Summer Entrepreneurship Academy

MAN 327 Innovation and Entrepreneurship

General Course Description: Explores the theoretical foundations and research evidence underlying innovation and entrepreneurship. Subjects include discovering and creating new sources of value, recognizing and evaluating opportunities, generating business models, engaging stakeholders, shaping markets, and competing against larger competitors and entrenched institutions.

MAN 327E New Venture Mechanics 

General Course Description: Starting up a new venture involves a wide range of decisions, activities, and processes such as those involved in identifying the potential of an idea, developing and protecting an idea, building a new venture team, creating a business plan, obtaining resources, and establishing a business entity. Covers the basic analytical tools and processes involved in all these aspects of founding a new business.

MAN 337 Develop & Pitch New Ideas

General Course Description: This course provides an opportunity for students to develop communication skills in order to successfully establish, pitch, and launch a new business venture. Over the semester, we will explore the theoretical foundations and research evidence underlying communication, persuasion, and entrepreneurship. A central theme of this course is that, in order to achieve buy-in from investors and win over customers, entrepreneurs must master the art and science of persuasive speaking and writing in addition to building innovative products and services.

MAN 347P Entrepreneurship Practicum

General Course Description: This course is an experiential learning course focused on developing an understanding of the entrepreneurship process through hands-on experience. The course requires students to work in teams on projects with early-to-growth stage startups, focused on helping the startups accelerate their growth, as well as attend weekly class sessions. Through their hands-on work with the startups as well as class discussions, lectures, guest speakers, and assignments, students develop a rich understanding of what it takes to grow a new venture, including developing a strategy and business model, conducting market validation, refining the value proposition, creating a marketing strategy, and developing a funding model.

Yes – all 4 courses are required to participate in SEA. Students will participate in the program as a cohort and work closely with a group of peers throughout the experience. It’s essential to attend all classes in order to get the full experience.

There is no rule prohibiting you from taking the same class twice. Please do check with your academic advisor, since you will not receive credit for the same class twice.

SEA is entirely in-person. There is no online option. SEA 2024 will run Monday-Friday from 06/06/24 - 07/31/24.

We have deadlines each Spring semester to apply for the upcoming Summer session and we are currently focused on our Summer 2024 applications. However, if you are interested in a future SEA please contact [email protected] and we will connect with you when our applications open for the corresponding year requested.

If you have unique circumstances, please contact the Entrepreneurship Minor office – we are happy to work with you to accommodate.

We review applications and admit students after each deadline until all spots are filled. The Early Bird Application Deadline is 02/02 and the Final Application Deadline is 03/03. Students will be notified of their admission status 2 weeks after each deadline.

No, please do not fill out 2 different applications! You’ll be admitted to the minor upon successfully completing SEA. If you apply to SEA but do not end up participating, your application to SEA can serve as your application for the minor upon your request. We may ask you for some additional information if needed.

Unfortunately, no. You must be able to attend the entire program – orientation and classes. You are committing to attend all classes, orientation and Friday programming. In observation of University holidays, SEA will not hold classes on 6/19/24, 7/04/24 & 7/05/24. Please note these dates in your calendar to arrange a time to celebrate time off with family and friends. You can expect to be in classes between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm with an hour for lunch and 10:00 am and 12:30 pm for our Friday programming.

That being said, we expect SEA participants to be in communication with SEA professors/staff about any absences due to illness or emergency.

All classes must be taken on a letter-grade basis. A student must earn a grade point average of at least 2.00 in a course for it to count toward the Entrepreneurship Minor.

Due to the way state funding is handled, you cannot use the state Hazlewood exemption for this program.  Any of the federal GI Bill® benefits may be utilized.

Watch our short information session video here. If you have more questions, set up a time to meet with a member of our team by scheduling an appointment here.