Business and Entrepreneurship

Engineers who understand business make better decisions. They know how ideas become viable products, how companies evaluate risk and how technical work fits into broader market realities. Great ideas need technical excellence to succeed, along with sound business judgment and an understanding of how value is created. The Business and Entrepreneurship minor in the Economics and Business Department helps you add that perspective to your bachelor’s degree. You’ll learn how organizations operate, how markets work and how ideas move from concept to execution.

This minor is built for technically minded students who want to understand the business side of engineering and science. Whether you plan to join an established company, launch a startup or lead technical teams, business and entrepreneurship skills help you make smarter decisions and communicate more effectively with partners, teams and investors.

Program Overview

The Business and Entrepreneurship minor builds foundational knowledge in business, economics, innovation and entrepreneurship. You’ll learn how organizations make decisions, allocate resources and evaluate opportunities.

Coursework emphasizes practical application rather than abstract theory, keeping the focus on how business concepts support real-world problem solving. Coursework emphasizes practical decision making, analytical thinking, and clear communication. You’ll learn the skills needed to start and manage a business, including how to evaluate opportunities, understand costs and tradeoff and think critically about risk and reward. Because Mines is a premier engineering and applied science university, this minor is designed to complement technical rigor with business insight, helping you see the bigger picture behind engineering solutions.

When you graduate with this minor, you add business literacy, entrepreneurial thinking and leadership readiness to your bachelor’s degree.

Program Options

The Business and Entrepreneurship minor is offered through the Economics and Business Department.

• Core courses introduce engineering economics, business fundamentals, and entrepreneurial thinking.
• Electives allow you to explore areas such as business analytics, marketing, strategy, finance or project management based on your interests.