Entrepreneurship Certificate
Chart your course with Harper's entrepreneurship program
Program facts 
- Credit hours: 21
- Stackable to degree: Yes
- Potential job outcomes: Small business owner, franchisee, product developer, analyst
Take the first step toward a successful career in entrepreneurship by completing this 21-credit-hour certificate program. This is an ideal program for individuals exploring entrepreneurial ventures, looking to start small business or wanting to apply an entrepreneurial mindset to their careers. Throughout the program, you’ll focus on leadership, creativity, innovation and funding sources.
Classes include accounting, business organization, entrepreneurship, leadership, entrepreneurial
financing, global business, financial statements interpretation and analysis,
marketing and more. Instructors are a mix of full-time faculty and professional business
leaders working in the field. Through additional coursework, you can continue toward
an AAS degree in Business Administration.
Harper College is an ideal place to study entrepreneurship. In 2017, the College was a NACCE Presidential Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award Finalist. You may qualify for Harper’s Educational Foundation’s Dream Big - Angel Grant program, which supports emerging and active student and community entrepreneurs. Harper has an advisory board of regional entrepreneurs and business leaders who infuse real-world perspectives and opportunities into the academic curriculum. You can also get additional experience by participating in the active business and entrepreneurship clubs.
Certificate program requirements
This 21 credit-hour certificate is designed for those individuals who are exploring entrepreneurial ventures, want to apply the entrepreneurial mindset to their careers and/or want to start small businesses. Focus will be on leadership, creativity, innovation and funding sources. The Associate in Applied Science in Business Administration includes a specialized study area for Entrepreneurship. Please refer to Business Administration in this section of the catalog if you are interested in pursuing a degree in this discipline.
Required:
| Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ACC 100 | Introductory Accounting or | |
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Description: Provides students with a foundation in fundamental accounting procedures using the accounting cycle for both service and merchandising businesses, including adjustments, preparation of financial statements and closing procedures. Also included are reconciliation of bank statements, petty cash and examination of fraud and internal controls. This non-transfer course is intended for those students planning to take only one semester of accounting or for those who need preparation before enrolling in ACC 101. |
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| ACC 101 | Introduction to Financial Accounting | 3-4 |
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Description: Presents accounting as an information system that produces summary financial statements primarily for users external to a business. Emphasizes the reporting of the effect of transactions and other economic events on the financial condition and operating results of a business. Topics include: basic accounting concepts, financial statements, accrual and cash basis, the accounting cycle, monetary assets, inventories, fixed assets, current and long-term liabilities, and owner’s equity. The course assumes a corporate form of organization. NOTE: High school algebra is recommended. IAI BUS 903 |
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| MGT 111 | Introduction to Business Organization | 3 |
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Description: Introduces the nature of business and the environment in which it operates. Forms of business ownership, introduction to operative and facilitating facets of business operation, management, marketing, accounting, statistics, business law, finance, investments, insurance and labor-management relations. |
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| MGT 154 | Entrepreneurship | 3 |
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Description: Investigates positives and negatives of entrepreneurship and the process of concept to new venture. Analyzes typical venture errors and focuses on strategic management. Evaluates business ownership and franchising, pricing strategies, financing, location selection and human capital management. Discovers personal leadership traits. Assesses the personal entrepreneurial mindset. |
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| MGT 205 | Leadership | 3 |
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Description: Investigates leadership styles and the influences of leadership styles within organizations from start-ups to global corporations. Explores the empirical science and evidence of leadership styles, motivation, communication, conflict resolution, negotiations, creativity and innovation. Examines leadership styles as they relate to culture, diversity and globalization. Evaluates the performance of successful leaders. |
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| MGT 254 | Applied Entrepreneurship | 3 |
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Description: Investigates the importance of promoting and managing innovation and creativity in start-ups and existing firms. Explores successful frameworks, strategies, risks, profit-making and barriers when introducing break-through products and services. Masters the techniques for improving creativity, intellectual flexibility and leadership approaches used by managers and organizations to create and sustain innovation. Evaluates innovations and ideas for profit-making possibilities. |
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| MGT 255 | Entrepreneurial Financing | 3 |
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Description: Investigates a variety of available resources for new venture and growth funding. Examines opportunities for capital including options of debt, equity, crowdsourcing, angel investors, friends, family plans, and grants. Designs the start-up pitch for funding. Creates the financial statements for a business canvas or plan. |
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Electives: Select a minimum of three credit hours from the following courses:
| Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FIN 215 | Financial Statements Interpretation and Analysis | 3 |
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Description: Explores the characteristics of financial statements and financial statements analysis. Emphasis is on the income statement, balance sheet, and sources and uses of funds statement. Effects of reserves, inventory valuations, depreciation, depletion, amortization, subsidiaries and affiliates are studied. Addresses cash flow, reported earnings, taxable earnings and interpretation of the financial data by means of ratio analysis. Prerequisite: ACC 101 with a grade of C or better. |
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| MGT 165 | Global Business | 3 |
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Description: Provides concepts, principles and practices of the international business environment. Includes the nature of international business; international organizations and monetary systems; comparative management techniques, and environmental business factors. Focuses on international organizational functioning to help the student gain a diversity of views. Prerequisite: MGT 111. |
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| MGT 211 | Internship in Small Business | 3 |
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Description: Provides cooperative work experience working in a small business. Credit is given for participation in a supervised work experience. The work must take place in a College-approved workstation. Prerequisite: MGT 154 and 3 credit hours in MGT or MKT course work,or consent of program coordinator. |
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| MKT 180 | Strategic Writing for a Digital World | 3 |
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Description: Introduces the fundamental skills needed to develop Web-appropriate written content that can be leveraged for strategic marketing purposes on multiple digital platforms. Evaluates platform requirements and explains the nuances of multimedia writing. Presents techniques to identify success metrics, assess and report content performance and make data-driven recommendations. Recommended preparation: ENG 101 or placement options into ENG 101. https://www.harpercollege.edu/registration/testing/pdf/ENG_Placement_Grid.pdf |
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| MKT 245 | Principles of Marketing | 3 |
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Description: Focuses on marketing activities that will cover product planning, pricing strategies and promotional efforts including advertising, selling and sales promotions and distribution channel effectiveness. Prerequisite: GRA 120 with a grade of C or better, or MGT 111. |
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| MKT 252 | Internet Marketing | 3 |
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Description: Presents techniques on how to design, maintain, and market effective digital storefronts. Focuses on communicating, selling, and providing content to Web-based stores and other Internet businesses. |
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