Beginning this fall, LSU students can start taking classes toward a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship even though the degree won’t officially be offered until the fall 2017 semester.
The entrepreneurship major must be coupled with an existing degree, like engineering or landscape architecture, for a dual major that will require about 150 credit hours.
The degree is the brainchild of Richard White, dean of LSU’s E.J. Ourso College of Business, who views the new major as one step toward providing students with the proper tools to succeed in today’s ever-changing business environment.
“It’s a tough program to implement, but the return on investment in success of students, and just as importantly, building jobs for the future, is well worth the effort,” White says.
The state Board of Regents has approved the preliminary application for the degree, and White is working his way through the school’s regulatory process. He says he has the backing of university administrators who see the value in the degree.
“Can you imagine the value of a construction management degree coupled with an entrepreneurship degree?” White asks.
Earlier this week, White spoke at the LSU Department of Accounting’s 13th annual Fraud & Forensic Accounting Conference where he told his audience he’s scared about the future for his students.
“I look upon my job as dean as looking into the future—not mine, but the near 1,000 students we graduate each year,” White says, according to an LSU news release. “The workforce 10 to 20 years from now … we won’t recognize it. The ladder of success will not only be steeper because of increased competition, but it will be narrower because of fewer jobs. Automation, artificial intelligence, offshoring, mergers and acquisitions—all of these will affect the job market and limit jobs.”
The school has offered an entrepreneurship minor, consisting of 18 course hours in classes like small business management and social entrepreneurship, for years. Classes in fields such as patents and finances will be added for a rounded curriculum.
One large part of the curriculum will be paid internships for course credit. White says he has been working to find entrepreneurs willing to mentor students. He’s also working to create a funding source so students can afford to intern in cities like New York and San Francisco, where the cost of living far exceeds hourly wages.
Right now, the dean is pushing hard to make this idea a reality. He and administrators in other colleges are reworking the curriculums to make all the pieces fit without having students take more classes than they need.
“I’m not going to let the price of oil or the Louisiana budget stand in my way on this,” he says.
—Ryan Broussard
