The Minor in Entrepreneurship

Undergraduate Conrad School students working on a whiteboard

Enhance your academic degree with the business skills required to move ideas from concept to commercial, organizational, or social success. 

What is the minor in entrepreneurship? 

The minor is designed for students with a passion for entrepreneurship who wish to leverage their academic and technical background with the business skills required to move ideas from concept to commercial, organizational, or social success.

It is built upon a uniquely Waterloo approach to entrepreneurship education that integrates academic and experiential learning to develop an individual’s capabilities. This is achieved through a combination of co-operative or capstone project educational experiences and academic content.

The eight courses in the minor are designed to equip students with the skills and domain-specific knowledge they need to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions, while the entrepreneurial experience presents an opportunity to apply classroom learning in real-time.

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Requirements 

The minor in entrepreneurship requires the successful completion of eight courses and one experiential milestone.

You can review examples of possible student pathways to obtain their minor below.

Core Courses

Three core courses recommended to be taken in the following order:  

  1. BET 100 Foundations of Entrepreneurial Practice 
  2. BET 320 Entrepreneurial Strategy 
  3. BET 340 Essentials of Entrepreneurial Planning and Execution (formerly BET 310)

Elective Courses

You have the flexibility to choose your five electives in the following ways:

  1. All five electives can be selected from the list of BET courses below.

    OR

  2. You may take three BET courses and two additional electives from your home faculty*. 

    OR

  3. You may take four BET courses and one additional elective from your home faculty*.

*subject to approval by the Conrad School Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs.
Note: Non-BET elective courses should align with the objectives of the Minor, enhance your understanding of entrepreneurship and business, and/or be in a technical area related to the venture you are building. 
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BET Courses

Learn more about BET Courses: 
  • BET 210 Business Technologies and Infrastructure
  • BET 300 Foundations of Venture Creation
  • BET 350 Customer Experience Design
  • BET 360 Design for Social Ventures
  • BET 400 Growing Early Stage Ventures
  • BET 405 Digital Leadership and Transformation
  • BET 420 Entrepreneurship for Social Impact
  • BET 430 Sales Fundamentals 
  • BET 450 Leadership
  • BET 460 Business Negotiations
  • BET 580 Consulting

Milestone

In addition to the coursework, students must complete an experiential milestone related to entrepreneurship.

This hands-on experience will help you apply what you've learned in real-world settings. 

Possible milestones include:

  • Enterprise Co-op
  • BET 300
  • Working at a start-up during a co-op term or working on an entrepreneurial project within a large organization

Approval of experiential milestones as an appropriate entrepreneurial experience will rest with the Conrad School Associate Director Undergraduate Programs

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Grade Requirements

To successfully complete the Minor in Entrepreneurship, you must: 
  • Maintain an overall average of 65% across all courses 
  • Achieve no grade lower than 60% in any individual course 
  • The experiential milestone is graded on a credit/non-credit basis 
By completing the Minor in Entrepreneurship, you will gain the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experience needed to pursue your entrepreneurial goals, whether you’re starting your own venture or working in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment. 
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Review

Review the requirements listed above for the minor in entrepreneurship. Succesful completion of eight courses and one experiential milestone is required and it is the student's responsibility to ensure they are aware of these.

Submit

Please complete and submit the Plan Modification Form below to declare a new academic plan or to make changes to your current plan(s) or program. You will need to meet with the Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs who will sign off on your form.

Connect

It is the student's responsibility to connect with the Conrad School Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs before their third year of study to ensure they are on track with meeting the milestone requirements. However, if you have questions regarding the milestone, please do not hesitate to reach out.

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Possible Student Pathways

Please see the below examples of the possible options for student pathways to obtain the Minor.

Example of an ARBUS student's pathway to Minor in Entrepreneurship

Core BET Courses
  • BET 100
  • BET 320
  • BET 340
Elective BET courses:
  • BET 350
  • BET 360
  • BET 460
  • BET 580
  • 400 level marketing course from their home program
Milestone:
  • worked at a startup for co-op

Example of a GDBA student's pathway to Minor in Entrepreneurship

Core BET Courses
  • BET 100
  • BET 320
  • BET 340
Elective BET courses:
  • BET 210
  • BET 350
  • BET 405
  • Two 300/400 level courses from their home program
    • example:
      • GBDA 304
      • GBDA 311
Milestone:
  • Capstone project
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Minor in Entrepreneurship requirements  - Fall 2017 and earlier

Students who began the minor in entrepreneurship prior to the Winter 2018 term may choose to follow either the current minor requirements or the pre-Winter 2018 requirements noted below. 

Venture creation track

Core courses. These courses are common to both tracks.

  • BET 100 Essentials of Entrepreneurial Behaviour
  • BET 320 Introduction to Commercialization Management
  • BET 400 Growing Early Stage Ventures
  • BET 420 Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility

Track-specific courses. These courses provide the necessary knowledge to move a venture idea from conception to launch, applied in real-time along with the experiential component.

  • BET 300 Foundations of Venture Creation
  • BET 310 Enterprise Co-op Entrepreneurship Planning and Execution

Electives. These courses must be approved by the Minor Coordinator based on their relevance to the experiential component. 

  • two electives relevant to the experiential component (can be double-counted with other degree courses)

Experiential component. Students in a co-op program will satisfy the experiential component through the completion of an Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) term. Students who are not in a co-op program will satisfy the experiential component by building their venture during a non-academic term or a school term, completing the same requirements expected of an E Co-op term.

Corporate Entrepreneurship track 

Core courses. These courses are common to both tracks.

  • BET 100 Essentials of Entrepreneurial Behaviour
  • BET 320 Introduction to Commercialization Management
  • BET 400 Growing Early Stage Ventures
  • BET 420 Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility

Track-specific courses. Taken concurrently with the experiential component, these courses support students' efforts at developing their entrepreneurial project.

  • BET 411 Capstone Entrepreneurship Planning and Execution
  • BET 412 Advanced Topics in Entrepreneurship (or equivalent)

Electives. These courses must be approved by the Minor Coordinator based on their relevance to the experiential component. 

  • two electives relevant to the experiential component (these can be double-counted with other courses taken for your degree)

Experiential component. Students will explore and develop the commercial potential or viability of their major end-of-program project. This should be a capstone project, a research-based thesis, or an independent project approved by the Minor Coordinator.