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As a career-orient liberal arts college, McPherson College integrates the entrepreneurial spirit and mindset throughout its curriculum. Students who want to more intentionally develop their own entrepreneurial skills and through processes can complete the minor in Transformative Entrepreneurship.

The Transformative Entrepreneurship minor helps students better understand the risks and processes involved in beginning an entrepreneurial venture. McPherson College’s minor is transformative in the sense that students who engage in future entrepreneurial ventures will make an impact and transform the world in some way.

McPherson College faculty have defined entrepreneurship as follows:

Entrepreneurship is the creative process of developing sustainable, innovative ventures that solve problems and meet the needs of the greater community. Balancing opportunity and risk, the entrepreneur manages resources and constructs solutions that benefit both self and society.
(Approved by faculty 2/3/11)

Students who complete a minor in transformative entrepreneurship will be able to:

  • Articulate the definition of transformative entrepreneurship
  • Articulate the roles that entrepreneurs have played in history
  • Identify and analyze opportunities and their related risks
  • Demonstrate creative processes required to develop entrepreneurial ventures
  • Determine their talents and role in effective teamwork
  • Demonstrate skill in project management and resource utilization
  • Demonstrate the process of resource acquisition through networking
  • Illustrate the interplay of economics and social change
  • Illustrate responsibility to a greater society

Transformative Entrepreneurship Curriculum

To complete the minor, students will complete the following four courses:

  • ET101 Creativity and Innovation for Transformation – 3 credit hours
  • G-ET201 Social Entrepreneurship – 3 credit hours
  • ET301/BA235 The Entrepreneur at Work – 3 credit hours
  • ET475 Entrepreneurship in Action – 2 credit hours

Additionally, students will select nine hours from the following courses. Students may choose one class from within her/his major coursework area. One class must be selected from outside the division where her/his major is housed.

Humanities

  • G-AR220 Graphic Design for Non-Art Majors
  • AR340 Web-based Design or CM350 Web Design for Effective Communication
  • CM130 Interpersonal Communication
  • G-PA160 Performing for the Stage
  • CM135 Media Writing
  • CM210 Multimedia Storytelling
  • CM218 Bus. & Prof. Communication
  • G-CM221 Intercultural Communication
  • CM310 Public Relations
  • CM325 Conflict Communication
  • CM330 Persuasion
  • EN313 Adv. Expository Writing
  • PA215 Sem & Practica in Perfermance & Production
  • G-PR104 Ethics
  • PR304 The Church of the Brethren and Beyond: Christian Churches Serve Our World
  • PA215 Sem & Practica in Perf. & Prod.

Science & Technology

  • BI325 Human Ecology
  • G-NS141 Environmental Science
  • NS415 Environmental Ethics
  • TE301 Materials and Processes
  • G-TE333 Technology & Society

Social Sciences

  • PY405 Personality Theories
  • SO206 Social Problems
  • SO260 Intro to Human Services
  • BA315 Business Law
  • BA224 Principles of Management

Transformative Entrepreneurship Course Descriptions

ET101 Creativity & Innovation for Transformation

3 hours
Interactive seminar introduces students to readings and processes from various disciplines that elucidate the interdisciplinary nature of creativity and enable students to create conditions that stimulate it. Projects and assignments are designed to encourage a “critical creativity” that challenges participants through inquiry, multi-faceted exploration and strategic development. Topics examined through writing and design assignments, group projects, and discussions include consciousness, receptivity, risk, ethics, self agency, and social engagement with the express objective of fostering creative potential and its application in all areas of experience.

G-ET201 Entrepreneurship on the Horizon

3 hours
Addresses the challenges of creating and sustaining organizations in today’s global environment. Provides an overview of the role and importance of entrepreneurship in the global economy and in society. Examines how individuals use entrepreneurial skills to craft innovative responses to societal needs.

ET301 The Entrepreneur at Work

3 hours
Explores the process of managing and growing the entrepreneurial venture. The course is designed to provide exposure to topics critical to the success of the venture in startup and early growth: business planning; growth management and strategic planning; marketing and financial strategies; exit strategies; and different modes of venturing, such as franchising, venture acquisition, and technology licensing.

ET475 Entrepreneurship in Action

2 hours
This capstone experience allows students to pursue their own venture or explore how an entrepreneurial mindset will serve them well in whatever career they choose. Regular discussions with entrepreneurial faculty, mentors, and entrepreneurs from the community will help students identify components of an entrepreneurial mindset and discover their use in society and their career. (Prerequisites: ET101, ET201, ET301)