Innovation & Entrepreneurship Programs
College of Communication MS in Media Ventures Learn more
College of Engineering Technology Innovation Concentration Learn more
Metropolitan College Graduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship Learn more
Explore Courses by School/College
College of Fine Arts
CFA FA 510 4 credits. Fall and Spring
The "Art Leaders Forum" is a collective enterprise of critical inquiry, reflection and open discussion about what it means to lead as an artist now. The implications of assuming leadership are vast - vision, exertion, generosity, intelligence, precision, responsibility, compassion. Furthermore, to lead cannot mean to ignore the complex reality we live in as a society: Inequity, social disparities, structural racism and discrimination are not undesired mistakes, but structural aspects of the world we live in. In other words, the way our society defines what is "leadership" and "who should lead" has the power to perpetuate, or for the same matter, dismantle these issues. Our collective inquiry and discussion will inevitably deal with this pressing reality. A group of global art leaders, activists and entrepreneurs from across the globe will join the forum to illustrate, enrich and guide this discussion. The "Art Leaders Forum" is a co-creation process in need of every voice and every view that engages in it. Tourism is not an option here: taking part in the forum clearly demands something of each of us - to fully listen and to dare to be heard; to be seen and to see others and their reality. To support and enhance such demanding work the course will introduce notions of mindfulness, entrepreneurship, active listening, embodiment and non-violent communication, at the time that will study and explore different models of leadership, activism, community and social impact in the arts.
CFA FA 520 4 credits. Fall and Spring
A blend of self-exploration and business skills that encourages arts leaders to "think like an entrepreneur" in defining their career and personal brand. Develop entrepreneurial skills like branding, networking, marketing, and budgeting. Learn financial basics, tools, and analysis. Apply quantitative reasoning skills to make informed decisions, and oral communication skills to be more persuasive and understood in everyday life. Students will apply these skills to all personal endeavors, from landing a dream job to building your own brand. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning I, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to Apr 30th
Worden
Independent
M
06:30:00 PM–09:15:00 PM
CFA 219
Section B1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to Apr 30th
Worden
Independent
W
06:30:00 PM–09:15:00 PM
CFA 219
CFA FA 530 Var credits. Spring
The Collaborative Arts Incubator is a hands-on studio experience and a cross-disciplinary course that offers students within CFA and BU the opportunity to work together on innovative, creative projects. Students work in groups drawing from their own disciplines and are encouraged to venture into unfamiliar creative territories. Students engage in active collaboration, critical thinking and peer interaction with at-risk populations in the surrounding community. The social justice component is a significant element of the course.
Questrom School of Business
QST SI 445 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (QSTFE 323 & QSTMK 323 & QSTOM 323 & QSTQM 323) - Designed to help students understand the intricacies of running a small company. The course addresses the major challenges in small companies, including valuation, negotiation, deal structure, personnel and compensation, and marketing and financing. Exposes students to a wide range of business activities, emphasizing significant differences between large and small enterprises. The course uses a competitive computer simulation to provide students with the opportunity to "run" their own business. Please click here to watch a 1 minute video overview of the course.
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to Apr 30th
Stoller
Independent
MW
12:50:00 PM–02:05:00 PM
HAR 224
College of Communication
COM FT 518 4 credits. Fall and Spring
This course examines the critical financial and strategic challenges that businesses face whether they are in start-up, expansion, or exit mode. Students will use case studies to delve into the lives of the founders and CEOs of some of the world's most innovative and enduring brands and industry game-changers. We'll delve into each company's business model(s) and learn why some evolve to become industry gold standards while others fail.
Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Luber
Independent
R
12:30:00 PM–03:15:00 PM
COM 212
COM FT 703 4 credits. Fall and Spring
This course will provide students with the practical knowledge and skills needed to heed the call of entrepreneurship. Classes will include guest speakers from various business sectors including venture capital professionals, angel investors, accountants, attorneys, marketing experts who are skilled in launch phases of PR, as well as media entrepreneurs who succeeded against all odds. Students will also participate in the development of a core business idea, from concept through the creation of a sound business plan as a final project/presentation. 4 cr. Fall
COM CM 700 4 credits. Fall and Spring
The focus of the course is on two critical domains of modern business: financial and strategic management. Through lectures, readings, case studies, and team projects, the course will introduce students to the complexities and challenges facing today's communications industry manager along with practical understanding of how businesses operate and even succeed despite the obstacles. The goal of the course is to help students understand the fundamentals of business enterprise with an emphasis on how these apply to the media industries. The course covers the fundamentals of a business plan, including revenue models, marketing, venture capital, finance, and accounting in the context of the media landscape. 1st sem.
Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Christian
Independent
MW
10:10:00 AM–11:55:00 AM
COM 215
Section B1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Christian
Independent
MW
02:30:00 PM–04:15:00 PM
COM 111
COM FT 810 4 credits. Spring
The course introduces students to entrepreneurial concepts and provides the practical tools needed to take a creative work to market. Students will learn about online funding sources, Web distribution platforms, social media marketing, legal issues relating to protecting creative work and the business side of the industry.
School of Hospitality Administration
SHA HF 307 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 220, SHA HF 260, SHA HF 310 - This course is intended to be a capstone experience for students seeking to understand hospitality entrepreneurship and innovation as a professional business system. Student teams will create, develop and design a concise Pro Forma Business Plan for a start-up non-profit or profit-driven hospitality enterprise. At the end of the semester teams will make a competitive presentation integrating the principles and skills mastered in previous coursework to a panel of successful hospitality entrepreneurs. 4cr. Offered Fall.
Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Horwitz
Independent
MW
02:30:00 PM–04:15:00 PM
SHA 201
SHA HF 220 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHAHF 100; Undergraduate Corequisites: SHAHF 260. Note: Students must take SHAHF 220 and HF 260 concurrently in the same section (e.g., A1/A1). Contact your academic advisor with any questions. - This course focuses on principal operating problems facing managers in the restaurant industry. Topics such as concept development and entrepreneurship, menu analysis, cost control, operational analysis, and customer service processes are addressed. 4 credits, offered Fall & Spring.
Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Gerber
Independent
MW
10:10:00 AM–11:55:00 AM
SHA 206
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to Apr 30th
Flores
Independent
TR
09:00:00 AM–10:45:00 AM
SHA 206
School of Engineering
ENG EK 409 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor. - Analysis of engineering alternatives for replacement. Present worth analysis. Cost control,budgeting, and indirect costs and their allocation. Company startups, stock ownership, and annual reports. Cost optimization, economic life, taxes,inflation, inventories, and depreciation accounting. Contract negotiations,professional ethics, and cost proposal preparation. Evaluation of public projects.
ENG ME 502 4 credits. Fall
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (Senior or graduate standing in an engineering or science discipline o r consent of instructor) - This course provides students with the knowledge and tools necessary to create, protect, and commercialize engineering and scientific intellectual assets. Students will first make use of creativity tools to attack posed engineering problems, then turn to means for protecting their solutions. Rapidly growing areas that are affecting nearly all businesses (e.g., software and the internet) as well as "high-tech" areas including microelectronics, communications, and bioengineering will be emphasized. Extensive patent searches and analysis will be carried out to develop skills for quickly ascertaining the protected technical content of patents, and for recognizing what intellectual property (IP) should be and can be protected. Legal aspects for protecting creative ideas will be studied at a level appropriate for engineers to interact easily and smoothly during their technical careers with IP lawyers. Various business models for the commercialization of intellectual assets will be analyzed. Extensive class exercises and projects will explore in depth all three of these important areas of IP, with emphasis on key contributions during engineering and scientific research and development activities.
ENG ME 525 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: Senior or graduate standing in an engineering or science discipline, o r consent of instructor. - An introduction to the formation and management of technology-based enterprises for engineers and scientists. Modules include opportunity recognition and evaluation, gathering financial and human resources, and managing and harvesting ventures. Goals include an understanding of basic start-up finance and accounting, writing business plans, presenting venture ideas to industry experts, and venture leadership skills. Students become familiar with fundamental technical and engineering issues in a wide variety of high-tech industries, especially information technology, life sciences, biotechnology and telecommunications. Case studies, lectures, workshops, and projects are utilized.
ENG ME 583 4 credits.
Undergraduate Prerequisites: Graduate standing or consent of instructor. - Planning and execution of the process of bringing new tangible and intangible products to market. Review of the new product development process. Establishment of the new product specification. Setting of financial expectations. Formation and dynamics of the product implementation team. Organization of the new product introduction project including matrixed management and financial control. Contingency planning and risk management. Taught through case-based discussions, lectures, and readings.
ENG BE 428 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (ENGEK210) Junior standing - * BE 428 is a project-based course developing fundamentals of the design aspects of biomedical devices and diagnostics. Students will identify design needs, evaluate possible solutions, build prototypes and analyze failure modes and their effects. At every stage of the design process, teams receive feedback. The course is designed for undergraduates in their Junior and Senior years and satisfies a course elective requirement for the Technology Innovation concentration. Case studies of biomedical device designs and hands-on prototyping sessions are used throughout the course. The course is designed to encourage students to consider the broader social contexts of engineering and design. Due to the overlap, cannot be taken for credit in addition to ENG BE 478.
Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Kays
Independent
MW
12:20:00 PM–02:05:00 PM
CDS B64
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to Apr 30th
Wong
Independent
MW
10:10:00 AM–11:55:00 AM
CDS 262
Section A2, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to Apr 30th
Pratt
Independent
MW
02:30:00 PM–04:15:00 PM
CDS B64
ENG ME 517 4 credits.
Undergraduate Prerequisites: Senior or graduate standing in an engineering discipline - Dynamics of converting ideas into marketable products. Choosing products and defining their specifications to achieve competitive advantage. The product development process is decomposed and its elements are examined critically in the context of actual case studies; risk evaluation, concurrent engineering, and impact of new product decisions on the factory. A step-by-step methodology for new product development is derived.
School of Public Health
SPH PH 853 4 credits. Spring
Graduate Prerequisites: Enrollment restricted to DrPH students and other degree candidates wit h consent of instructor. - This course focuses on the development and implementation of program and policy interventions that can improve public health by modifying people's health-related behaviors, and on the design and execution of effective oral and written communications to support those interventions. Working through a sequence of written assignments, students will develop: (1) a set of theory-based learning and environmental change objectives; (2) a strategic plan for a program or policy intervention designed to change an important health-related behavior; (3) a management plan for implementing and maintaining that intervention; (4) a supportive communication strategy; and (5) specific media and communications executions to operationalize that strategy. In class writing workshops and individual consultations are designed to give students ideas for their projects and interim feedback on their written assignments.
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to May 6th
Declercq
Independent
M
10:00:00 AM–12:50:00 PM
INS 212
SPH PH 718 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Public health professionals engage with individuals, groups, communities, and systems, requiring strong leadership and management skills to achieve their goals. Leadership involves influencing, motivating, and empowering others to share a vision, while management focuses on organizing, coordinating, and facilitating activities. Both are essential in public health practice. This course is a hands-on seminar designed to provide practical tools and strategies for effective public health leadership and management. Students will explore primary levels of interaction and develop skills that apply across different levels and settings.
Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 16th
Brimhall
Independent
T
10:00:00 AM–12:50:00 PM
EVN EB43
Section B1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 16th
Cox
Independent
R
10:00:00 AM–12:50:00 PM
EVN EB43
Section C1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 16th
Merrigan
Independent
M
02:00:00 PM–04:50:00 PM
EVN EB43
Section D1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 16th
Ettinger De Cuba
Independent
W
02:00:00 PM–04:50:00 PM
EVN EB43
Section E1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 16th
Wang
Independent
W
06:00:00 PM–08:50:00 PM
INS 112
Section OL, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 16th
Merrigan
Independent
W
07:00:00 PM–08:20:00 PM
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to May 6th
Cox
Independent
M
06:00:00 PM–08:50:00 PM
EVN EB43
Section OL, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to May 6th
Merrigan
Independent
T
07:00:00 PM–09:15:00 PM
Sargent College
SAR OT 586 4 credits. Spring
Graduate Prerequisites: OT502, OT538, OT563, OT564, OT621; MSOT and OTD students only. - This required graduate course provides a fundamental, critical overview of health care management principles. Detailed discussions, teamwork, practical case study experiences, as well as oral and written assignments will guide the soon-to-be entry-level occupational therapist to effectively manage people and resources, and to understand political, regulatory, economic, and social forces that are affecting a constantly changing and often complex health and rehabilitation environment. Major emphasis is on advocacy and legislation, reimbursement, financial planning, personnel management, leadership, negotiation skills, conflict resolution, ethics, grant writing, starting up a new program, business or practice, entrepreneurship, and marketing.
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to Apr 30th
Jacobs
Independent
WF
08:00:00 AM–09:45:00 AM
CDS 263
School of Social Work
SSW MP 781 3 credits. Fall and Spring
Graduate Prerequisites: (SSWMP 759) Or permission of department chair. Required of all Macro Social Work Practice students; Graduate Corequisites: Required to be in a field placement with this course. - MP781 is designed to strengthen the ability of class members to foster progressive social change. It provides knowledge and skills in different models of community organizing, with a focus on collective action to promote social and economic justice, particularly in urban settings. Class members will develop skills in outreach and recruitment, leadership development, issue selection, strategy and tactics, campaign planning, coalitions, and building grassroots community organizations. MP781 emphasizes the responsibility of social workers to facilitate democratic participation and community empowerment based on respect, humility, and commitment to addressing racism and intersecting forms of oppression. In addition to readings and lectures, the course utilizes guest speakers, small group exercises, role play, video, poetry, music, and direct engagement with community-based organizations. Assignments emphasize skill building and integration of organizing theory and practice. The course relates community organizing to policy, planning, and management to underscore its relevance for all macro practitioners.
Section O2, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Oct 20th
Williams
Independent
M
07:30:00 PM–08:45:00 PM
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 13th to Apr 28th
Williams
Independent
T
06:30:00 PM–08:15:00 PM
SSW 121
Section A2, SPRG 2026 Jan 14th to Apr 29th
Williams
Independent
W
10:10:00 AM–11:55:00 AM
SSW 121
School of Medicine
GMS MS 621 4 credits. Fall and Spring
This course covers intellectual property, licensing, and the core aspects of planning, creating, funding, and building new entrepreneurial ventures. Cross-disciplinary teams are formed to evaluate current BU translational research projects and their potential as the basis for a start-up company. 4 cr, Fall sem.
School of Theology
STH DM 901 4 credits. Fall
This course explores diverse perspectives and practices of religious leadership and community transformation, drawing upon recent research and literature in dialogue with participants' experiences as community leaders. Students will explore their personal leadership strengths and goals, theological perspectives and social science findings as regards leadership and transformation, and the insights of living communities. The purpose is to engage with critical issues and to construct new approaches to leadership that can contribute to thriving and society-serving communities.
Section A1, FALL 2025 Aug 5th to Aug 15th
Kidd
Independent
ARR
12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM
Section B1, FALL 2025 Aug 5th to Aug 15th
Kidd
Independent
ARR
12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM
STH DM 902 4 credits. Fall and Spring
This course aims to provide students with theories and practices of leadership and ethics that will assist them in coming into a sense of who they are as transformational leaders and to prepare them for the multiple contexts in which they will lead. Students will have a growing sense of their public role in respect to religious and faith-based communities and to religion as it operates in a variety of contexts.
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 7th to Jan 16th
Manglos Weber
Independent
ARR
12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM
Section B1, SPRG 2026 Jan 7th to Jan 16th
Manglos Weber
Independent
ARR
12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM
Metropolitan College & Extended Education
MET AD 741 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Addresses the specifics of new product and service development and fostering innovation and technology to increase performance. Topics include generating and screening initial ideas; assessing user needs and interests; forecasting results; launching, and improving products and programs; bringing innovation to commercial reality.
MET AR 789 4 credits. Fall and Spring
This course explores the field of creative innovation and entrepreneurship. The first part of the course is dedicated to deepening students' understanding of creativity and ideation as building blocks to innovation, creative placemaking, the creative economy, and business models. During the second part of the course students work in teams to develop entrepreneurial projects at the intersection of Arts and Culture; Business and Technology; and Social Impact, while gaining practical entrepreneurial skills, including business models, customer identification, budgeting, pitching, personas, business plans, and delving into design, communication, marketing and networking. [4 credits]
Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Younge
Independent
W
06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM
CAS 216
MET AR 771 4 credits.
Graduate Prerequisites: MET AR 690 - A review of topics essential for successful management of performing arts organizations. Examination of both facilities management and company management. Studies include organizational structure, trustee/staff relations, marketing, audience building, fundraising, tour management, box office management, budgeting, mailing list and membership management, human resource management and contract negotiation, performance measurement, and strategic planning. [4 credits] [Pre-requisite - MET AR690]
Section A1, SPRG 2026 Jan 20th to Apr 30th
Hughes
Independent
W
06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM
STH 113
MET MG 410 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Covers the four key elements of successful entrepreneurial management: choosing a business, organizing, financing, and marketing. Includes preparing a business plan, becoming an entrepreneur, raising venture capital, selling, negotiating, and building an effective organization. Topics given special consideration are the practice of innovation, the art of leadership, and how to relate talents to succeeding in an innovative managed venture and technology management.
Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Lopez
Independent
T
06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM
CAS 225
