ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION
Bachelor’s Degree Programs
Ideas are born here.
The entrepreneurial spirit is strong at UW-Whitewater. Our students are motivated to follow their passions to create their future. But it takes more than a good brainstorm.
UW-Whitewater entrepreneurship majors learn how to evaluate the viability of an opportunity and build a solid business plan. They sharpen their marketing, financial and presentation skills, and they develop an understanding of how to compete and thrive in today’s global market.
Why major in Entrepreneurship at UW-Whitewater?
We’re proud to be named one of the top colleges with entrepreneurial majors in the country. With one-on-one mentorship, a campus incubator and innovation center, an engaged and experienced faculty, access to a strong alumni and local network and a wide range of resources, our program offers students an unparalleled entrepreneurship education.
Innovative curriculum
To prepare students for the specific entrepreneurial endeavors, we’ve designed road maps for four common paths:
- Startup
- Innovator
- Social
- Family
You aren’t required to choose one of these categories; rather, these plan outlines can guide your class selections and co-curricular involvement based on your goals.
Start-ups and successes
UW-Whitewater’s Launch Pad is fertile ground for innovation. Since its founding, many Launch Pad scholars turned their seed of an idea into a flourishing business:
- Digital Measures — a Web-based solution that captures and shares information related to teaching, research, and service activities.
- HUK TV Mounts — allows for easy mounting and positioning of a TV, maximizing the small living space
- Latin Pro — staffing solutions specializing in top-quality Spanish-speaking candidates
- RecruitChute — online platform for college recruitment, with services for athletes and coaches
- Scanalytics, Inc. — provides foot traffic and engagement analytics to retailers through its innovative sensory technology
We’re proud of the student startups developed at Launch Pad, but the innovation of our students and alumni can happen anywhere!
Raising capital: When it pays to learn
UW-Whitewater entrepreneurship majors use their presentation, selling and communication skills to pitch their ideas to investors, competitions, TV shows or on crowd-funding platforms. Before graduation, many of them secure financial backing for their business ideas in amounts ranging from $10,000 to $175,000. Collectively, our students have raised millions of dollars in capital.
Other ways our program stands out:
- Make connections with successful entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists, attorneys, software engineers and other business professionals.
- Access resources at Whitewater Innovation Service Center (WISC), a small business development and marketing agency on campus.
- Compete or pitch at regional and national events such as the Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest, gBeta, and Idea Advance.
What our student entrepreneurs do
Pitch and present ideas to investors, venture capitalists and business leaders
Learn how to start a small business — or how to run one
Serve local and global communities through innovative projects
Hands-on learning experiences
The best way to build entrepreneurial skills is to take action, and UW-Whitewater offers its students many opportunities to gain practical experience, in and out of the classroom.
Launch Pad
Our on-campus student startup accelerator provides education, mentorship and assistance to budding entrepreneurs.
Warhawk Business Plan Competition
Win money to invest in your business concept and, more importantly, gain the research and presentation skills you need to present and sell your ideas to investors. Read about a recent competition.
Elevator Pitch Competition
Can you pitch your idea successfully in only 90 seconds? As you work to effectively pitch your business or nonprofit idea succinctly, you’ll discover how a time constraint leads to creative problem-solving.
Campus and community involvement
Innovation Center
Located in the Whitewater University Technology Park, the Innovation Center is a nurturing startup place for new technologies, where inventors and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to advance their ideas. Our Launch Pad program maintains a dedicated suite.
Learn more about the Whitewater University Innovation Center »
At this regional think tank, students can network with fellow entrepreneurs, compete in business competitions, and participate in professional development opportunities.
Student organizations
Our department is home to several entrepreneur-related organizations, including:
- CEO: College Entrepreneurs' Organization
An active and vibrant student-run organization offering educational, networking and social opportunities. Members often attend the national CEO conference. - Enactus
Part of a global network, Enactus is a project-based organization where students hone entrepreneurial skills by creating business plans that benefit society. Ours is a national-champion chapter.
What our graduates do
Start their own companies
Lead entrepreneurial organizations
Run their family business
What our grads say
“I met people who were like-minded and future-focused, amazing mentors. Dave Gee completely helped get the fire for entrepreneurship going in me. My life did a complete 180 after that.”
- Kristen Holtan ’20
Careers in Entrepreneurship
Perhaps what’s most exciting about majoring in entrepreneurship is that you can define your own answer to the “what can you do with an entrepreneurship degree?” question. You’ll leave prepared to start and run a business of your own, as well as to take entrepreneurial skills into roles in start-ups, small businesses, your family’s company and organizations of all kinds. It is common for graduating UW-Whitewater entrepreneurship majors to earn $70,000 or more per year immediately after graduation.
Example job titles:
- CEO/founder
- Co-founder
- Manager
- National sales manager
- Owner
- Product developer
- Project manager
- Vice president of marketing
Example employers:
- Aerotek
- Apple
- Bird
- Blue Line Battery
- Cintas
- Dell
- Direct Supply
- Northwestern Mutual
- Pinpoint Software
- Sherwin Williams
- Stryker
- Thorne Research
Contact us
Want to learn more about top-ranked entrepreneurship major?
262-472-4900 | undergradbus@uww.edu
Our Faculty
Our entrepreneurship faculty is hands-on and highly engaged with our students from the classroom to campus organizations and events.
The academic, business and entrepreneurial experience and expertise of our faculty members include:
- Startup business model development
- Business model innovation
- Lean startup methods
- New venture funding
- Entrepreneurship education
- Family entrepreneurship
- Information entrepreneurship
- Data analytics
- Entrepreneurial finance
- Entrepreneurial marketing
- Corporate innovation
UW-Whitewater offers the following Entrepreneurship and Innovation undergraduate options:
Minor:
Certificate:
In addition to UW-Whitewater’s general education requirements, as an entrepreneurship major, you’ll take a set of core and foundational courses, such as:
- Introduction to Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurial Marketing
- Entrepreneurial Financial Management
- Entrepreneurship Family Business OR Building Entrepreneurial Organizations
- Professional Services Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurship: New Ventures
- Innovation and Technology Marketing OR Principles of Selling
You can choose your remaining elective credits from UWW’s vast selection of advanced business and economics courses, based on your personal and professional interests.
To fulfill your major in entrepreneurship, you also will take a set of advanced core business courses:
- Business and Commercial Law
- Business Finance
- Operations Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Principles of Marketing
- Strategic Management
To apply, you’ll complete the UW-Whitewater standard application for admission and indicate your interest in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
