Commerce, Organizations and Entrepreneurship

Introduction

The undergraduate concentration in Commerce, Organizations and Entrepreneurship ("COE") engages undergraduate students in the theories and methods of a variety of disciplines applied in the context of national and international commerce, organizations, and entrepreneurship. Sponsored by the departments of Economics and Sociology and the Division of Engineering, this concentration offers students a coordinated, integrated and synergistic approach to these disciplines. Students have the opportunity to learn the methodological approaches of economics, sociology, engineering and entrepreneurship to study for profit and non-profit enterprises in the national and global economic context with specific emphasis on the formation, growth, and organization of new ventures, innovation in commercial applications, financial markets and the marketplace, and management and organizational theory.

Through a series of foundation courses, students are first introduced to the basic principles and approaches of organizational theory, economics, engineering and technological innovation, and entrepreneurship and management. The curriculum also offers students several choices to learn statistical analysis, while requiring mastery of appropriate levels of mathematics. Building on this multidisciplinary base, students then focus their course of study on one of the following tracks:

business economics,
organizational studies, or
entrepreneurship and technology management.

The Curriculum

Foundation Courses

Students are required to complete all of the following courses that form the foundation of the COE concentration:

ECON 0110 Principles of Economics
ECON 1110 Intermediate Microeconomics
MATH 0070, or MATH 0090, or MATH 0050 and 0060, or MATH 0200, or APMA 0330 Introductory Calculus Part I (please note: MATH 0200 or APMA 0330 is required for the Entrepreneurship and Technology Management Track)
SOC 1100, or PSYC 0090, or EDUC 1110, or POLS 1600, or ECON 1620 Statistics (please note: ECON 1620 is required for the Business Economics Track)
SOC 1030 Organizational Theories of Public and Private Sectors
SOC 1090 Theories of Organizational Dynamics and Decision Making
ENGN 0020 Transforming Society - Technology and Choices for the Future (if pursuing the Business Economics or Organizational Studies tracks), or
ENGN 0030 Introduction to Engineering (if pursuing the Entrepreneurship and Technology Management track)
ENGN 1010 The Entrepreneurial Process: Innovation in Practice

The Tracks

1. Business Economics Track

In addition to the Foundation courses, students must complete each of the following:

ECON 0710 Financial Accounting
ECON 1210 Intermediate Macroeconomics
ECON 1710 Investments I
ECON 1720 Corporate Finance

Three additional courses from the following list:

ECON 1160 Managerial Economics
ECON 1310 Labor Economics
ECON 1440 Economic Theories of Firms
ECON 1450 Economics of Regulation
ECON 1460 Industrial Organization
ECON 1470 Bargaining Theory and Applications
ECON 1500 Current Global Economic Challenges
ECON 1510 Economic Development
ECON 1520 The Economic Analysis of Institutions
ECON 1540 International Trade
ECON 1550 International Finance
ECON 1560 Economic Growth
ECON 1590 The Economy of China since 1949
ECON 1600 Economics of the Middle East
ECON 1750 Investments II
ECON 1759 Data, Statistics, Finance
ECON 1760 Financial Institutions
ECON 1770 Fixed Income Securities
ECON 1780 Corporate Strategy
ECON 1790 Corporate Governance and Management
ECON 1800 Politics and Finance
ECON 1850 Theory of Economic Growth
ECON 1870 Game Theory and Applications to Economics

2. Organizational Studies Track

In addition to the Foundation courses, students must complete:

SOC 1050 Methods of Research in Organizations

One advanced course in Research Methods. Options include:

SOC 1120 Sample Surveys in Social Research
SOC 1260 Market Research in Public and Private Sectors
SOC 1871F Principles and Methods of Geographic Information Systems
SOC 2210 Qualitative Methods & Field Research
EDUC 1160 Evaluating the Impact of Social Programs
PPAI 1200 Policy Analysis & Program Evaluation

Two courses in Organizational Behavior:

SOC 1060 Leadership in Organizations
SOC 1070 Money and Society: An Introduction to Economic Sociology
SOC 1170 Corporations and Global Cities
SOC 1540 Human Needs and Social Services
SOC 1870A Investing in Social Change: The Practice of Philanthropy
SOC 1870F Business Networks in Asia
SOC 1870R Groups in Organizations
SOC 1871O Law, Innovations & Entrepreneurship
SOC 1871G Social Goals, Motivation, and Behavior in Organizations
SOC 1871K Nanotechnology and Organizations
SOC 2060 Complex Organizations and Health Policy
SOC 2200 Social Capital and Social Networks
EDUC 1150 Education, the Economy, and School Reform
POLS 1240 Politics, Markets and States in Developing Countries
PPAI 1700B Social Welfare Policy in the United States

Elective: One course taken in any one of the following areas (approved by the COE undergraduate advisor in sociology): economics, sociology, education, political science, philosophy, ethics, public policy, international relations, history and American civilization.

Senior Seminar: One senior- or graduate-level seminar approved by track advisor and taken during the senior year; options include:

SOC 1870F Business Networks in Asia
SOC 1870K Nanotechnology and Organizations
SOC 1870R Groups in Organizations
SOC 2060 Complex Organizations and Health Policy
SOC 2310 Health Institutions and Professions
EDUC 1020 History of American Education
EDUC 1200 History of American School Reform
EDUC 1210 Public Education and People of Color in U.S. History
EDUC 1640 Public Schools and Politics
EDUC 1730 American Higher Education in Historical Context
EDUC 1760 Education and Public Policy
ENGN 1930G/1930H Entrepreneurship I and II – Capstone Project (Please note: both semesters need to be completed in order to fulfill the senior seminar requirement.)
ENGN 1930Q Social Entrepreneurship
ENGN 1930V Engineers of the Future: Architects of Dreams
ENGN 1930S Land Use and Built Environment: An Entrepreneurial View
PPAI 1700K Health Policy Challenges
PPAI 1700N Legal Policy Challenges
PPAI 1700R Urban Revitalization: Lessons from the Providence Plan

3. Entrepreneurship and Technology Management Track

In addition to the Foundation courses, students must complete each of the following:

One 1000-level Economics course
ENGN 1900 The Construction of the Entrepreneurial Enterprise
EN1930G/1930H - Entrepreneurship I and II - Capstone Project
Independent Practicum

and a four course track in a Technology Specialization as approved by the COE advisor in Engineering.

Example Entrepreneurship and Technology Management Specializations

Biotechnology

BIOL 0170 Biotechnology in Medicine
BIOL 0200 The Foundation of Living Systems
ENGN 0410 Materials Science
ENGN 1490 Biomaterials

Nanotechnology

ENGN 0410 Materials Science
ENGN 1930B Biophotonics
ENGN 1490 Biomaterials
ENGN 1930O MEMS Devices (Breuer Course)

Information Technology

CSCI 0150 Introduction to Object Oriented Programming and Computer Science
ENGN 0520 Electrical Circuits and Signals
ENGN 1630 Digital Electronics Systems Design
ENGN 1640 Design of Computing Systems

Manufacturing and Design

ENGN 0310 Mechanics of Solids and Structures
ENGN 1740 Computer Aided Visualization and Design
ENGN 1930M Industrial Design
APMA 1210 Operations Research

Energy and Environment

ENGN 0720 Thermodynamics
ENVS 0110 Environmental Issues: Policy and Science
ENGN 1130 Phase and Chemical Equilibria
ENGN 1120 Chemical Reactor Design

Photonics and Device Technology

ENGN 0510 Electricity and Magnetism
ENGN 1590 Introduction to Semiconductors and Semiconductor Electronics
ENGN 1930B Biophotonics
ENGN 1680 Design of Semiconductor Devices

Functional Materials

ENGN 0410 Materials Science
ENGN 1490 Biomaterials
ENGN 1480 Metallic Materials
ENGN 1470 Structure and Properties of Non-Metallic Materials

Page last updated in February, 2008.

Back to Brown University Registrar's Home Page