As a liberal arts college devoted to changing the world, Holy Cross believes it's critical to foster an entrepreneurial spirit to be competitive in the today’s market. The following courses are designed to leverage the skills learned as part of a liberal arts education and apply them to venture creation, corporate innovation and social impact.
Entrepreneurship 101
CIS 208
Entrepreneurship begins with a vision. This course focuses on the foundations of entrepreneurship and is appropriate for students from any major. It is designed to introduce students to the entrepreneurial process so that they may begin to shape their own entrepreneurial vision. Course objectives include an introduction to the challenges of entrepreneurship, an understanding of the ethical environment in which entrepreneurs operate, the skills to think critically and work toward the ability to evaluate opportunities in the business. This is a course that includes project-based entrepreneurial activities where students work to test and validate ideas.
Due to the project-based nature of the class, the beginning of the week we will focus on learning the concepts, whereas the lab will be time to do fieldwork, peer-to-peer feedback, and building of venture. In addition to classes, faculty will hold periodic mentor meetings with teams.
Social Entrepreneurship
CIS 299
Social entrepreneurs challenge the status quo by identifying social problems, mobilizing resources, building networks and unleashing market forces to create value for the betterment of humanity. From homelessness to famine, from illiteracy to informal entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurs around the world tackle the toughest problems that are often ignored because governments and organizations lack the flexibility to experiment. Lasting solutions, however, require the creativity, empathy, and resilience that come from an entrepreneurial spirit.
Through this course you will gain an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges in social entrepreneurship while learning concepts to frame the problem and create sustainable development. To do so, we will engage with the literature, case studies, and conduct active debates. The classes will be highly interactive and your active participation and presence is required.