LSU is laying the groundwork for a new degree in entrepreneurship at the flagship campus in Baton Rouge, with the business school having already raised $12 million in private dollars for the program, which could be implemented as early as next fall.
The LSU Board of Supervisors approved the new degree—a bachelor of science in entrepreneurship—at its meeting Friday. The Louisiana Board of Regents will consider the proposal at its meeting in January. If passed, a year-long pilot program will begin with classes starting in the fall semester.
E.J. Ourso College of Business Dean Richard White says the school has already approved $500,000 for additional faculty salaries for the program. If the Board of Regents approves the program next month, White hopes to bring 30 juniors on board next fall to be the inaugural class.
Students who choose to major in entrepreneurship will be required to earn a bachelor’s degree in another field at the same time. White says this requirement will integrate students’ passion—especially with music and arts—with the real life skills to survive in the marketplace.
The pilot program would be rolled out in the first year to partner entrepreneurship with four schools: engineering, art and design, music and agriculture. More than 300 students at LSU are already working toward two bachelor’s degrees, and White expects the entrepreneurship program to become “overrun” with applications from students.
Bill Richardson, dean of the College of Agriculture, expects significant interest in the new degree from agriculture students, especially for agriculture business, textiles and food nutrition.
“We’re very excited about this,” he says, “especially for some of the programs with more of a business-oriented focus.”
White says the entrepreneurship degree lines up well with agriculture, because many of the courses already overlap between business and agriculture.
The business school already offers a minor in entrepreneurship, and management majors can earn a focus in entrepreneurship. White says those classes will be a foundation for the new degree, and he plans to add several more entrepreneurship-focused courses.
Students pursuing the degree will be required to take core business courses such as economics, finance, management and accounting, White says, before advancing to classes on how to “sell themselves,” scale up production, obtain a patent and other skills necessary for entrepreneurs.
“Most entrepreneurs will fail four or five times before they’re successful,” he says. “We want to cut that number down.”
—Sam Karlin
