The Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship

The Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship

In today's extremely competitive global workforce, there is an increased value and demand for initiative, independence, and innovation. The Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship has pioneered an approach to entrepreneurship education that addresses this need by teaching students to be entrepreneurial thinkers and doers.

Entrepreneurs are born from every discipline and at the Close School, all students have the potential to take their ideas and make them a reality. Nationally ranked and accredited, the Close School of Entrepreneurship offers unique and innovative programs, such as our three-year degree, to help students create their futures and uncover more opportunities through the iterative processes of thinking and acting like an entrepreneur. At the Close School of Entrepreneurship, we believe entrepreneurship education empowers everyone.

  • We teach an entrepreneurial mindset. 

  • We teach the skills and processes to start new ventures and also to lead innovation in an established company.

  • We provide practical experience and strong entrepreneurship resources. We support student ventures, allowing students to grow their ideas and startups and flex their entrepreneurial muscles.

Majors

Accelerated Degrees

Minors

Certificate

Background

The Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship is the first accredited, degree-granting school of entrepreneurship, independent of a business school, in the nation. The Close School was founded on the principle that every student should have the opportunity to dream big and pursue their passions. We encourage, educate, and enable innovation and entrepreneurship. As a dedicated school of entrepreneurship, we teach an entrepreneurial mindset and practice through experiential methods, excellent teaching, thought leadership, and creative programming - thus igniting students’ careers and personal aspirations.

We push our students to start something, to fail, and to start over again. As we coach them through this process, our mission is to foster an entrepreneurial mindset together with acquiring the skill set inherent to the entrepreneurial process.

Why is learning about entrepreneurship important? There are several significant reasons. First, developing entrepreneurial skills will protect you in a weak job market by giving you the tools to create your own jobs. Second, learning about entrepreneurship broadens your perspective about ways to pursue your career entrepreneurially, rather than on traditional pathways in particular fields. Third, today, more than ever, companies seek employees with some type of entrepreneurial experience. Leading companies of all sizes understand that they must innovate to survive and prosper. Students who have developed an entrepreneurial mindset have strong communication skills, recognize how to take initiative, and know how to execute. By hiring entrepreneurial individuals, these companies are bringing innovative perspectives into the workplace.

Entrepreneurship is much more than the process of starting a company. Entrepreneurship is a habit of mind and an attitude; a skill set applicable to pursuing innovation in business, personal, and career contexts and an approach to life built around innovative thinking, calculated daring, and proactive behavior. Our goal is to infuse entrepreneurial thinking and doing in our courses and related programs.

Our courses and programs are designed to be experiential and interdisciplinary. They are available to all students throughout the University, regardless of major. We offer a fully funded Entrepreneurship Co-op and courses that provide small amounts of seed funding for new student businesses. Through our Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship, an array of programs and business competitions enhance your entrepreneurial experience.

At the Close School of Entrepreneurship, we believe that all students have the potential to be innovative; to take their ideas, in whatever context, and make them a reality. 

Goals and Objectives

  • Present entrepreneurship as a way to think, learn, and succeed in terms of values, behaviors, and process.

  • Provide an innovative approach to entrepreneurship education.

  • Complement and enhance undergraduate and graduate education outcomes for students by developing entrepreneurial thinking within the curriculum.

  • Encourage and create a supportive academic and physical environment to allow the pursuit of student passions and development of big ideas.

  • Provide students, upon graduation, with three competencies:

​​1. The entrepreneurial mindset.

2. An entrepreneurship toolkit.

3. Expertise in a specific content area of their choosing.

School Offerings

The Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship offers students various paths to becoming an “entrepreneur.” The School is based on the premise that all students have the potential to be innovative: to take their ideas, in whatever context, and make them a reality. The curricular and co-curricular programs are formulated to accommodate students’ potential paths to learning and living entrepreneurship.

Academic Programs

The Close School offers:

  • BA and an MS in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  • BS in Sustainability and Innovation
  • Undergraduate minors in Corporate Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Social Entrepreneurship
  • Graduate minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  • Undergraduate certificate in Entrepreneurship
  • Stackable graduate certificates:
    • ​Corporate Entrepreneurship
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • New Venture Creation

In addition, the Close School offers all Drexel students many elective courses with minimal or no prerequisites that integrate entrepreneurship education with all other academic disciplines at the University.

Through excellent teaching faculty (serial entrepreneurs and seasoned executives) and tenured/tenure-track faculty, the Close School cultivates a research agenda, providing thought leadership to academics and practitioners. Finally, the Close School of Entrepreneurship collaborates with regional and national organizations and the entrepreneurial community to advance innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives.

Entrepreneurship Co-Op

The co-op experience is the hallmark of a Drexel education. Drexel students intersperse one or three six-month periods of work within their academic plans of study. By weaving together scholarly and practical experiences, Drexel students graduate with a unique set of skills that open up a diverse array of professional opportunities upon graduation.

The Close School recognizes that many undergraduates have already started their own companies. To encourage this entrepreneurial spirit within our student body, the Close School, in collaboration with the Steinbright Career Development Center, offers to all Drexel undergraduate students the opportunity to use their own company as their co-op experience. Students who qualify for this opportunity receive a salary ($19,000), like other co-op students who work for established companies and organizations. Most importantly, students participating in the entrepreneurship co-op receive mentoring from Close School faculty and expert mentors.

The Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship

The Baiada Institute is the cradle of entrepreneurship at Drexel University. Open to all students at Drexel, Baiada provides student entrepreneurs with the physical space, mentoring, and resources to start their first (or next) big thing. The Baiada Institute translates the Close School of Entrepreneurship’s groundbreaking curriculum into disruptive ideas led by innovative companies, created by Drexel students from all academic disciplines.