Entrepreneurship Minor

The entrepreneurship minor provides students at Rice University with a pathway to pursue a rigorous and interdisciplinary study in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. The minor enables students to understand the theory and frameworks behind different disciplinary aspects of entrepreneurship and how to apply these theories to develop and scale innovative solutions to societal problems. Furthermore, the program helps students develop professional skills that are valuable beyond the confines of entrepreneurship, such as the ability to:

  • Identify critical problems or market opportunities and develop validated solutions to meet these needs

  • Design solutions that are sustainable, inclusive, and equitable

  • Embrace empathy to better understand customers, users, clients, and team members

  • Excel in interdisciplinary teams and in communicating messaging across departments, organizations, and industries

If you have any questions, please reach out to Hesam Panahi at hpanahi@rice.edu for support.

Requirements

We recommend you consult the General Announcements (GA) for the most up-to-date requirements.  The GA is the official Rice curriculum. In the event that there is a discrepancy between the GA and any other websites or publications, the GA shall prevail as the authoritative source.

You’ll need to complete 18 credit hours to successfully complete the minor. You must take all four core courses. These courses are:

  • ENTR 220: Intro to Design and Innovation 3 credit hours

  • ENTR 361: Entrepreneurial Communication 3 credit hours

  • ENTR 369: New Enterprises 3 credit hours

  • ENTR 463: Entrepreneurial Strategy 3 credit hours

You will also need to complete 6 credits from the following list of courses:

  • ENTR 221/ENGI 221: New Enterprises: Discovery 3 credit hours

  • ENTR 222: AI and Tech Product Development 3 credit hours

  • ENTR 223: Business Modeling for Entrepreneurs 3 credit hours

  • ENTR 224/BIOE 123: Bias and Medical Device Design 1 credit hour

  • ENTR 360: Founders Journey 1.5 credit hours

  • ENTR 364/GLHT 364/SOSC 364: Innovation for Social Impact 3 credit hours

  • ENTR 365: Design Build Ship: Rapidly Building Startup Ideas 3 credit hours – application based – prerequisite: ENTR 220 or ENTR 222 or ENTR 369

  • ENTR 461: Financing the Startup Venture 3 credit hours

  • ENTR 465: Student Venture Fund: Evaluating Startup Investment Opportunities 3 credit hours – prerequisite: ENTR 461

  • ENTR 469: Lilie New Venture Challenge 3 credit hours – application based – prerequisite: ENTR 369

  • RCEL 450: Project Management & Leadership 2 credit hours

You can find more information about our courses on our undergraduate course page. 


In addition:

- At least 6 credit hours must be at the 300 level or above.

- No more than 6 credit hours may come from study abroad or transfer credit.

This minor is administered by the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Lilie) and is a joint offering between Rice Business and George R. Brown School of Engineering.