Curriculum
Babson was one of the first academic institutions in the world to offer a course in entrepreneurship. Since then, we have been internationally recognized as the leader in entrepreneurship education.
Entrepreneurship isn’t just an academic discipline at Babson; it is a way of life. Our faculty and staff recognize the interdisciplinary value of entrepreneurship and weave it throughout our curricular and co-curricular programs. The skills learned in our entrepreneurship classes are vital for the success of any business—large or small, public or private, corporate or not-for-profit, local or global.
Babson students learn to recognize, create and shape opportunities, provide leadership, and build the team to create economic and social value. Our students learn to assess the feasibility and drivers of opportunities, develop viable business models, and take action. We teach both predictive and creative approaches to all aspects of launching, growing, and expanding businesses and organizations. While our entrepreneurship courses provide a broad skill set for business they also provide highly customized paths for a variety of business contexts, including new ventures, franchises, corporate ventures, socially responsible companies, and family-controlled enterprises.
Required Core Courses
For descriptions of required core courses, please go to the respective curriculum page for your program of interest:
- Undergraduate Core Curriculum
- The Graduate Degree Core Curriculum varies by program:
Elective Courses
Undergraduate Concentrations
The Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Concentration focuses on the creation of social and economic value by developing core capabilities of idea generation, opportunity recognition, resource acquisition and entrepreneurial management. Entrepreneurship students will learn to shape entrepreneurial opportunities, assess financial feasibility, while living an entrepreneurial experience. This experience includes forming teams, constructing business models, talking with partners and customers, assessing feasibility, while launching a new venture or initiative. The skills and competencies gained in an Entrepreneurship Concentration are vital for the success of any business or organization, including from nascent start-up, corporation, family, non-profit, global, franchise or any other setting. Entrepreneurship concentrators will apply entrepreneurial thought and action both academically as well as in real world settings. The concentration also provides customized paths for students wishing to specialize in general retail or service, technology, social/non-profit, family, global or corporate settings. The Entrepreneurship Concentration requires selection from various courses.
Faculty Advisors are available when undergraduate students are planning their concentrations and classes. The Advisors for the Entrepreneurship division are Professor Lakshmi Balachandra, and Senior Lecturer Mary Gale.
Graduate Concentrations
The Graduate Entrepreneurship Concentration focuses on the creation of social and economic value by developing core capabilities of idea generation, opportunity recognition, resource acquisition, and entrepreneurial management. Entrepreneurship students will learn to shape entrepreneurial opportunities and assess financial feasibility, while living an entrepreneurial experience.
This experience includes forming teams, constructing business models, talking with partners and customers, and assessing feasibility, while launching a new venture or initiative. The skills and competencies gained in an Entrepreneurship concentration are vital for the success of any business or organization including nascent startup, corporation, family, nonprofit, global, franchise, or any other setting. Entrepreneurship concentrators will apply Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® both academically as well as in real world settings. The concentration also provides customized paths for students wishing to specialize in general retail or service, technology, social/nonprofit, family, global, or corporate settings.
Special Leadership Programs
Undergraduate Level: FME (Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship)
At the undergraduate level, the Entrepreneurship Division plays a strong role in teaching and developing materials for the Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (FME) program. This is a yearlong immersion into the world of business in which student teams invent, develop, launch, manage, and liquidate a business. Along the way, students study entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting, organizational behavior, information systems, and operations.
Graduate Level: EIT (Entrepreneurship Intensity Track)
The Entrepreneurship Division’s signature class at the Graduate level is the Entrepreneurship Intensity Track (EIT). The Entrepreneurship Intensity Track is a specialized two-course elective series for students who are pursuing a venture they hope to launch shortly after graduation. Due to the structure of the class, it does follow its own application process and not all students are guaranteed acceptance in to the program. The class is designed to provide mentors, resources and leadership as students prepare to launch a business upon graduation. This class is generally taken in the spring semester of the student’s graduating year.
Pre-requisites for this class are:
- EPS7500: Entrepreneurship
- EPS7545: Buying a Small Business
- Participation in the annual Rocket Pitch competition
Co-Curricular Programs
Additionally, the Entrepreneurship Division works with the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship in many co-curricular programs to enhance the overall learning experience for students at Babson who thrive to become successful entrepreneurs.