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Course Development

First-Year Seminars

The Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts encourages the development of first-year seminars that focus on entrepreneurship in the liberal arts environment. First-year seminars are designed to elicit intense intellectual interchange, both written and oral, in a seminar setting in which all participate in critical thinking and analysis of arguments.

We encourage faculties from the various disciplines to frame discussions of entrepreneurship within their disciplines, from perspectives as wide ranging as the potential impacts on commerce, politics, the arts, the development of Western thought, or scientific discoveries. All College and Calloway School faculty members are invited to compete for $3000 stipends to assist in the development of such a first-year seminar.

Upper-Level Seminars on Entrepreneurship

We also encourage the development of upper-level seminars in entrepreneurship. Upper-level courses are developed in one of two formats. Seminars to develop entrepreneurial projects. For example, seminars might explore the application of entrepreneurship and/or innovation in a particular disciplinary field, ie, biology, art or theatre. The seminar should require students to develop a comprehensive plan for an entrepreneurial project that they may implement after the conclusion of the seminar and while still attending Wake Forest.

The second format emphasizes discovering new knowledge and potential opportunities by exposing students to the fertile intersections between disciplines. They should foster new and creative ways of thinking and new approaches to problems.


First Year and Upper Level Seminar Types of Course and Examples

1) The study of entrepreneurs from a particular disciplinary viewpoint, for example, Women Entrepreneurs in Literature and Life
2) The exploration of theories of entrepreneurship from a particular discipline, for example, Understanding Entrepreneurship: A Sociological Perspective.
3) The analysis of the impact of entrepreneurship on society, for example, Entrepreneurship in Commerce, Philanthropy, and Politics or Free Trade, Fair Trade: The Independent Entrepreneur in the Global Market
4) The examination of a particular entrepreneurial venture or types of ventures, for example, Professional Baseball: The Entrepreneurial Globalization of a National Past Time; Games and Dreamers: The Rise of the Computer Game Culture; Social Entrepreneurship: Doing Good, While Doing Well
5) Ways in which entrepreneurial principles, process, or approaches can add value within a liberal arts discipline, for example, Biological Innovation and Entrepreneurship
6) The examination of the processes of planning, initiating, and growing entrepreneurial organizations, for example, American Indian Communities in Urban America: Toward Cultural and Economic Well Being
7) The actual forming of a venture, for example, Designer Antibodies: Building a Bio-tech Company; Building a Better Biology Textbook: The Accessible Textbook Project
8) Ways in which liberal arts disciplines can add value to entrepreneurs, for example, Creativity in Thought and Action

Sample Syllabi

The Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts has made available sample syllabi from past successful entrepreneurship-themed courses. The syllabi are available online.

For more information about course development and proposals, contact Dr. Bill Conner, Program Director, Curriculum Initiatives, Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts, (336) 758-5315, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it