Innovation & Entrepreneurship Minor
Calling All Thinkers, Doers, Makers, Creators, Performers, & Builders!
The Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) minor enables students pursuing any undergraduate major from all BU schools and colleges to develop their ideas, regardless of their field of expertise, and create tangible economic or social impact.
This minor is not just for those who want to “launch a startup” but for students who want to learn how to be more entrepreneurial in all aspects of their lives. The minor teaches students a set of life skills including identifying unmet needs and new opportunities, leading creativity and ideation, collaboration, prototyping, and testing which can prepare students for careers in many domains.
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Minor Requirements: 5 Courses
1 Required Course (4 credits)
QST SI 250: Ideas2Impact
This core course explores where valuable new ideas come from, and what we can do to launch them into the world. Key topics include the conditions that foster innovation, tool sets for identifying hidden opportunities, and processes for building and refining impactful ideas. As a core component of the course, students will gain hands-on experience working in teams to create social and economic impact in the local Boston and BU community.
Designed to align with HUB units: Social Inquiry 1, Creativity/Innovation, and The Individual in Community.
4 Elective Courses (16 credits)
To ensure that all students declaring this minor have equal exposure to innovation and entrepreneurship skills, students will be required to take four electives drawing from three areas: Entrepreneurship; Creating Impact: Domains of Interest; and Innovator’s Toolkit
See below for more details about elective requirements and offerings.
Elective Categories
Entrepreneurship
- Must pick 1
- Can take up to 3
These courses teach students how to identify and scope a viable idea or concept that addresses a genuine need and obtain resources to responsibly nurture, support, and grow its development. All students must pick one entrepreneurship course.
Creating Impact: Domains of Interest
- Can pick 0-3
These courses teach students in-depth knowledge of a subject domain where students aim to apply their idea to achieve impact (e.g., social innovation, arts, environment, global development).
Innovator’s Toolkit
- Can pick 0-3
- Up to 1 in Communications
These courses teach students the skills needed to execute on their idea by researching, managing, developing, leading, communicating, and technically or legally launching their idea into the world.
Elective Offerings by Category
Entrepreneurship
General Entrepreneurship Courses
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| QST FE 455 Financing New Ventures | Introduction to financing sources for start-up firms, including angel funding, venture capital financing, boot-strapping, debt and other sources. Focus on capital structure analysis, capitalization tables, payoff diagrams, term sheets, equity incentives, cash flow projections and negotiating with investors. |
| QST SI 444 Entrepreneurship: Solving Problems in a Dynamic World | This course provides students with a hands-on, experiential learning experience in which they develop an understanding of the principles and techniques of starting and launching a new entrepreneurial venture. Students learn about the models of thinking, behavior, and attitude that drive problem-solving, achievement, value creation, and economic or social impact. Students participate in team projects that take them on a structured journey from the development of an initial idea to the creation and delivery of a formal venture investment presentation. |
| QST SI 445 Managing the Growing Venture | Designed to help students understand the intricacies of running a small to medium sized company and addresses valuation, negotiation, deal structure, personnel and compensation, and marketing and financing. Course uses a competitive computer simulation to provide students with the opportunity to “run” their own business while competing with other teams in the class. |
| QST SI 448 Dilemmas in Scaling New Ventures | We explore specific dilemmas that founders face–decisions that arrive early on, can be uncomfortable, and that need to be made with minimal information–but that can have far-reaching consequences. |
| QST SI 464 Intellectual Property Strategy | This course looks at how companies can best use intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets) to protect their proprietary ideas and investments in knowledge assets, shape competition, and realize value from innovation. |
| QST SI 471 International Entrepreneurship | The class “travels” to more than fifteen countries on five continents, and analyze operations at each stage of the entrepreneurial process like market entry, forming alliances, negotiations, managing growth, and cross-border financing. Support from local governments, and the cultural, ethical, legal, and human resource issues facing the entrepreneur is also covered. |
| QST MK 466 Personal Selling | Introduction to personal selling and sales force management through good selling strategy, tactics, techniques, and skills and managing a sales group. |
| CAS EC 332 Market Structure and Economic Performance | Topics include firm concentration and conglomeration, consumer ignorance and market failure, and advertising and technological change as part of market performance and American Economic Structure |
| CAS EC 436 Economics of Corporate Organization | Economic analysis of the architecture of firms and other organizations. Topics include firm boundaries, the allocation of ownership and control, integration and outsourcing, corporate governance, performance evaluation, and compensation. |
Flavors of Entrepreneurship Courses
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| QST SI 480 Business of Tech Innovation | Provides an introduction to entrepreneurship and business for the engineer. |
| QST SI 482 Strategy for Tech-Based Firms | This interdisciplinary course covers technology life-cycles, the co-evolution of industries and technologies, strategies for commercialization of new technologies (appropriability, acquiring complementary assets and capabilities, managing technical teams, and impact of regulatory and other environmental factors on commercialization). |
| COM FT 591 Media Business Entrepreneurship | 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. 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. |
| ENG ME 502 Invention: Technology Creation | This course provides students with the knowledge and tools necessary to create, protect, and commercialize engineering and scientific intellectual assets. |
| SHA HF 307 Hospitality Entrepreneurship | This course is intended to be a capstone experience for students seeking to understand hospitality entrepreneurship and innovation as a professional business system. |
Creating Impact: Domains of Interest
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| QST PL 425 Introduction to the Health Sector: Issues & Opportunities | This course provides a dynamic introduction to the health sector, beginning with the burden and distribution of disease and current patterns of expenditures. While the primary emphasis will be on the U.S. healthcare system, a global context will be developed. |
| QST PL 430 The US Healthcare System in Transition | This course focuses on understanding the impact of regulations, customer preferences, and changing industry dynamics that increase the pressure for environmental sustainability in order to evaluate and craft recommendations for firm strategy. |
| QST SI 453 Strategies for Environmental Sustainability | This course focuses on understanding the impact of regulations, customer preferences, and changing industry dynamics that increase the pressure for environmental sustainability in order to evaluate and craft recommendations for firm strategy. |
| CAS EC 320 Economics of Less Developed Regions | This course focuses on structural changes involved with process of economic development in less developed regions |
| CAS EC 379 Firms, Markets & Economic Development | Examines the interlinked roles of business and politics in the process of economic development, with the objective of providing a framework for understanding how the private and public sectors work together to help (or impede) economic growth. |
| CAS EC 387 Introduction to Health Economics | This course focuses on effect of health on the economy, effect of health care on health, hospital behavior, health work-force supply, and demand for health care. |
| CAS GE 304/IR 304 Sustainable Development | This course focuses on the emergence of and current issues in environmentally sustainable development policy and practice. |
| CAS GE 425 Environmental Policy | Economic analysis of the architecture of firms and other organizations. Topics include firm boundaries, the allocation of ownership and control, integration and outsourcing, corporate governance, performance evaluation, and compensation. |
| CAS GE 519 Energy, Society & the Environment | This course focuses on applied political economy and the intersection of policy, energy systems, and environmental systems. |
| CAS GE 524 Environmental Justice | This course explores the origins of and current trends in environmental justice activism and scholarship. |
| CAS GE 599/IR 599 Science, Politics & Climate Change | This course is focused on science and technology studies perspective to climate change science and policy. |
| CAS HI 226 Cities & Cultures | This course examines the relationship between cultural expression and political, social, and economic change by focusing on cities such as Boston, Paris, London, Casablanca, and Johannesburg during times of intense creativity and upheaval. |
| CAS HI 227 Living in the Cities | Gateway to international urban history. Case studies of selected cities — from ancient Uruk to modern Shanghai — through scrutiny of histories and documents. |
| CAS IR 206 Introduction to the Sociology of Globalization | An introduction to globalization and explores the roles of technology, transnational corporations, and the state. |
| CAS IR 242 Globalization & World Poverty | Globalization and world poverty; how and why over 80% of the world remains poor and inequality increases despite economic modernization and democratization. Addresses urbanization, immigration, religion, politics, development politics, foreign aid, women, drugs, environment, food security. Special attention to Latin American, African, and Asian experiences. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning. |
| CAS IR 304 Environmentally Sustainable Development | This course focuses on the emergence of and current issues in environmentally sustainable development policy and practice. |
| CAS IR 594 Global Environmental Negotiation & Policy | This course provides an overview of key concepts, actors, concerns, and issues in global environmental policy and negotiations. |
| CAS SO 206 Sociology of Globalization | A sociological introduction to globalization. Explores the roles of technology, transnational corporations, and the state. Considers globalization’s impacts on the workplace, the environment, and other institutions as well as the emergence of global social movements. Carries social sciences divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. |
| CAS SO 215 Sociology of Healthcare | Social, cultural, and intercultural factors in health and illness. Training and socialization of medical professionals, roots of medical power and authority, organization and operation of health care facilities. U.S. health care system and its main problems. Comparison of health care systems in the U.S. and in other countries. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning. |
| CAS SO 244 Urban Sociology | An analysis of cities and urban phenomena in preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial societies with an emphasis on European and U.S. urbanization. A comparison of social scientific theories used to explain urban dynamics, processes, and policies. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking, Social Inquiry I. |
| CFA FA 510 Arts Leaders Forum | The “Arts Leaders Forum” consists of a series of conversations with arts leaders, including entrepreneurs, community leaders and established industry experts. Each week guests will share their experiences with the class. In addition to guest speakers, students will focus on leadership skills and exercises through readings and cases. The goal of this course is to give students insight into the pressing issues of managing arts organizations, to gain leadership skills and to provide insight into career options. |
| CFA FA 530 Collaborative Arts Incubator | 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. The social justice component is a significant element of the course. |
| CFA FA 560 The Creative Economy and Social Impact | This course explores the creative economy & social impact and where creative professionals intersect with placemaking, industry, and cultural entrepreneurship. The course covers a variety of topics including: creative placemaking; the artist as entrepreneur; business and leadership models for the creative industries. All topics are explored with a Social Impact lens. Through case studies, guest speakers, readings, and group exercises, students learn about innovative entrepreneurial initiatives that straddle the boundaries between the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Guided exercises enable students to assess and develop their skills as future social impact and change agents using an entrepreneurial mindset. |
| HUB XC 433 A1 Zero Waste | In this experiential, project-based course student groups will be directly impacting the BU Campus, by better understanding the problem, and by collaboratively creating solutions to help BU achieve the goal of Zero Waste by 2030. |
| HUB XC 433 B1 Hands-0n | In this course, students from across BU’s many colleges will explore how a broad range of puppetry techniques can help them to investigate and then communicate abstract theories, philosophies, and complex processes, injecting them with humor, suspense, and awe. |
| HUB XC 433 C1 Spirits Of Border | This course provides students with the opportunity to study and practice social cross-cultural research methodologies, including designing qualitative research questions, connecting and engaging with targeted populations, collecting data through SOW’s storytelling interviews, analyzing data, and presenting their findings in written and visual formats. |
| HUB XC 433 D1 High Stakes – Creating social equity in the Cannabis industry | A unique project-based learning experience in which interdisciplinary student teams from across BU’s undergraduate colleges tackle real-world problems and develop marketable leadership, team work, and communication skills. |
| HUB XC 433 E1 Justice Media Computational Journalism Co-Lab | This investigative journalism assignment, focused on issues of justice and accountability, will provide students from diverse disciplines an opportunity to work with and publish investigations in professional news outlets including NPR, the Boston Globe, the Baystate Banner, and more. |
Innovator's Toolkit
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| QST SM 275 Management Communications | Persuasive written and oral communications are essential skills that are required for success in every business discipline. In this course, students will learn how to communicate clearly and persuasively. |
| QST IS 474 Platform Strategy & Design | Today’s most valuable and powerful companies do not offer standalone products or services, but rather platforms which enable transactions between multiple customer groups — think Alibaba, Airbnb, Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Uber, etc. This course explores the unique strategy challenges and economic foundations of such platform businesses. |
| QST LA 245 Introduction to Law | Provides a broad overview of the American judicial system and fundamental legal issues. Examines dispute resolution, torts, contracts, criminal law, business organizations, employment law, intellectual property, and international law. The goal is to understand not only the basic rules of law but also the underlying social policies and ethical dilemmas. |
| QST LA 355 Employment Law | An in-depth look at the legal issues involved in the employer/employee relationship. Such topics include: discrimination, affirmative action, harassment, the hiring process, employee testing, and terminating employees (for cause, layoffs). Discussions will focus on the duties and rights of both parties through the stages of employment, from hiring and managing your workforce, to benefits, conditions of employment, and downsizing. |
| QST LA 365 Securities Regulations | This course will focus upon the key federal statutes that regulate securities and participants in the securities markets. Provides a broad overview of the American judicial system and fundamental legal issues. Examines dispute resolution, torts, contracts, criminal law, business organizations, employment law, intellectual property, and international law. The goal is to understand not only the basic rules of law but also the underlying social policies and ethical dilemmas. |
| QST LA 484 Online Privacy and Internet Law | This course explores online privacy regulation and law, cybersecurity law, and Internet regulation. The goal is not to create Internet regulatory attorneys, but to give students a solid awareness of the Internet privacy regulation and the pitfalls of not being aware of those regulations. Students will also learn how to create crisis strategies for dealing with a major breach. |
| QST MO 460 The Leadership Challenge | This course dives into the theory and practice of leadership, emphasizing the perspective that leaders are needed at all levels in organizations and society. In addition to studying the practices of effective leaders, the course focuses on developing your leadership competencies through active experimentation and reflection, designing and leading a team community service project, and building leadership, communication, and collaboration skills. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, The Individual in Community. |
| QST SI 352 Innovation & the Dynamics of Enterprise in America (IDEA) | This course reviews the history of innovation in USA, focusing on ‘golden era’ of innovation from 1870—1940, as well as enabling innovations from 1776-1840 and subsequent innovations of 1940-present. |
| QST SI 451 Organizing for Design and Innovation | This course examines how managers and leaders can create the conditions for innovation at the individual, team and organizational levels and how those conditions differ for startup and mature organizations. |
| CAS AN 103 Anthropology through Ethnography | Examines the diversity of human lifeways and cultures across a variety of societies and through time, as well as the social processes that shape individuals. Seminar- style introduction to cultural anthropology through reading of ethnography, with discussion and debate. (For anthropology majors, this course can serve as a substitute for AN 101.) Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking. |
| CAS AH 210 Learning to See | Strengthens your ability to describe and analyze the visual world. From fundamentals such as color and composition to the design of advertisements, propaganda, and appliances. A lab component with frequent visits to the MFA and other Boston sites provides opportunities for direct engagement with objects, images, and the built environment. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking. |
| CAS AN 220 Urban Anthropology | An introduction to classic and contemporary definitions of the city and ethnographic approaches to the study of urban life. Examines urban inequalities and the stratification of space by immigration, gender, racialization, and poverty. Participants conduct mini- ethnographic projects in the city of Boston. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy. |
| CAS AN 309 Boston: An Ethnographic Approach | Using the tools of ethnographic practice, explores Boston’s multiple identities. Boston’s patterns of immigration and demographic change are mapped through fieldwork and historical documentation. On site observations will help students understand local meanings of place and community. |
| CAS CS 103 Intro to Internet Tech | Introduction to the basic architecture and protocols underlying the operation of the Internet with an emphasis on Web design, Web application programming, and algorithmic thinking. General familiarity with the Internet is assumed. Carries MCS divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Digital/Multimedia Expression. |
| CAS CS 491 Spark! Product Innovation Course | Independent study in Computer Science under the guidance of a faculty member. Student and supervising faculty member arrange and document expectations and requirements. Examples include internship opportunities for academic credit, in-depth study of a special topic, or independent research project. |
| CAS CS 591 Spark! Special Topics X-Lab Practicum | Various issues in computer science that vary semester to semester. Please contact the CAS Computer Science Department for detailed descriptions. Though courses are variable credit, registration for less than four credits requires instructor approval. |
| CAS EC 323 Behavioral Economics | Introduction to a new field in economics that challenges the traditional model of rational decision-making and uses research in psychology to construct alternative models. Covers the theory of choice under certainty, uncertainty, and temptation; biases in judgment; social preferences. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking. |
| CAS EC 333 Market Structure and Public Policy | Discussion of selected markets determined by the instructor. Introduction to antitrust and regulatory policy. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking. |
| CAS EC 404 Economics of Information | Introduction to the field of information economics and its applications. Covers a wide range of situations in which players have access to different private information and this private information differently affects their incentives and strategic behavior. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking. |
| CAS SO 302 Social Networks | Examines social networks in the economy, family and community, technology, politics and crime, religious and social movement organizations, and popular culture. Introduces the social network perspective, and its tools of analysis. |
| CAS SO 304 Formal Organizations | Formal organizations as social systems. Theory of bureaucracy and administrative functions. The bases of authority, communication systems, and formal and nonformal structures. Organizational development, trends, and relations with the social environment. |
| CAS SO 313 Economic Sociology | Presents the sociological approach to the study of production, distribution, consumption and markets, emphasizing the impact of norms, power, social structure, and institutions on the economy. Compares classic and contemporary approaches to the economy by the social science disciplines. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Ethical Reasoning, Research and Information Literacy. |
| CFA AR 210 Digital Tools | Digital Tools explores the integration of digital media with traditional artistic practice. Students will learn basic skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premier, and will be encouraged to think conceptually and apply these tools to a variety of media. The goal of this course is to expand the perception of the computer as a tool in the studio and create a better understanding of the conceptual impact a digital approach will have on studio-based work. |
| COM CM 215 Principles & Practice of Public Relations | An introduction to the field of public relations: its theoretical origins, scope, and principles. Discussion focuses on researching problems, setting objectives, identifying audiences, designing messages, choosing communication channels, and evaluating results for all types of organizations. Ethical decision making, on-line communication, and career opportunities are also analyzed case studies in the field. The format is a combination of informal lecture and small-group discussion, case analysis, and guest lecture. Open the freshmen. (Formerly CM301. Students cannot take this course for credit if they have already taken CM301.) |
| COM CM 217 Introduction to Advertising | Explores the history, nature, function, and social and economic aspects of advertising: ethical responsibilities, psychological appeals, marketing, media research, product analysis, creative strategies, and agency operation. Students prepare comprehensive advertising plans, including marketing strategy and speculative advertising campaigns. Open to freshmen. (Formerly CM317. Students cannot take this for credit if they have already taken CM317.) |
| ENG ME 517 Product Development | 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. |
| HUB XC 475 A1 Spark! Technology Innovation Fellowship | The Spark! Innovation Fellowship program supports student innovators passionate about solving problems through technology. |
Communications: Can pick 0 or 1 of the following courses
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| COM CM 211 Professional Presentations | Students will learn the essentials of effective presentation, from preparation, audience analysis, and content development to critical thinking when presenting. Students will incorporate theories and skills of effective communication in a variety of contexts (e.g., common business and social settings). Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Oral and/or Signed Communication. |
| COM CO 101 The Human Storyteller | Introduces students to many fundamental principles of communication. Students also learn about the intertwined nature of communication professions as they explore the major fields of study in communication. Guest lectures from various industries inform students of potential future career paths. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Digital/Multimedia Expression. |
| COM CO 201 Intro to Communication Writing | The College of Communication’s core undergraduate writing course. Students refresh their grammatical and stylistic skills and apply those skills to professional writing assignments. Prepares students to write with clarity, conciseness, precision, and accuracy for the communication fields. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy. (Students on the Hub cannot take WR100 as a pre-requisite.) |
| COM JO 205 Visual Storytelling | An introductory course designed to provide students with a basic working knowledge of the media required for professional journalism, including photography, sound, video, and editing for production of multimedia packages. No previous experience in visual media is required. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Creativity/Innovation. |
FAQ’s
Why should I pursue an Innovation & Entrepreneurship minor? Students majoring in a discipline but interested in creating or launching an innovative idea or venture related to that discipline are well suited for this minor. Students will develop a holistic stakeholder view of how different parties both contribute to and alleviate social problems, learn how to conduct field research, develop novel insights and reframe innovation challenges to enable creative solutioning. Students learn to identify the key elements and conditions that can amplify or inhibit the individual and collective creative process. Through experiential learning, students will take creative risks and lead ideation processes, learn how to mobilize & influence others to take collective action and learn how to transition an idea into a communicable concept that can gain support from others to become viable and create either social or economic impact.
Who is eligible to participate in this minor? The Innovation & Entrepreneurship minor is available to all undergraduate students at BU and supported by a University-wide initiative: Innovate@BU.
Is this a Questrom minor? No this is a minor available to all undergraduate students at BU and supported by a university wide initiative: Innovate@BU.
What are the required courses for the minor? The only required class is QST SI 250 (which will be cross-listed as SO 251 2020-2021). This class is also approved for Hub units in Social Inquiry 1, The Individual in Community and Creativity/Innovation.
What else do I have to take to complete the minor? 1 Entrepreneurship course chosen from a list of several options and three electives (in either Entrepreneurship, Creating Impact, or Innovator’s Tool-Kit courses).
Do the three elective courses have to be from the same category? (Entrepreneurship, Creating Impact, or Innovator's Tool-Kit) No, students must take one Entrepreneurship course. The three additional electives can be chosen from any of the categories.
What are the available courses I can choose from to fulfill my electives for the minor? Electives can be chosen from three different categories: Entrepreneurship, Creating Impact, and Innovator’s Tool-Kit. You can take 0, 1, 2 or 3 courses from each category (but one Entrepreneurship course is required). Entrepreneurship courses cover topics such as developing and scaling new ventures. Creating Impact courses cover topics such as social impact, sustainability, global development, and social justice. Innovator’s Tool-Kit courses cover topics such as field research, networks/organization, leadership, communication, digital tools, law, PR/advertising. There is a limit (0 or 1) to the number of COM classes that can be applied toward the Innovator’s Tool-Kit category.
Do I have to take the elective courses outside of my home school? The electives chosen do not have to be outside of the student’s home school although it is our hope that the minor helps open up relevant classes in other schools to students across campus.
Can I count classes for the minor toward my major? As is the case for all minors at BU, students can “double count” up to two classes or 8 credits for both the minor and their major. At schools and colleges that have a concentration (such as ENG or Questrom) there are no restrictions against double-counting classes for a concentration and a minor.
Are Questrom students required to take a Questrom Entrepreneurship elective? No, Questrom students do not have to take their Entrepreneurship elective from Questrom but may do so if they choose. Entrepreneurship classes are also offered by ENG, SHA and CAS.
Will petitions for course substitutions be allowed? Ex: Could a course offered through BU Study Abroad count toward the minor? Yes, we will review petitions for course substitutions on a case by case basis and consider relevant courses from Study Abroad that might fit the criteria for the required Entrepreneurship class and the electives. It is unlikely that a Study Abroad class could replace the required class: QST SI 250: Ideas2Impact. Petitions for course substitutions should be submitted through the petition process at your home school or college and reviewed by the faculty curriculum director of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship minor.
I completed or intend to complete the Innovate@BU Co-curricular and/or Summer Accelerator program. Will these experiences fulfill the QST SI 250 core class requirement? QST SI 250 is the required core for the minor and there are no substitutes. There may be a small overlap with content presented in the BUild co-curricular or summer accelerator on design thinking but these skills will be applied differently for the minor. As there are many ways to incorporate design thinking into innovation, this overlap is by design rather than by accident.
How do I declare my interest in pursuing the I&E minor? Interested students should declare their interest in pursuing the I&E minor on this form. By completing this form, you are not officially declaring the I & E minor. Please follow the process of your home school or college to officially declare the minor.
There is an elective class I would like to take for the minor offered by another school but I cannot figure out how to register for it. What should I do? If the course is in session, students should proceed to add the class using a drop/add form in advance of the add deadline. Prior to the start of the semester: students should follow the guidelines of their respective school or college’s advising office with respect to registering for a course. If the class is completely full, please seek out a different elective to take that semester.
The elective course I want to take lists a prerequisite course. Do I need to take those as well? The classes listed for the minor have agreed to permit students declaring the I&E minor to take enroll without the listed prerequisites. However, please keep in mind that any prerequisites listed are designed to provide adequate preparation for the class. It is the responsibility of the student to identify electives that both meet the I&E minor requirements and fit with their abilities.
Where do I go if I still have questions? Please check in with your home school advising office.