Overview & Requirements
The Cross Campus Entrepreneurship Certificate, CCEC, offers courses and experiential programs for students from across campus to study the theory and practice of entrepreneurship. Students meet and work with experienced entrepreneurs who guide them through the challenges of launching and running a new venture. In following individual areas of interest, students pursue the entrepreneurial process, develop relevant 21st-century skills, and build additional educational credentials to enhance career prospects.
Requirements
Students completing the following course and field work requirements will be eligible to receive the Cross Campus Entrepreneurship Certificate as recorded on the CU transcript. Must be a non-business major with upper division status (minimum of 60 credits) to apply.
Requirements include:
- Take 9 credit hours from three core courses of the Entrepreneurship Curriculum (ESBM 3100, 3200, and 4100)
- Take 6 credit hours from two non-business courses from an approved list offered by colleges from across campus
- Complete an approved internship with an entrepreneurial venture in the student's field, to observe firsthand how entrepreneurs start and grow enterprises (60 hour minimum)
- Attend and actively participate in eight immersion activities organized or approved by CCEC, such as speaker events, company field trips, and entrepreneur meetups
- Pass a capstone examination to demonstrate an understanding of the entrepreneurial process
Three Required Core Courses
- Introduction to Entrepreneurship ESBM 3100 (3 credits)
- Principles of Business for Entrepreneurs ESBM 3200 (3 credits)
- Writing a Venture Plan ESBM 4100 (3 credits)
The following courses may replace Introduction to Entrepreneurship ESBM 3100 for students in the corresponding majors:
- Engineering: Introduction to Entrepreneurship for Engineers (ESBM 3100-003)
- Journalism: Entrepreneurial Adventures in New Media (JOUR 4872)
- Music: The Entrepreneurial Musician (TMUS 4493)
Non-Business Course Offerings
Many CU academic departments and programs offer courses that complement entrepreneurship. Approved courses provide in-depth insights needed for enterprise creation in specific fields or industries. Students may choose from courses on the approved list available at the link below, or identify other potentially suitable courses subject to approval by the program director. Curriculum changes each semester. Please check periodically for updated information. (6 credits)
Entrepreneur Experience Internship
Students complete a 60-hour internship with an entrepreneurial venture (“a company”) in any field of interest. Students in internships observe firsthand how entrepreneurs start and grow enterprises. They also integrate entrepreneurship coursework with the experience and explore career paths. Each student is expected to participate in a project that provides a meaningful experience for the student and adds value to the entrepreneurial venture. Students select companies and projects that are of interest to them, contact the companies and arrange interviews. The companies select the interns based on interviews. The student and company then negotiate the nature of the project and its details. These projects should be (1) entrepreneurially oriented; (2) designed to fit the students’ capabilities and be completed over a three-month period; and (3) substantial enough to merit certificate credit. Students may receive pay for their work at the company’s discretion.
How do certificate students get internships? Some students find their own internships. Those students should contact CCEC staff to confirm that the internship meets certificate requirements. Other students get assistance from CCEC staff in identifying and securing an internship placement. Internships can be arranged through CCEE and the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, or in conjunction with the student’s academic department or program as some internships may meet requirements of both the certificate and the student’s department.
Getting an internship approved: Once the student has met with the company and identified a project, the student must contact program staff to verify that the internship will meet all certificate requirements (listed below). The student should provide the program coordinator with information including: (1) Venture name, (2) What the venture does, (3) Approximate number of employees and annual sales, (4) Project details including a description of the project, the objectives, tasks and deliverables the student will contribute, and (5) Contact information for internship supervisor, including name, email and phone number.
Here are a just few examples of entrepreneurial projects that a student could participate in:
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A CCEC internship must include the following to qualify:
- Student completes at least 60 hours of work on a project for the company
- Student prepares weekly journal or blog entries (no more than 6 entries) over the course of the internship to document and reflect on the experience
- Student attends an informal meeting with CCEC staff 3 weeks after the internship begins to discuss what is happening
- Student submits a final written summary of the internship experience based on weekly journal or blog entries. The summary should include no more than three pages (1-inch margins, 11-12-point font) describing:
- The venture and profile of the entrepreneur
- The scope of the internship and project, including hours spent working
- What made the internship entrepreneurial, including interactions with the entrepreneur and the nature and impact of the project the student worked on; this should include ideas for how the project work might lead to new opportunities, strategies or innovations for the company
- A summary of highlights and important lessons learned
- An evaluation of the overall experience and recommendation to CCEC for future internship placements with the company
- Supervisor name and contact information
- Entrepreneur or company submits a letter at CCEC staff’s request on behalf of the student stating satisfactory completion of the internship
Entrepreneurship Immersion Activities
CCEC takes students for a deep dive into how entrepreneurship is a way of thinking and acting. In addition to coursework, certificate students gain insights into the entrepreneurial process and its challenges by participating in activities that place them at the center of the region’s active and successful entrepreneurship community.
Students must participate in at least 8 approved entrepreneurship events to fulfill certificate requirements. Students can demonstrate participation by registering for each CCEC event they attend and by emailing proof of attendance at any other approved activities to the program coordinator.
Students may choose from several options to demonstrate participation in events: (1) Submit a program from the approved event along with a written summary or blog entry of at least 100 words describing a valuable entrepreneurship-oriented concept or lesson learned; (2) Submit photos the student took at the event along with a blog entry or written summary of at least 100 words describing a valuable entrepreneurship-oriented concept or lesson learned; at least one photo should include the student; or (3) Submit a summary of at least 500 words identifying the event, describing how the topics and discussions relate to the entrepreneurship coursework, stating at least one new idea heard at the event and listing the names and professions of two people the student met for the first time at the event.
The program coordinator can provide up-to-date lists of activities scheduled for the current semester. Some CCEC-organized or approved immersion activities students can choose from:
Invite-only opportunities exclusive for CCEE students:
- CCEE at the Top – roundtable discussions with top entrepreneurs from the region, exclusive for CCEE students (ongoing)
- CCEE Entrepreneurship Excursions – field trips to a Boulder company, exclusive for CCEE students (ongoing)
- Admission to Learn from the Best – an entrepreneur speaker series organized by the Graduate Entrepreneurs Association (ongoing)
CU events open to all students:
- CU New Venture Challenge Pitch Night or other events (Oct-Mar)
- Silicon Flatirons Entrepreneurs Unplugged or Crash Courses (ongoing)
- Deming Center Business Plan competitions (Spring)
- Net Impact Case Competition (Feb)
- VCIC - Venture Capital Investment Competition hosted by Deming Center (Feb)
Events open to the public (Try organizing a CCEE group!):
- New Tech Meetup
- Ignite Boulder - a night of presentations with a twist - $
- Naturally Boulder – Education series in natural and organic products industry - $
- Esprit Entrepreneurial Awards Banquet - $
- Startup Weekend – Boulder
- Many others – contact program coordinator to see if events not listed here will meet immersion requirement
Capstone Examination
Certificate students complete a final exam to demonstrate understanding of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process. Exam will consist of a case study analysis that requires students to assess an entrepreneurial venture or opportunity and make recommendations based on the methodologies and entrepreneurial processes covered in the CCEE curriculum. Students will prepare a written memorandum of the recommendations of up to two pages in length (1” margins, 11-12 point font) with the option of including up to five pages of appendices or supporting documents. Students will then make a 10-minute oral presentation including PowerPoint of the analysis and recommendations to a small panel of judges, including CCEC staff, followed by up to 10 minutes of Q&A.
