Certificate Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Certificate Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CPIE) is a unique opportunity for Pitt Business students who wish to explore the interface between innovation and entrepreneurship as an enhancement to their business major. The CPIE is designed to provide students with an exposure to entrepreneurship whether their goal is to start and build a successful business or drive innovation inside a traditional organization.  Certificate completion will be posted on the student’s academic transcript.

Students completing the CPIE will better understand business operations and framework, how small and private businesses differ from large corporations, and how to determine market potential for new products. The required experiential learning component will allow students a hands-on opportunity to gain experience in the process of innovation and entrepreneurship in a wide variety of settings from traditional organizations, to start-ups, to non-profits pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors.

The CPIE is designed as an enhancement to the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree program, not as a detached curriculum.  It builds upon the BSBA core curriculum and assumes that the student is earning a major in accounting, business information systems, finance, global management, human resources management, marketing, or supply chain management.  Accordingly, enrollment is open only to students in the BSBA program offered by the College of Business Administration.  Enrollment is also available to students pursuing a double degree through the College of Business Administration (BSBA) and either the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences (BS or BA) or the School of Information Sciences (BSIS).

Program Description

A total of 15 credits are required to complete the CPIE.  This includes both required and elective coursework focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. CPIE elective coursework allows students to tailor their program to their specific business major and to one of three “tracks” including: corporate (innovation and development inside the organization), traditional (business ownership), and social impact (social entrepreneurship). The program culminates in an experience-based learning component (EBL).   Students can complete the EBL component by selecting an entrepreneurship project course, an entrepreneurship internship, or a global entrepreneurship experience.  To earn the CPIE, students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.25 (C+ average) across all courses in the program.

Students are also strongly encouraged to participate in related non-credit entrepreneurship immersion experiences such as competitions and student organizations.

The following courses are required:

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Note: This course should correspond to elective choices within the student’s business major and may also be counted towards the completion of the business major.

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