Courses

The University of Maryland offers a number of courses relating to entrepreneurship. The choices from the Robert H. Smith School of Business and the A. James Clark School of Engineering are listed here, arranged by course number.

BMGT 361 Entrepreneurship: Starting and Managing the Entrepreneurial Venture (3 credits)
Formerly BMGT261. Not open to students who have completed BMGT261 or 461. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT261, 361 or BMGT461. Focuses on the early development of a new venture. Topics include: idea-getting, opportunity recognition, feasibility studies, new venture financing and startup. Guest speakers and practicing entrepreneurs offer real world guidance. Restricted to students admitted into the Entrepreneurship Fellows program.

BMGT 365 Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity (3 credits)
Prerequisite BMGT 361 or 461; Studies venture capital and private equity using a combination of cases, lectures and guest speakers. Addresses how venture capitalists provide capital to start-up firms in growing industries and how private equity markets provide capital to help established medium-sized firms (often family businesses) grow and restructure. Focuses on how financial, legal, and economic issues are dealt with in the financial contracts between venture capitalists and their limited partners and between venture capitalists (or other private equity investors) and the firms in which they invest.

BMGT 366 Growth Strategies for Emerging Companies (3 credits)
Prerequisite BMGT361 or 461; Offers practical management tools that are needed to build a new venture into a significant enterprise. The competencies, strategies and structures of successful high performance businesses are studied through cases, videos and guest lecturers. Topics include leadership, internal growth strategies, merger, acquisition and franchising.

ENME371 Product Engineering and Manufacturing; (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ENES221, ENME392, or STAT400. For ENME majors only. Business aspects of engineering product development. Relationship of design and manufacturing. Product specification. Statistical process control. Design team development. The development process.

ENES 460 Fundamentals of Technology Start-Up Ventures (formerly ENES 489A) (3 credits)
This exclusive course is designed to take graduate and upper-level undergraduate students—majoring primarily in technical disciplines—through the fundamental aspects of creating, organizing, funding, managing, and growing a technology startup venture. This multidisciplinary course will draw on management, business, legal, financial, as well as technical, concepts. The course structure involves lectures on topics fundamental to venture creation, as well as insights from outside experts who bring their personal experiences to the class. A major part of participating in the class consists of students forming teams, with each team required to develop a business plan for a technology company, based on each team's own business idea. At the end of the semester, a written business plan is submitted, and a presentation of the business plan is made by each team to a panel of outside experts (entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and service providers).

BMGT 461 Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
Not open to students who have completed BMGT261. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT261 or BMGT461. Process of creating new ventures, including evaluating the entrepreneurial team, the opportunity and the financing requirements. Skills, concepts, mental attitudes and knowledge relevant for starting a new business. This course is restricted to BMGT majors with 72 credit hours completed. Non-majors should register for BMGT461N.

BMGT 465 Business Plan For The New Venture (3 credits)
Prerequisite BMGT 361 or 461; Each student focuses on the production of a business plan that will be accepted for an annual business plan competition. Business plans of sufficient quality may be submitted to attract financing. Topics include a deep review of business plan construction and its derivative short forms.

ENME472 Integrated Product and Process Development; (3 credits) CORE Capstone (CS) Course.
Prerequisite: ENME371. Integration of product development with the development process. Design strategies. Product architecture. Design for manufacturing. Selection of materials. Design for assembly.

ENBE 485 Capstone Design I)
To complete the curriculum of an undergraduate engineer, design procedures and professional concerns will be presented. Students will begin planning and designing their capstone projects. CORE capstone credit for ENBE485 and ENBE486 will not be awarded until satisfactory completion of ENBE486. Offered Fall semester only.

ENES 489B: Special Topics in Engineering: VentureCatalyst Entrepreneurship Lab (3 credits)
Prerequisites:ENES489C, MS or MBA status, or permission of instructor.
The VentureCatalyst Entrepreneurship Lab will place accepted students in positions to research and author plans on behalf of companies formed under the MTECH Venture Accelerator program. Students will work closely with company founders, participating faculty and staff, and service providers to develop plans that will guide a new technology venture to future success. During the semester, small teams of students will be assigned for instructor-guided independent research projects and business planning functions for one or more companies. Student teams may validate business assumptions, author reports and components of product and business plans, and make presentations to the Director of Venture Accelerator and the senior management of Venture Accelerator companies. The course will provide practical experience in the business planning techniques used by the most successful technology venture entrepreneurs and technology leaders in the marketplace. More info.

ENES 489C Special Topics in Entrepreneurship: Introduction to Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
This multi-disciplinary course will help students to learn the basic processes and skills needed to launch new ventures. Students will learn how to assess the feasibility of a startup venture, as well as how to apply best practices for planning, launching, and managing new companies. Students will discuss a wide range of issues of importance and concern to entrepreneurs and learn to recognize opportunity, assess the skills and talents of successful entrepreneurs, and learn models and "rules of thumb" that help them navigate uncertainty.

ENES 489D Special Topics in Entrepreneurship: New Venture Financing (3 credits)
Normal Prerequisite for this course being shared with MBA students is: BUSI 640 or permission of department. This section is open to graduate engineering students only. ENES489A is a prerequisite or permission of Hinman CEOs. Students taking this class will be expected to have some understanding of basic finance skills that would have normally been gained in the prerequisite course. Development of skills for financing new ventures (both small and potentially large). Exploration of various funding sources. Criteria used in evaluation and decision process, including commercial banks, venture capital companies, small business investment companies, underwriters, private placement-financial consultants, mortgage bankers, and small business innovative research grants (U.S. Government). Topics will include: methods of financing, techniques for valuing new businesses, financial structure, and evaluation methods used by investors and lenders. Equivalent course in business is BUSI 771-0101 New Venture Financing.

ENES 489E Special Topics in Entrepreneurship: Strategic Growth of Emerging Companies (3 credits)
Prerequisite for this course is ENES489A or permission of Hinman CEOs. Open to graduate engineering graduate students only. This is an MBA course. Explores the key elements of mastering the move from being a successful small company to achieving industry significance. Supplemented by readings, video and guest speakers, the course highlights the application of practical lessons leading to strategic growth and subsequent emergence as a player.
Equivalent course in business is BUMO 752-0101 Strategic Growth of Emerging Companies.

ENES 489F Special Topics in Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation (3 credits)
Prerequisite for this course is ENES489A or permission of Hinman CEOs. Open to graduate engineering graduate students only. This is an MBA course. Creating new ventures, including evaluating the entrepreneurial team, the opportunity and financing requirements. Skills, concepts, attitudes and know-how relevant for creating and building a venture; and preparation of a business plan. These approaches are not limited to new or growing enterprises.Equivalent course in business is BUMO 732-0101.

ENES498 Special Topics in Entrepreneurship (2 credits)
Open to Hinman CEOs only. This speaker-based course provides opportunities to learn about important concepts and functional topics of importance to the entrepreneur through direct contact and interaction with successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and service providers to entrepreneurs. In addition to the speaker series, Hinman CEOs participate in workshops and team-building activities.

BUMO 730 Corporate Venturing (3 credits)
Prerequisite: completion of MBA core or permission of department. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT 782 or BUMO 730. Formerly BMGT 782. This course explores the skills, techniques, and strategies that are required to instill entrepreneurial behavior in large complex organizations. Students study presentations from real executives and business cases wherein creativity, innovation, fast descision-making, and trial and error implementation have been applied successfully. Students must have completed over 21 credits to take this course. Non-majors should review their eligibility in the statement preceding the BUMO courses.

BUMO 732 New Venture Creation (3 credits)
Prerequisite: completion of MBA core requirements or permission of department. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT 780 or BUMO 732. Formerly BMGT 780. Creating new ventures, including evaluating the entrepreneurial team, the opportunity and financing requirements. Skills, concepts, attitudes and know-how relevant for creating and building a venture; and preparation of a business plan. These approaches are not limited to new or growing enterprises

BUMO 734 Venture Capital for Investors and Entrepreneurs (3 credits)
For MBA majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT 786 or BUMO 734. Formerly BMGT 786. A comprehensive course on private equity investing in entrepreneurial companies and raising capital by such high-growth firms. Topics include: sources of private equity, evaluation of deals, the due diligence process, deal structuring, pricing and valuation, legal issues, exit strategies, and key to raising venture capital. Venture capitalists and CEOs of venture-funded companies are frequent guest speakers.

BUFN 738 Investment Fund Management (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI 640. For BMGT majors only. Repeatable to 09 credits.
Provides second-year Master in Business Administration students with the opportunity to apply the skills learned in finance classes to actual investment decisions through management of an investment fund.

BUMO 744 Creation of High Potential Ventures (3 credits)
For MBA majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT 787 or BUMO 744. Formerly BMGT 787. This course focuses on the real life experiences of high profile technology entrepreneurs. Guest entrepreneurs and book review reveal patterns of personal preparation, strategic decision-making, and action that have produced ventures with high value-added and significant regional and national impact.

BUMO 748 Business Plan Review (3 credits)
Repeatable to 06 credits. Formerly BMGT 796. Evaluation of real business plans submitted to the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. Practicing venture capitalist and professors focus on business plan critique and writing skills, venture capitalist screening practices, and the structure of electronic commerce. Past business plan reviews are analyzed according to the business model, target market, competitive advantages/threats, stage of development, management team and financial status. Real investment decisions are made on the basis of student recommendations. Subject companies are contacted and evaluated.

BUMO 758D: Social Entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship examines the characteristics of a social enterprise and explores the challenges of managing a successful social enterprise."Social return on investment" is described and applied in diverse "non-profit" settings. The course prepares the student for a career in social entrepreneurship through understanding the vision, mission, strategies, goals, and organizational structure of successful and failed social enterprises.

BUSI 771 New Venture Financing (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI 640 or permission of department. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT 740 or BUSI 771. Formerly BMGT 740. Development of skills for financing new ventures (both small and potentially large). Exploration of various funding sources. Criteria used in evaluation and decision process, including commercial banks, venture capital companies, small business investment companies, underwriters, private placement-financial consultants, mortgage bankers, and small business innovative research grants (U.S. Government). Topics will include: methods of financing, techniques for valuing new businesses, financial structure and evaluation methods used by investors and lenders.

BMGT 781 The Entrepreneur and the Entrepreneurial Team (3 credits)
Prerequisite: completion of MBA core requirements or permission of department.
The entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial team: the entrepreneur and the team as it relates to innovation, change, power, and risk-taking. Entrepreneurs and their teams from a variety of different firms present and discuss their views on leadership

BMGT 791 Strategic Growth for Emerging Companies (3 credits)
For MBA majors only. Explores the key elements of mastering the move from being a successful small company to achieving industry significance. Supplemented by readings, video and guest speakers, the course highlights the application of practical lessons leading to strategic growth and subsequent emergence as a player.

BUSI 793 Technology Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
For MBA majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT 784 or BUSI 793. Formerly BMGT 784. This course explores the relationship between technology and the creation, growth and survival of high-potential businesses. At the founding, creation and growth stages of the technology enterprise, we examine topics such as technology transfer, technology commercialization, innovation, as well as marketing, financial, and managerial skills of the entrepreneurial team.

BMGT 798A: International Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
This course focuses on the skills and knowledge useful for developing a new global business. Using the perspective of a startup entrepreneur we will examine the key success factors in creating a new business, which has an international market focus. This includes business started in India, Brazil, Russia or other countries as well as business started in the US that market to these countries. The course is originated around the creation of new ecommerce business, which focuses on one or more non-US countries. Assessing opportunities through the lens of commerce allows both the extension of traditional business to ecommerce as well as the creation of new business offerings. The course is designed to help develop skills needed to: assess the viability of a new business concept, understand the conditions of "ecommerce readiness" for specific countries, understand the unique opportunities and cultural and technical issues involved in a global ecommerce business, create an opportunity analysis which measures the opportunity, competitive environment, market potential for the new idea, and identify sources of financial support for the new venture.

ENES 808A, Starting and Managing High-Technology Ventures (3 credits)
This course is for students in the Professional Master of Engineering program, who seek to learn the essentials of technology entrepreneurship. Beyond teaching the essentials of starting a new venture and managing it to success, the course is designed to teach universal leadership skills and teamwork—including becoming comfortable with constant change, contributing to an innovative team, and being passionate about the venture. Consistent with the foregoing, students form teams (virtual companies) early in the semester and learn to work together while formulating a business idea, creating strategies for manufacturing, marketing, and sales, and writing a business plan. Lectures throughout the term consist of such topics as: risks and rewards of entrepreneurship, opportunity recognition and testing, market research and strategy, sales strategy, financing the venture, intellectual property protection, and team-building. Guest lecturers from the region's entrepreneurial and investment communities bring their personal experiences to the class.