Innovation & Entrepreneurship Certificate Program

A four module program that supports your venture creation and provides you with the tools to nurture an entrepreneurial mindset to succeed as an innovator.

INTRO COURSES

OPERATIONS COURSE

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

BUSINESS PITCHING

These classes are about ideation and early-stage innovation, customer discovery and validating for successful startup ideas.

Two Courses:

Cowell 52 Personal Finance & Investing

and either

Crown 90

Startup Entrepreneurship Academy

or

Crown 92 Social and Creative Entrepreneurship

This class teaches the operational skills necessary to launch and scale a venture.

One Course:

Crown 100

Building and Scaling Ventures

or

BME 175 Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology, for students specifically interested

in biotech.

These classes offer direct client interface and/or assistance at a startup industry partner or Directed Independent Study Course for venture creation.

One Course or 91 Series:

Crown 91 & Crown 191 Marketing For Good Series

or

Crown 194

Eco-Entrepreneurship

or

Crown 195

GetVirtual Business Assitance

or

Crown 152 Startup Deal Sourcing and Investing, where students examine real ventures as possible investment opportunities and make a case for a deal.

Competitons that showcase your pitchability in front of potential investors, mentors and judges.

One Pitch Competition:

Quarterly Ideathons

or

Slug Tank

or

Demo Days

or

Santa Cruz Launchpad

or

CruzHacks

UC Santa Cruz’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) Certificate combines academic training with hands-on experience in developing solutions to real-world problems. The program is structured around four key components:

(1) foundational courses in ideation, prototyping, finance, and customer discovery;

(2) training in the operational aspects of launching and managing ventures;

(3) experiential learning opportunities—including internships, consulting projects, and roles beyond the founder track; and

(4) participation in a public-facing business pitch competition.

This certificate equips students with practical, transferable skills while strengthening UCSC’s connections with employers and community organizations. The certificate is being piloted for 25-26, 26-27, and 27-28, after which it will be reevaluated for permanent status.

I&E Certificate Program Testimonials

“This pathway surpassed my expectations—not only did I learn about new businesses and how they come to be through the Lean Start-Up method, I also learned how to hash out ideas and see what’s feasible through the business model canvas that we used to build our ideas through Innovation Within.”

Shruti Kale, Crown College’s first Innovation and Entrepreneurship Pathway graduate