Students interested in developing a new business or understanding entrepreneurial ideas can take a new undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship starting this quarter.
The College of Letters and Science and the Anderson School of Management, which are jointly offering the minor, are accepting applications for the minor on a rolling basis. To apply, students must have a 3.0 cumulative GPA and complete an application including a short essay showing their interest in the subject.
Students will be required to take a total of seven courses, including a four to eight-unit internship, apprenticeship or directed research course to successfully complete the minor. Courses include a communications studies or Writing II class, and students can choose to take a variety of upper division classes in management, economics and digital humanities as part of the program.
An ad hoc committee was set up in May to propose the minor to the Anderson School of Management and the College of Letters and Science. The Faculty Executive Committee in the Anderson school approved the minor that month.
The College of Letters and Science and Anderson staff started working 18 months prior to the submission of the proposal to get the minor approved, said Elise Anderson, an Anderson spokesperson.
Elaine Hagan, executive director of the Harold and Paulin Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Anderson School of Management, said officials created the undergraduate entrepreneurship minor as a response to student demand for entrepreneurial studies.
She said she thinks entrepreneurs play a critical role in driving innovation in the economy. She added that she thinks offering such a minor will allow students to train in core entrepreneurial skills and help them understand opportunities for taking risks in business ventures.
Alfred E. Osborne Jr., senior associate dean of the Anderson School of Management, said he thinks the minor was designed in a way that will help students create an entrepreneurial mindset, identify ideas and opportunities and lead new ventures.
He added that he thinks the minor will complement various majors that are currently offered to undergraduates.
Linton Wang, a second-year business economics student, said he thinks the minor will answer the demands of students who want to pursue a career running or managing a business.
“There are no undergraduate business programs in UCLA,” he said. “Many (students) who are in the major of business economics can only take classes on economics and accounting, and I think it will be a good learning experience for them.”