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Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Mission

The mission of the Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is to nurture students’ entrepreneurial actions, innovation, creativity, and cross-disciplinary learning. Our graduates will take their place in society as innovators, providing solutions to complex, global, and fast-changing challenges. Students will be prepared to seek out and recognize untapped opportunities in their fields. Networking is a critical part of this process. We help link our students to key contacts in the entrepreneurial community locally, throughout the Midwest, and nationally.

Bradley University is among the first universities in the nation to have a school of entrepreneurship and the first established as a freestanding academic unit separate from the business school. This indicates the highest level of commitment to providing Bradley students with the finest entrepreneurship education available.

An entrepreneurship curriculum is useful for students in all career fields, regardless of their major field of study. Examples of the types of students who would find entrepreneurship helpful include:

  • Fine arts and liberal arts students interested in self-employment or freelancing
  • Science, health science, and engineering students intending to work for innovative companies
  • Students concerned about social or environmental issues looking for new ways to make a difference in their communities
  • Students in any field who plan to open a business some day
  • Those seeking careers as accountants, lawyers, and doctors, who may start their own practice or have entrepreneurial clients
  • Any student interested in learning the language of entrepreneurship

Students will actively engage in learning new skills and, by graduation, will have practiced them as well. These skills include, but are not limited to:

  • recognizing and evaluating opportunities
  • determining feasibility of new ideas
  • creative marketing
  • assessing and mitigating risks
  • creativity and ideation techniques
  • networking and team building
  • planning the launch of business or social ventures

Entrepreneurship is a process—a journey—and Bradley University offers a cutting-edge program. We bring numerous, successful entrepreneurs into the classroom to speak to our student Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO) club. In fact, we are the national headquarters of CEO, which has chapters at more than 240 universities. Bradley is a national leader, always modifying our programming to provide the most useful, practical knowledge for our students. Our faculty is recognized around the world and is supplemented by excellent entrepreneurs teaching in our classrooms.

The Turner School offers an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor, an Entrepreneurial Scholar designation, and many student activities that provide students with an opportunity to build entrepreneurial skills.

Entrepreneurial Activities

Entrepreneurship activities and programs abound at Bradley. Among the activities available for student participation are:

  • Brave Pitch Elevator Pitch Competition: Three minute pitches of new business ideas, innovations, or social ventures.
  • Mentors on Call: Subject matter or industry experts, typically entrepreneurs, mentor student entrepreneurs.
  • Entrepreneurial Internships:  Students work in entrepreneurial companies to experience entrepreneurship in a real-world setting.
  • Distinguished Entrepreneurship Speaker Series:  Successful entrepreneurs visit the campus to share their experiences.
  • The Hatchery: University provided incubator space and support for student-owned business startups.
  • “Wild Idea” Creativity Sessions:  After a presentation on an emerging technology, students brainstorm ideas for new products or services that could utilize the technology. 
  • Innovation Lab: Workspace and coaching for science, engineering or innovation oriented student ventures.
  • E-Dorm: A living and learning community in a residence hall designed to house like-minded students interested in entrepreneurship and innovation.   
  • Business Solutions Clinic: Consulting services provided by students from all disciplines. 
  • Entrepreneur-In-Residence Program: Successful entrepreneurs visit the Bradley campus and work with students in a 1-3 day program.
  • Project Springboard Business Plan Competition: Real-life business planning experience and the opportunity to win cash and services valued at over $100,000 to help them successfully launch their new business venture.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor

The multi-disciplinary minor in entrepreneurship and innovation helps students discover, evaluate, and pursue opportunities. Students with these skills can be successful in any organization seeking to pursue opportunities, including starting their own business, large corporations, small businesses, family businesses, startups, and for-profit or not-for-profit social ventures.

With the minor, students will engage in coursework and experiential activities that develop entrepreneurial and innovation competencies, including:

  • Creating something from scratch
  • Leveraging resources
  • Mitigating risks
  • Evaluating ideas
  • Commercializing products and services
  • Creating new markets
  • Networking with diverse groups
  • Pitching ideas.

Required Courses (9 hours)

  • BMA 280 Entrepreneurial Creativity
  • BMA 381 Entrepreneurship for Non-Business Students OR BMA 382 Entrepreneurship
  • ENG 305 Technical Writing OR ENG 306 Business Communication, sections with specific entrepreneurial writing components

Approved Elective Courses (6 hours)

  • MUS 101 Introduction to Music Business
  • CFA 101 Arts and Ideas Seminar: The Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • FCS 170 Hospitality Leadership I
  • THE 223 Theatrical Producing
  • FCS 270 Special Event Planning
  • BMA 281 The Entrepreneurial Career
  • MUS 301 Contemporary Issues in Music Business
  • BMA 347 Law and the Entrepreneur
  • I M 350 Intellectual Property Law and New Media
  • BMA 385 Technology Entrepreneurship
  • BMA 386 Social Entrepreneurship
  • COM 394 Communication and Conflict Management
  • BMA 488 Entrepreneurship Internship
  • BMA 489 Entrepreneurship Topics
  • SEI 200 and/or SEI 300 Topics in Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • SEI 210 and/or SEI 310 Practicum in Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Entrepreneurial Scholar

The multi-disciplinary Entrepreneurial Scholar program helps students discover, evaluate, and pursue opportunities with a focus on experiential activities. Students completing this program will earn the Entrepreneurial Scholar designation on their transcript, proving to potential employers that they possess a special skill set.  These students will be prepared to pursue growth opportunities in any type of organization, to start their own business, or launch a not-for-profit social venture.

Entrepreneurial scholars will develop these competencies through coursework and experiential activities, including:

  • Creating something from scratch
  • Leveraging resources
  • Mitigating risks
  • Evaluating ideas
  • Commercializing products and services
  • Creating new markets
  • Networking with diverse groups
  • Pitching ideas.

The program requires the completion of 3 hours of required coursework, 6 hours of approved electives, and 12 experiential activity points.

Required Course (3 credit hours)

  • BMA 280 Entrepreneurial Creativity

Approved Elective Courses (6 credit hours)

Students are required to take 6 credit hours of courses approved by the Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation that meet entrepreneurship and innovation competencies, chosen from:

  • MUS 101 Introduction to Music Business
  • CFA 101 - Arts and Ideas Seminar: The Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • FCS 170 Hospitality Leadership I
  • THE 223 Theatrical Producing
  • FCS 270 Special Event Planning
  • BMA 281 The Entrepreneurial Career
  • MUS 301 Contemporary Issues in Music Business
  • BMA 347 Law and the Entrepreneur
  • I M 350 Intellectual Property Law and New Media
  • BMA 385 Technology Entrepreneurship
  • BMA 386 Social Entrepreneurship
  • COM 394 Communication and Conflict Management
  • BMA 488 Entrepreneurship Internship
  • BMA 489 Entrepreneurship Topics
  • SEI 200 and/or SEI 300 Topics in Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • SEI 210 and/or SEI 310 Practicum in Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Experiential Activities (12 points)

The Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation believes that the best way to learn to think like an entrepreneur is to engage in experiential activities. Students will be required to earn 12 points in experiential activities pre-approved by the Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The approved list can be found by contacting the Turner School Managing Director or by viewing our website at www.bradley.edu/turnerschool. 

This is the official catalog for the 2013-2014 academic year. This catalog serves as a contract between a student and Bradley University. Should changes in a program of study become necessary prior to the next academic year every effort will be made to keep students advised of any such changes via the Dean of the College or Chair of the Department concerned, the Registrar's Office, u.Achieve degree audit system, and the Schedule of Classes. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of the current program and graduation requirements for particular degree programs.