The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Courtesy photo
Big news from Hyde Park: the University of Chicago’s Booth School, one of the world’s most elite and intellectually fearless business schools, is officially entering the undergraduate arena. Starting in the 2025–26 academic year, Booth plans to launch its first undergraduate minor – Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
This is Booth’s first real step back into the undergraduate sphere in over 80 years. The new minor is a collaboration between Booth, the College, and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, UChicago’s hub for venture support and startup acceleration.
For the Polsky Center, the minor expands its reach across the University, building on years of support for undergraduate entrepreneurs. “Over the years, we’ve seen extraordinary undergraduate teams come through CNVC – launching startups that have gone on to raise capital, build products, and drive real-world impact,” said Starr Marcello, deputy dean at Booth and professor of the CNVC.
AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NEW PROGRAM
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation minor has been designed to be interdisciplinary and hands-on, with guidance from Booth faculty and Polsky mentors.
It welcomes students from any major to explore topics like venture creation, marketing, behavioral economics, and leadership – and Booth’s economics legacy is a major asset here. The school is well-equipped in all of these topics, seeing as they have had more Nobel laureates in Economic Sciences than any other business school in the U.S. They have ten of them to be exact, and Booth’s faculty have shaped everything from market design to behavioral finance. Now, the same people whose work has added so much value already will be stepping into their undergrad classrooms.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation students will take their fair share of electives and work on real-world projects like the College New Venture Challenge (CNVC), which has historically helped launch dozens of successful ventures. At the end of the minor, the experience culminates by way of a reflection paper that ties entrepreneurial learning back to each student’s academic journey to ensure these students graduate with both skills and perspective.
The school advises that students wishing to elect the minor must meet with their faculty advisor before the start of their final quarter of enrollment to declare their intention to complete the minor.
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