Certificate in Entrepreneurship

Available in St. Louis

• 18 required credit hours

The Certificate in Entrepreneurship delivers a series of Entrepreneurship courses for undergraduate students in business or non-business school majors. Courses will promote entrepreneurial thinking among students and develop the necessary real-world skills for founding and growing an entrepreneurial venture.

Students demonstrate these skills by developing and presenting a viable business plan to a review panel made up of successful entrepreneurs in the capstone course. Students completing the program will be awarded a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the School of Business and Technology.

The program is comprised of six 3-credit hour courses. Students select individual entrepreneur tracks specifically designed for their field of study. A common thread running through all courses provide each student with the opportunity to focus all course projects on their individual business concept.

Students must take a total of six courses from the list of courses given below. 

Course Requirements

Entrepreneurship Core and Capstone
Required for all students

Entrepreneurship Elective Courses
Students must select two courses specific to their field of study. Additional courses are being added; please see the online catalog or your advisor for current listing of elective courses.)

AUDI 4400 Audio Facility Management and Operations (3)

Students learn the inner workings of a recording studio business. Topics include booking time, establishing rates, hiring and firing, billing, equipment procurement, and relationships between owners, management, staff, maintenance, and engineers. Prerequisite: AUDI 2000.

AUDI 4700 Professional Development in Audio Production (3)

Students learn to prepare for careers in the field of audio. Topics include portfolio development and presentation; professional organizations; interviewing skills; and résumé preparation. Prerequisites: audio production major AND senior standing.

BUSN 3710 Entrepreneurial Financial Management (3)

This course will focus on the process an entrepreneur goes through to produce, understand, interpret, and use basic financial information to start, manage, or grow their entrepreneurial organization. As an entrepreneur and small business owner, each decision you make has financial implications. Entrepreneurs must be able to generate and understand their financial information in order to evaluate their organization's financial performance, to communicate clearly with their employees, bankers, and stakeholders, as well as to incorporate financial information into their day-to-day operations and decision-making process.

MNGT 3450 Principles of Organizational Behavior (3)

Presents individual and group processes involved in management-employee relationships; deals with leadership, group dynamics, communications, motivation, morale, power, conflict management, and job design and satisfaction. Includes analysis of modern concepts of participatory management, organizational culture, change, and development.

MNGT 3600 Management in the Arts (2-3)

Deals with many aspects of the business world and how they relate specifically to the fine arts. Each semester, on a rotating basis, the areas of music, art, and media studies are presented individually by instructors from those departments. Includes copyrights, contracts, studio engineering, unions, merchandising, filmmaking and film music, and artist management, according to the needs of each department. Prerequisites: junior or senior standing and permission of the instructor.

MNGT 3700 Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management (3)

This course introduces the concept of entrepreneurship and its relationship with small business. The course focuses on activities involved in planning, organizing, establishing, and controlling a small business. Includes procedures and problems in starting a business, managerial functions, marketing, and financing a new enterprise, as well as governmental regulations.

MNGT 4200 Innovation, Creativity and the Entrepreneur (3)

This course introduces students to basic theories of innovation and creativity. The concepts are balanced between an analysis of what has been done and what can be done. The course includes an analysis of the sources of creativity as seen from multiple perspectives and from an interdisciplinary perspective. The creativity of artists and musicians is analyzed. The role played by language, and to a lesser extent, literature is also analyzed. The social contexts for creativity and economic activity are evaluated and analyzed. Practical tools for individual creativity are introduced to the student to advance their own approaches to creativity in their specific field to assist the student toward realizing what might be done.

MNGT 4230 Entrepreneurial Marketing (3)

This course introduces students to the unique marketing issues faced by today's entrepreneurs when creating and growing their businesses. Students will learn the process of designing and implementing marketing concepts to address challenges facing entrepreneurial organization. This process, known as Entrepreneurial Marketing, takes into account the special challenges and opportunities involved in developing marketing strategies from the "start-up phase", through growth and maintenance phases. Students will develop a comprehensive entrepreneurial marketing plan over the course based on their own business concept.

MNGT 4960 Entrepreneurship Certificate Project Course (3)

This course is about building a roadmap for your dreams. It is an integrative, "capstone" project course designed to bring together a student's entrepreneurial education experience at Webster University. Building on this entrepreneurial education, each student will write a comprehensive business plan based on the student's original and innovative concept. At the end of the term, each student will present their business plan before a review panel comprised of faculty, entrepreneurs, financial organizations, and the business community who will evaluate your plan using "real-world standards." Prerequisite: Completion of all required courses for the Certificate in Entrepreneurship or approval of instructor.

MUSC 4360 Survey of Music Business (3)

Examines aspects of contracts, auditions, copyright, publishing, license (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC), union issues, promotion-marketing, taxes, grant applications, non profit organizations and foundations, exploration of careers in the music industry: entertainment law, retail, marketing, recording industry, arts management, self employment as a free lance musician (business owner, recording studio musician, teacher, composer, conductor, and so forth. Prerequisite: BUSN 3700 or permission of instructor.

MUSC 4370 Marketing for Musicians (3)

Examines aspects of image building, promotion kits (letterhead, internet site, photography, video/audio discs (repertoire, recording, art work, copyright, licensing, promotion, sales, reviews, etc), working with a publicist, advertising agency, manager and/or agent, audience connections (targeting educational residencies, seminars, and conventions), contracts, auditions, professional organizations and memberships Prerequisite: MUSC 4360 or permission of instructor.

PHOT 4700 Professional Development in Photography (3)

Students learn how to prepare for careers in the field of photography. Topics include portfolio development and presentation; professional organizations; interviewing skills; and resume preparation. Prerequisites: photography major AND senior standing.