The entrepreneurship major provides a foundation for students interested in starting their own businesses.

The McGuire Entrepreneurship Program is a competitive, restricted-entry, senior-year program. The one-year curriculum is designed to prepare outstanding students for success as entrepreneurs and business leaders. Cited as a model program by the U.S. Association for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship and highly ranked by Entrepreneur magazine and U.S. News & World Report, the McGuire New Venture Development Program combines scholarship with application. Students focus on analysis, decision-making and business planning.

Degree Requirements

Includes foundation courses required for Professional Admission*, general education requirements, professional core courses, free electives and a set of specific Entrepreneurship courses. Participants are selected in the spring term for entry the following fall.

Sample Entrepreneurship Courses:

• New Venture Development and Industry Analysis
• Marketing Research for Entrepreneurs
• Finance for New Ventures
• Development of New Venture Plans

* Students must achieve Professional Admission (a competitive and selective application process) to move from the Foundational phase to the professional phase. 
** Check the Degree/Academic Progress Report (APRR's) for your specific academic program requirements per the catalog.

Other Preparation

Entrepreneurship students prepare comprehensive new-venture business plans, working in four-person teams and conferring with faculty and business leaders. The student teams present and defend their plans in a new venture competition at the end of the academic year.

The involvement of the business community is a key component of the program. Leaders from the private sector offer a first-hand look at obstacles and opportunities that exist in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Throughout the year, outside speakers discuss their career experiences. Speakers include company founders, venture capitalists and professionals from marketing and law firms, financial institutions and certified public accounting firms.

Social and seminar events include the Arizona Venture Forum a national dialogue among prominent academic and business leaders.

Clubs and Organizations:
The college has a wide variety of professional fraternities, honoraries and student clubs. Student organizations offer: career information; networking opportunities; social and professional activities; and provide leadership roles and skills building opportunities. 

Visit the Eller Undergraduate Student Organizations for more information on student clubs.

Career Opportunities

Alumni of the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program are prepared to:

• Launch new ventures
• Take on leadership roles at start up companies
• Work in corporate entrepreneurship
• Work at venture capital firms
• Be competitive applicants for top employers

One reason the program successfully prepares corporate leaders is that all students learn from interdisciplinary, practical and comprehensive perspectives—studying business from the ground up.

Salaries

Starting salaries vary by size and type of employer, location, course work, and experience. The mean noted below is from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

• National mean starting salary, Entrepreneurship: $58,291 (Spring 2023 - NACE)

Recruitment Opportunities

Many Entrepreneurship students combine the program with a double major within the college. A wide variety of career opportunities exist depending on individual curricula and experience. On-campus recruitment opportunities include the fall and spring Eller Expo and Career Showcase, hosted by the Eller College, and the fall and spring "Career Days," hosted by the University of Arizona Student Engagement and Career Development.

A sample of employers that hired McGuire Entrepreneurship majors in recent years, including companies launched through the program: