on managing the emergent firm, social entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship, venture capital, acquiring your own business, commercialization of new technologies, dealing with specific business types, entrepreneurial consulting and owner/manager issues.

Required for the Concentration (all three of the following):
1. GSBA-550 or GSBA-550ab: Entrepreneurship (MBA.PM core) 
    or 
    BAEP-549: The Entrepreneurial Journey 
    or 
    BAEP-551: Introduction to New Ventures 

2. BAEP-552: Venture Feasibility
    or 
    BAEP-556: Technology Feasibility   
    or 
    BAEP-566: Cases in Feasibility Analysis for Social Ventures

3. BAEP-554: Venture Initiation (Prerequisite: BAEP-552 or BAEP-556 or BAEP-566)

Electives (Choose from the following to total 12 units):
BAEP-553: Cases in New Venture Management
BAEP-555: Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipate and Avoid Startup Pitfalls
BAEP-557: Technology Commercialization
BAEP-558: The Entrepreneurial Advisor: Problem Solving for Early-Stage Companies
BAEP-559: Investing in New Ventures
BAEP-560: Acquiring Your Own Business or Opportunity
BAEP-561: Entrepreneurship in Innovative Industries: Life Sciences
BAEP-562: Entrepreneurship in eCommerce
BAEP-563: Corporate Entrepreneurship
BAEP-564: Investing in Impact Ventures
BAEP-565: Venture Lab
BAEP-566: Cases in Feasibility Analysis for Social Ventures
BAEP-567: Social Entrepreneurship:  Design, Develop, and Deliver (Prerequisite: BAEP-566)
BAEP-572: Performance Mindset for Business
BAEP-575: Entrepreneurship in the Media and Entertainment Industry
BAEP-577: The Entrepreneurial CEO: The Real World of Leading Startups
BAEP-585: Seminar: The Entrepreneurial Mindset
BAEP-591: Social Entrepreneurship
BAEP-592: Field Research in Business Entrepreneurship
BAEP-593: Independent Research in Business Entrepreneurship
BAEP-596: Research Practicum in Business Entrepreneurship
BAEP-597: Consulting Project in Business Entrepreneurship
BAEP-599: Special Topics

Advisor: Steven Mednick, JFF 518, (213) 740-0505; sbmednic@marshall.usc.edu

Technology Commercialization Concentration

Description of careers for which concentration prepares students:
This concentration will prepare students to work in a variety of careers associated with technology commercialization: manage technology development projects; manage an intellectual property or project portfolio; consult to companies seeking to derive new revenue streams off existing technology; consult to companies in the areas of technology and market feasibility; and manage a commercialization effort. In addition, the concentration prepares entrepreneurs to take a technology from idea to market with in-depth, experiential knowledge of the technology commercialization process.

Graduate Certificate in Technology Commercialization
MBA candidates who wish to earn formal recognition of completion of the concentration may apply for admission to the Graduate Certificate in Technology Commercialization program. (Admission is not automatic.) Application procedures, admission requirements, and additional information about the program are available at Graduate Certificate in Technology Commercialization website.

Description of the academic content and requirements:
This concentration consists of three required courses and one elective in business or engineering. Through lectures, discussions, guests, and experience on a technology startup team, students will acquire knowledge and skills in the following areas: creativity and invention, product design and development, technical and market feasibility analysis, intellectual property acquisition, decision making for high technology ventures, and technology venture valuation and funding.

Required for the concentration (All of the following):
BAEP-552: Venture Feasibility (3 units)
or
BAEP-556: Technology Feasibility (3 units)

BAEP-557: Technology Commercialization (3 units)

Electives (Complete six units from the following):
BAEP-553: Cases in New Venture Management (1.5 or 3)
BAEP-554: Venture Initiation (3)
BAEP-555: Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipate and Avoid Startup Pitfalls (3)
BAEP-559: Investing in New Ventures (3)
BAEP-561: Entrepreneurship in Innovative Industries: Life Sciences (1.5)
BAEP-562: Entrepreneurship in eCommerce (1.5)
BAEP-563: Corporate Entrepreneurship (3)
BAEP-565: Venture Lab (3)
BAEP-575: Entrepreneurship in the Media and Entertainment Industry (1.5)
CE 576: Invention and Technology Development (3)
ISE-515: Engineering Project Management (3)
ISE-585: Strategic Management of Technology (3)
MOR-564: Strategic Innovation: Creating New Markets (3)

Advisor: Hovig Tchalian, JFF 515 (213) 764-4870; tchalian@marshall.usc.edu

Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

For individuals especially interested in developing the skills, frameworks, and learning experiences needed to create and launch new business opportunities in new companies or large organizations, Marshall offers the Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. For more information visit Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation website.

Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship

For individuals especially interested in enterprises that balance social missions with their business missions, Marshall offers the Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship. For more information visit Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship website.

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Nine-unit Limit:

Students earning a Marshall master's degree are expected to complete their graduate electives within the Marshall School of Business by taking courses that begin with prefixes ACCT, BAEP, BUCO, DSO, FBE, GSBA, MKT, and MOR.

MBA students: Unless the student is completing a dual degree program, MBA students may complete up to nine units of graduate-level course work at USC outside the Marshall School of Business for elective credit. A request for an exception to take a non-Marshall course must be submitted via petition (Marshall General Petition Form) to the student's program office prior to registering for the course. Units beyond the maximum 9.0 units are not counted toward the student’s MBA degree.

  • An exception is made for those students completing the Business of Entertainment Certificate through the School of Cinematic Arts, which requires 4 Cinema courses (16.0 non-Marshall units). 
  • For MBA students who participate in Marshall’s International Exchange Program, a maximum of 15.0 units of USC-500O may be applied to the MBA degree.  No other non-Marshall coursework may be applied to the MBA degree.
  • Further exceptions to the maximum 9.0 units of non-Marshall course policy are rarely approved, and only if the student is on the Dean’s List with a minimum GPA of 3.60, coupled with a compelling reason for why the course uniquely aligns with their academic and career goals. 
  • Only courses beginning with the Marshall prefixes may be applied to the Marshall portion of a dual degree program.

MS, MMS, and Graduate Certificate students: Students in MS, the MMS, and Graduate Certificate programs may not apply non-Marshall courses to their degree unless (a) the courses are included in the published curriculum of the program or (b) permission is granted by the Academic Director of the program prior to taking the course. A request for an exception must be submitted via petition (Marshall General Petition Form) to the student's program office prior to registering for the course.