Entrepreneurship

Crown College hosts a Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E). Combining academic learning with community collaboration and hands-on experience, this certificate helps students build career-ready skills and turn ideas into action. The program was created in close partnership with local entrepreneurs, who developed and teach several of the certificate classes.

The Humanizing Technology Certificate Program is a Humanities Division initiative targeted to early career Engineering students but open to all UCSC undergraduates. During the Summer Session, the program is also open to visiting students . The program features small class sizes and General Education courses that examine the goals and impacts of technology in various ways.

The Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurial Development facilitates valuable connections between students and a broader business community. We have a growing ecosystem of adjunct professors and leaders in fast-growing tech startups such as Cruz Foam and Joby Aviation. These partnerships open doors to mentorships, internships, and collaborative opportunities. CIED also offers an Innovation & Entrepreneurship Certificate Program.

The Global Entrepreneurship program offers a unique opportunity for students to engage with an international cohort of fellow entrepreneurs, giving you valuable entrepreneurial skills and practical business experience. This immersive 5-week program, consisting of three weeks of online learning followed by two weeks in-person on the UC Santa Cruz campus, offers a unique opportunity to engage with an international cohort of fellow entrepreneurs. Participants gain hands-on experience through a comprehensive curriculum consisting of lectures, industry guest speakers, site visits in Silicon Valley, and guided internships or startup business development.

Explore our many courses that help guide you in your entrepreneurship activities! As one example, Crown 90: Start-up Entrepreneurship Academy is an introduction to the basics of setting up a start-up company using the Lean Launchpad/NSF I-Corps model of instruction. Students learn principles of data collection, marketing processes, and resources needed for new companies. The class is articulated around the design of a business plan, in groups of 4-5 students coached by a successful entrepreneur, and culminates in a presentation. The market research for the project involves talking to at least 5 potential customers, partners, channels and/or related experts each week.

The Innovation & Business Engagement Hub provides a suite of programs and resources to help you develop exciting innovations, pursue your entrepreneurial endeavors and forge career pathways in innovative companies and industries, and form and grow new ventures that can set innovations nurtured at the university on the path to creating societal benefit and impact. Through our efforts and our network of campus and community partners, we can help you understand what it takes to advance an early-stage innovation and build a new venture that can successfully traverse the valley of death.

Slug Tank is an annual entrepreneurship competition that serves as a pivotal catalyst for the burgeoning UCSC entrepreneurship ecosystem. Beyond a mere showcase of ideas, Slug Tank propels student entrepreneurs into the startup realm, fostering a collaborative community that influences not only the participants but also the broader landscape of UCSC's academic and innovation initiatives. The event attracts students, mentors, investors, and industry professionals, creating an environment where creativity, innovation, and business acumen converge to shape the future of entrepreneurship.

Interested in creating something new that uses technology for the public good? You might want to explore the funding and opportunities available through the Social Entrepreneurship Center at CITRIS.

QB3 supports research, innovation, and entrepreneurship to address challenges in human and planetary health – climate change – on and across University of California campuses at Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz.

This club aims to build a diverse community of student innovators and creative problem solvers. They encourage students, through engaging events and workshops, to have unique insights on social and technical problems our society is facing today. You might also want to explore the UCSC Startup Club!