University of Colorado at Denver and Health Science Center

Courses & Schedules

Courses

The Bard Center for Entrepreneurship is an accredited graduate-level academic program for individuals who seek entrepreneurial guidance regarding their existing or future business ventures. The Bard Center takes entrepreneurship from the classroom to the real world and provides hands on learning opportunities for students in all areas of new venture creation and corporate innovation.

The Bard Center offers an outstanding entrepreneurship curriculum that incorporates instruction, mentoring, and support from outstanding Business School faculty, as well as from outside professionals with expertise in new business development. The Bard Center offers courses in entrepreneurship that explore new venture design, finance structuring, and business plan creation. Students learn from case studies, classroom instruction, and guest lectures featuring successful entrepreneurs and renowned business leaders.

These professional classroom and online courses can be applied as elective credits toward a graduate business degree at the University of Colorado Denver, as well as toward other graduate degree programs at the university.

To obtain a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Studies, students must take three Bard Center courses, including one of the following: The Business Plans (formally Business Plans and Seed Financing), or Business Planning for Social Entrepreneurs; one of the following: Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship, New Concept Development or Entrepreneurial Financial Management; and one of your choice.

Complete student information and short questionnaire here!

Bard Center Courses
Bioscience
Business Planning for Social Entrepreneurs
The Business Plan (formally Business Plans and Seed Financing)
Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Design and Manage Entrepreneurial Organizations
Entrepreneurial Financial Management
Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship
Innovation in the Social Sector
International Entrepreneurship
Leadership in New Ventures
Legal and Ethical Issues of Entrepreneurship
New Concept Development
Real Estate for the Entrepreneur
Strategic Web Development
Sustainable Management Research
Virtual Entrepreneurship

Bioscience

Gain real-world business experience in bioscience; opportunity to apply graduate level academic experience into hands-on business experience within a local bioscience company; Please contact the Bard Center 6 weeks before the start of the term to arrange the internship. For more information or to apply, contact Beth Polizzotto at bard.center@ucdenver.edu or 303-620-4050.

Business Planning for Social Entrepreneurs

Business planning is a key process both in new and existing organizations. Build your road map for achieving your organizational goals. Create a vehicle for thinking about, discussing, researching and analyzing your strategies for sustainability.

Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Make innovation happen. The most important skills to drive innovation are the strategic thinking, the judgment and the visionary leadership to persuade investors, customers, employees, and suppliers, to believe in the vision. Create the breakthrough ideas that will dazzle customers, transform the business model and stun your competitors.

Design and Manage New Entrepreneurial Organizations

Build, run, and grow an entrepreneurial organization. Learn to sustain high performance over a long period of time and become a premier institution in its field. Review mission statements, good and bad. Study different organizational cultures and build a vision.

Entrepreneurial Financial Management

Build a foundation for the financial management of your business, including an overview of financial reporting and cash flow analysis for small businesses, financial planning and budgeting techniques, working capital management and long-term asset decisions, business valuation, franchising, lease versus buy decisions, financial aspects of international trade, and different methods of obtaining capital including trade credit, loans, private placements, angel capital, and venture capital.

Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship

Learn about the entrepreneurial process, or the art and skill of finding viable new-business opportunities and the resources needed to develop and profit from them. In this class we will broadly examine the marketing, management, operations and financial functions needed to successfully start-up a new business whether a sole-proprietorship, partnership or division of a corporation.

Innovation in the Social Sector

The Social Sector is addressing the pressing social and environmental needs facing us today, primarily through the work of non-profit and non-governmental organizations. Discover the context, models, trends, opportunities, and challenges in social entrepreneurship. Develop the tools to identify opportunities for innovation in the social sector.

International Entrepreneurship

Discover the key trends and developments in international business. Investigate the impact of environmental forces (the economic, political/legal, and sociocultural environment) on the functioning of international firms. Explore the international dimensions of selected entrepreneurial functions, including finance, marketing, accounting, organization design, and management. May apply as your MBA international elective.

Leadership in New Ventures

Uncover key leadership principles for creating strategy and managing teams in a new venture. Explore leadership concepts critical to gaining investor and organizational commitment. By exploring what entrepreneurial leaders actually do, and how they effectively lead, you will examine the principles of strategic planning, and how visionary leadership is required to develop an organization that is able to execute strategy through results-oriented metrics. Doctoral nursing students also participate in this class.

Legal and Ethical Issues of Entrepreneurship

Discover the legal issues frequently encountered by entrepreneurs involved in start-ups and closely-held or family businesses. Topics include choice of business form, legal aspects of raising capital, taxation, intellectual property law, employment law, product liability, contracts and e-commerce, and managing lawyers and litigation. Students may substitute ENTP 6822 for the MBA requirement BUSN 6540 but cannot receive credit for both.

New Concept Development

Do you know what makes an idea a viable opportunity, one worth the investment of an entrepreneur's time and money? This course uses theory from psychology and marketing, along with knowledge on industries and markets, to help us understand what makes a concept attractive. The skills developed in this course precede those needed to write a business plan as they focus on understanding problems

Real Estate for the Entrepreneur

Uncover the real estate issues critical to the success of a new venture including business site selection and negotiation of real estate leases and purchases. Explore areas of real estate development of special interest to entrepreneurs, including real estate finance, zoning, property management, transit-oriented and infill development, historic preservation, real estate investing, taxation, affordable housing, and ADA issues.

Strategic Web Development

Design and create a web presence that will support the purpose of the organization and help fuel the growth of the venture. Discover the importance of website visibility to new business operations. Learn how to best utilize search engines, social networks, blogs and other online tools to support and promote your business.

Sustainable Management Research*

This course allows students to pursue independent research and case compilation in sustainably-oriented business topics that the student wishes to pursue, such as microfinance, energy economics, natural capital, corporate social responsibility, transparency in reporting, cap and trade valuation, carbon offset calculation, and business ethics.  Casework completed by students would be included in a research bank suitable for instructors to use in MBA level courses. *Course does not apply to the Certificate program.

The Business Plan (formally Business Plans and Seed Financing)

Create a viable business plan for your new ventures. Explore financing options for starting your businesses. Scan new business opportunities, review case studies, learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and investors who have been through the process. Write your business plan, either individually or with a team of others. 

Virtual Entrepreneurship

This course prepares participants for immersion in a virtual environment, enabling entrepreneurs to understand virtual market research and produce and execute a virtual business model that can become a template for future projects.

 

To obtain a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Studies, students must take three Bard Center courses, including one of the following: The Business Plans (formally Business Plans and Seed Financing), or Business Planning for Social Entrepreneurs; one of the following: Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship, New Concept Development or Entrepreneurial Financial Management; and one of your choice.

I took your business plans and seed financing in the spring of 08'. I had the idea for a counseling center that specialized in DUI and Domestic Violence offenders. I would like to inform you that 1st Star Counseling  is now open for business. I would like to thank you for your input on my class project. Also, I really feel that I learned a ton from that class, it has already helped me so much. Thanks, Dave Lindholm