Overview

Entrepreneurs are creative problem-solvers that are driven to create their own financial futures and have a big impact on the world. Entrepreneurship is a way of life; anyone can be entrepreneurial—whether you want to start the next Google, take control of your work-life balance with a lifestyle business, be a leader driving change and innovation in an existing company or have a positive impact on the world with a social venture.

The Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (EIM) major and courses, offered by the Department of Management, are highly experiential and designed to be real-world relevant and high impact. Students will get out of the classroom to work on ideas and ventures about which they are passionate. Coursework focuses on a variety of topics that enable students to become successful entrepreneurs, high impact intrapreneurs and social change leaders. Students will learn how to operate with open mindsets, uncover high impact opportunities, develop innovative product and service solutions, quickly and affordably validate ideas, pivot as the world evolves, develop effective Business Model Canvases (BMC) and Business Plans, and successfully pitch for and secure funding. These skills are highly valued by employers and leaders within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Careers and Placements

Our graduates have appeared in the Forbes "30 under 30", have founded companies among the fastest growing in Philadelphia, have raised substantial funding as they launch and scale their ventures, and have created amazing positive impact as they address complex social issues.

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management major is a good choice for students who:

  • would like to start a new venture or business;
  • would like to achieve a desired lifestyle doing consulting, freelancing, or gig work;
  • plan to assume responsibilities in a family business;
  • want to work in the dynamic and exciting environment of startup ventures or the entrepreneurial ecosystem (for example, accelerators and incubators);
  • want to innovate and lead change in a high-growth organization; or
  • want to have positive social impact with a social venture, non-profit, or multi-bottom line organization.

Getting the Most Out of Your Major

Through Temple's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management BBA you will learn to:

  • Creatively solve business problems,
  • Recognize opportunities to create value for customers,
  • Develop and drive organizational innovation,
  • Quickly and inexpensively test your ideas,
  • Design business models that drive critical outcomes,
  • Create high-impact pitch decks, and
  • Write business plans for funding.

Co-Curricular Opportunities

We offer many academic and co-curricular opportunities for our entrepreneurship majors to get the most from their time at Temple:

  • Practical Hands-On Curriculum - Come to class ready to identify opportunities and evolve your entrepreneurial ideas. Our courses are taught by successful serial entrepreneurs, experienced venture capital executives, senior innovators and successful executives who have turned ideas into reality across a wide range of contexts.
  • Learn about the IEI - The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute houses co-curricular programs for the EIM major.
  • Join the 1810 Accelerator - The 1810 Accelerator is the home for entrepreneurs and innovators on Temple's campus. Accelerator membership is open to students, alumni, faculty and staff from all 17 schools and colleges at Temple University. Apply for 1810 Accelerator membership.
  • Entrepreneurial Student Association (ESA) - We expect all EIM majors to be active members in the ESA where they can meet exciting Philly-based entrepreneurs and work on a variety of interesting projects with local companies and the community.
  • Participate in IEI competitions - Throughout the year, the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI) runs the Innovative Idea Competition (IIC), Changemaker Challenge (CMC), and Be Your Own Boss Bowl (BYOBB). EIM majors should be competing in these competitions as often as possible. Learn more about these competitions.
  • Entrepreneurial Internships - We want our Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management majors to have relevant business experience when they graduate. Thus, our program includes a required internship course SGM 3685 in which students will do an internship within a startup, accelerator, incubator or other entrepreneurial support program.
  • Launch a Venture NOW! - While all our classes let students work on projects that move their ideas closer to market readiness, one popular class lets students actually launch a new venture while in school: SGM 3504 Launch a New Venture in 100 Days. We want to be able to say that all of our EIM graduates are already successful entrepreneurs before they graduate.

Campus Location: Main

Program Code: BU-EIM-BBA

Related Academic Programs

For students interested in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (EIM), we offer several academic options including:

Other programs offered by the Department of Management are:

  • International Business Administration Minor
  • Organizational Leadership Minor
  • Sales Minor

Note: Entrepreneurship courses are listed under the subject "Strategic Management" (SGM).

Contact Information

John A. McClendon, Chair
Alter Hall, Room 354
215-204-1910
johnmac@temple.edu

Alan B. Kerzner, Academic Director for the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management Major and Director for the Temple University Entrepreneurship Academy
1810 Liacouras Walk, Room 172
215-204-8188
alan.kerzner@temple.edu

Department of Management
Alter Hall, Room 333
215-204-5183
mgmtdept@temple.edu

Learn more about the Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management.

These requirements are for students who matriculated in academic year 2023-2024. Students who matriculated prior to fall 2023 should refer to the Archives to view the requirements for their Bulletin year.

Summary of Requirements

University Requirements 

All new students are required to complete the university's General Education (GenEd) curriculum.

Note that students not continuously enrolled who have not been approved for a Leave of Absence or study elsewhere must follow University requirements current at the time of re-enrollment.

College Requirements

Students must meet College Graduation Requirements for the Bachelor of Business Administration, including the requirements of the major listed below. Students must attain an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher in the major and must maintain a 2.0 GPA overall in order to graduate as an entrepreneurship major. Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management students are expected to participate in the Entrepreneurial Student Association.

Major Requirements

Students must follow the Major Requirements and College Requirements current at the time of declaration. Students not continuously enrolled who have not been approved for a Leave of Absence or study elsewhere must follow University, College, and Major requirements current at the time of re-enrollment.

Requirements of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management Major

SGM 3501Entrepreneurial and Innovative Thinking3
SGM 3503Lean Startup: Fast and Inexpensive Ways to Test and Launch Your Ideas3
SGM 4596Strategic Business Planning: Feasibility Assessment / Business Planning for Entrepreneurial Ventures 13
Select one Entrepreneurial Internship elective: 23
Social Impact Internship - Work with Benefit/B-corps, Non-profits, or Multi-bottom-line Ventures
New Venture Internship: Learning to be a High-Value Employee, Manager, or Founder
Select one Entrepreneurial Sales & Marketing elective:3
Launch a New Venture in 100 Days
Marketing Research
Select one Entrepreneurial Breadth-Depth elective:3
Doing Well by Doing Good: Where Innovation and Entrepreneurship Meet Social Impact
Pitching and Funding Entrepreneurial Ventures
Launch a New Venture in 100 Days 3
Social Impact Internship - Work with Benefit/B-corps, Non-profits, or Multi-bottom-line Ventures 3
Digital Disruption in Financial Services
Power, Influence and Negotiation
Intrapreneurship in the 21st Century
Short Study Trip Abroad: Doing Business in a Foreign Country 4
Global Entrepreneurship
Information Systems Innovation
Social Media Innovation
Entrepreneurship in Sport, Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality
Special Topics - Strategic Management 5
Independent Study 6
Total Credit Hours18
1

This is the major capstone and all prerequisites must be met.

2

Although internships are not a prerequisite for SGM 4596, students are strongly encouraged to take SGM 3585/SGM 3685 prior to their final semester at Temple to optimize options at graduation and balance workload.

3

SGM 3504 or SGM 3585 can only be taken to satisfy Entrepreneurial Breadth-Depth Elective if not already completed to satisfy other major course requirements.

4

Students interested in enrolling in IB 2509 should be aware that it is a competitive program and, if accepted, their project should be Entrepreneurship related. Please contact: study.abroad@temple.edu

5

SGM 3580 course topics vary by semester. Approval of the academic director, chair, or approved department personnel is required. Not all SGM 3580 course topics are appropriate for EIM students.

6

SGM 3682 Independent Study projects will be identified or created by the department or may be proposed by faculty/students collaborating where coursework does not match student's goals or needs and faculty are available to oversee a project. Approval of the academic director, chair, or approved department personnel is required.

Notes

Students pursuing a double major in business can double-count a maximum of one course toward both majors.

Students pursuing a minor may not double count courses for the major and minor.

Suggested Academic Plan

Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management

Suggested Plan for New Students Starting in the 2023-2024 Academic Year

Please note that this plan is suggested only, ensuring prerequisites are met.

Plan of Study Grid
Year 1
FallCredit Hours
STAT 1001 Quantitative Methods for Business I 3
ECON 1101 Macroeconomic Principles 3
HRM 1101 Leadership and Organizational Management 3
ENG 0802
Analytical Reading and Writing
or Analytical Reading and Writing: ESL
or Honors Writing About Literature
4
GenEd Breadth Course 3
 Credit Hours16
Spring
STAT 1102 Quantitative Methods for Business II 4
ECON 1102 Microeconomic Principles 3
BA 1103 Legal and Ethical Reasoning in Business 3
IH 0851
Intellectual Heritage I: The Good Life
or Honors Intellectual Heritage I: The Good Life
3
GenEd Breadth Course 1 3
 Credit Hours16
Year 2
Fall
ACCT 2103 Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making 4
STAT 2103 Statistical Business Analytics (waives GenEd Quantitative Literacy requirement) 4
MIS 2101 Digital Systems 3
IH 0852
Intellectual Heritage II: The Common Good
or Honors Intellectual Heritage II: The Common Good
3
GenEd Breadth Course 3
 Credit Hours17
Spring
MKTG 2101 Marketing Management 3
BA 2101 Professional Development Strategies 1
BA 2196 Business Communications 3
Select one of the following: 2 3
Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Visualizing Data
Business Analytics: Modern Data Science Techniques
RMI 2101 Introduction to Risk Management 3
GenEd Breadth Course 3
 Credit Hours16
Year 3
Fall
FIN 3101 Financial Management 3
MSOM 3101 Operations Management 3
SGM 3501 Entrepreneurial and Innovative Thinking 3
Business Elective 3 3
Free Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Spring
SGM 3503 Lean Startup: Fast and Inexpensive Ways to Test and Launch Your Ideas 3
Select one Entrepreneurial Sales & Marketing elective: 3
Launch a New Venture in 100 Days
Marketing Research
Select one Entrepreneurial Breadth-Depth elective: 3
Launch a New Venture in 100 Days
Doing Well by Doing Good: Where Innovation and Entrepreneurship Meet Social Impact
Pitching and Funding Entrepreneurial Ventures
Special Topics - Strategic Management
Social Impact Internship - Work with Benefit/B-corps, Non-profits, or Multi-bottom-line Ventures
Independent Study
Digital Disruption in Financial Services
Power, Influence and Negotiation
Intrapreneurship in the 21st Century
Short Study Trip Abroad: Doing Business in a Foreign Country
Global Entrepreneurship
Information Systems Innovation
Social Media Innovation
Entrepreneurship in Sport, Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality
Business Elective 3 3
GenEd Breadth Course 3
 Credit Hours15
Year 4
Fall
BA 4102 Strategic Management 3
Select one Entrepreneurial Internship elective: 3
Social Impact Internship - Work with Benefit/B-corps, Non-profits, or Multi-bottom-line Ventures
New Venture Internship: Learning to be a High-Value Employee, Manager, or Founder
GenEd Breadth Course 3
GenEd Breadth Course 3
Free Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Spring
SGM 4596 Strategic Business Planning: Feasibility Assessment / Business Planning for Entrepreneurial Ventures 3
Business Elective 3 3
Free Elective 3
Free Elective 3
Free Elective 2
 Credit Hours14
 Total Credit Hours124
1

SGM 0827 is recommended for students interested in participating in the Innovation Idea Competition or taking SGM 3504 Launch a New Venture in 100 Days. SGM 0827 also fulfills the GenEd Human Behavior (GB) requirement.

2

Please check with your departmental advisor on which course is most appropriate for the major.

3

2000-3999 electives can be selected from: ACCT, AS, BA, ECON, FIN, HRM, IB, LGLS, MIS, MKTG, RE, RMI, STAT, SCM, SGM. Please see your advisor for elective suggestions that match your career objectives.