Open to all VCU undergraduate students, the Certificate in Venture Creation focuses on developing a multidisciplinary mindset for successful entrepreneurialism and venture creation. Students participating in the program will hone understandings of the challenges, skills and resources necessary for venture creation, and through an immersive culmination experience, integrate these understandings around conceiving, planning and implementing a real venture.
Learning outcomes
The VCU Certificate in Venture Creation enables students to learn and do entrepreneurship. Students participating in this program will:
- Develop a venture creation mindset
- Effectively identify and address strategies to overcome venture creation challenges
- Apply venture creation skills to create, plan and implement a venture
- Effectively communicate through written and oral methods
The Certificate in Venture Creation program runs concurrently with a student’s major and is not a stand-alone program. Students should apply to the program during or after taking the introductory course, INNO 200. Interested students should submit their application to the VCU da Vinci Center, which administers the certificate program. Upon acceptance to the certificate program, a Change of Major form will be signed by the student and submitted to Records and Registration by the VCU da Vinci Center.
Certificate requirements
A minimum grade of C is required in each course that applies to the certificate.
The certificate requires a minimum of 13 credit hours of approved course work as follows:
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| INNO 200 | Introduction to Innovation and Venture Creation | 1 |
| VNTR 300 | Venture Creation Skills | 3 |
| VNTR 460 | Venture Creation Project | 3 |
| Two discipline-specific electives (unless otherwise specified in the list below, only approved 300- or 400-level courses may apply) | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 13 | |
The minimum number of credit hours required for this certificate is 13.
Electives
Note that elective choices are discipline-specific by major.
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| For students pursuing a major in the School of the Arts | ||
| CREA 300 | Idea Accelerator | 3 |
| CREA 350 | Piloting the Enterprise | 3 |
| CREA 393 | Design Ops Internship | 1-6 |
| For students pursuing a major in the School of Business | ||
| BUSN 400 | Principles of Consulting | 3 |
| FIRE 313 | Financial Management for Small Business | 3 |
| MGMT 303 | Creativity and Ideation | 3 |
| MGMT 321 | Survey of Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| For students pursuing a major in the College of Engineering | ||
| CMSC 441 & CMSC 451 | Senior Design Studio I (Laboratory/Project Time) and Senior Project I | 3 |
| CMSC 442 & CMSC 452 | Senior Design Studio II (Laboratory/Project Time) and Senior Project II | 3 |
| EGRB 401 & EGRB 402 | Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Studio and Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Studio | 6 |
| ENGR 402 & ENGR 403 | Senior Design Studio (Seminar) and Senior Design Studio (Seminar) | 2 |
| All other students | ||
| ACCT 202 | Accounting for Non-business Majors | 3 |
| ECON 203 | Introduction to Economics | 3 |
| FIRE 311 | Financial Management | 3 |
| IDST 301 | Interdisciplinary Theory and Practice | 3 |
| IDST 499 | BIS Senior Capstone | 3 |
| MGMT 321 | Survey of Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| MKTG 301 | Marketing Principles | 3 |
The program director for venture creation will approve all course work intended to satisfy any elective requirements for the undergraduate Certificate in Venture Creation.
Sample plan of study
Note that classes are taken in conjunction with major course work; see curriculum outline for discipline-specific electives.
| Year one | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall semester | Hours | |
| INNO 200 | Introduction to Innovation and Venture Creation | 1 |
| Term Hours: | 1 | |
| Spring semester | ||
| VNTR 300 | Venture Creation Skills | 3 |
| Discipline-specific elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 6 | |
| Year two | ||
| Fall semester | ||
| Discipline-specific elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 3 | |
| Spring semester | ||
| VNTR 460 | Venture Creation Project | 3 |
| Term Hours: | 3 | |
| Total Hours: | 13 | |
The minimum number of credit hours required for this certificate is 13.
Students who complete the requirements for this program will receive a Certificate in Venture Creation
For more information, contact the student services coordinator for the VCU da Vinci Center at (804) 827-3764 or email davincicenter@vcu.edu.