Business, Entrepreneurship and Organizations (BEO) is a multidisciplinary concentration that provides a rigorous and synergistic program in the study of commercial activity grounded in economics, sociology and engineering. BEO focuses on the formation, growth, and organization of new ventures, innovation in commercial applications, financial markets and the marketplace, and management and organizational theory. Concentrators seek to understand the basic principles, approaches and vocabulary relevant to the study of entrepreneurship from the disciplines of economics, organizational sociology and engineering. Building on this multidisciplinary base, students develop specialized expertise in one of the three disciplinary approaches, with special emphasis on critical reasoning and quantitative research methods. In senior year capstone projects, students apply and integrate multi-disciplinary learning by working in groups on real world projects, including the creation of new ventures. BEO students interested in the theory and practice of addressing social challenges might consider the Engaged Scholars Program.
The Business, Entrepreneurship, and Organizations concentration is open only to students admitted in the fall of 2019 or prior.
The three tracks of the concentration are as follows:
- Business Economics
- Organizational Studies
- Entrepreneurship and Technology Management
Upon completion of all concentration requirements, students receive the Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree in Business, Entrepreneurship and Organizations.
The Curriculum
Business Economics Track
| Foundation Requirements (foundation requirements must be completed before taking the capstone in fall of senior year) | ||
| ECON 0110 | Principles of Economics | 1 |
| ECON 1110 | Intermediate Microeconomics | 1 |
| Any two of the following three courses: | 2 | |
| Organizations and Society | ||
| Micro-Organizational Theory: Social Behavior in Organizations | ||
| Macro-Organizational Theory: Organizations in Social Context | ||
| ENGN 0020 | Transforming Society-Technology and Choices for the Future | 1 |
| or ENGN 0030 | Introduction to Engineering | |
| ENGN 1010 | The Entrepreneurial Process | 1 |
| Math and Statistics Requirements | ||
| MATH 0100 | Single Variable Calculus, Part II | 1 |
| or MATH 0170 | Single Variable Calculus, Part II (Accelerated) | |
| or ECON 0170 | Essential Mathematics for Economics | |
Or AP BC Calculus score of 4 or higher | ||
Or IB High-level Math minimum score of 5 (IB Standard-level not accepted) | ||
| ECON 1620 | Introduction to Econometrics | 1 |
| Track Requirements | ||
| ECON 0710 | Financial Accounting | 1 |
| ECON 1210 | Intermediate Macroeconomics | 1 |
| ECON 1629 | Applied Research Methods for Economists | 1 |
| ECON 1710 | Investments I | 1 |
| ECON 1720 | Corporate Finance | 1 |
| One 1000-level economics course. | 1 | |
| Capstone: one-semester required (must be taken fall of senior year) 1 | 1 | |
| BEO Capstone I: Business Economics Track | ||
| Total Credits | 15 | |
Organizational Studies Track
| Foundation Requirements (foundation requirements must be completed before taking the capstone in fall of senior year) | ||
| ECON 0110 | Principles of Economics | 1 |
| ECON 1110 | Intermediate Microeconomics | 1 |
| ENGN 0020 | Transforming Society-Technology and Choices for the Future | 1 |
| or ENGN 0030 | Introduction to Engineering | |
| ENGN 1010 | The Entrepreneurial Process | 1 |
| Any two of the following three courses: | 2 | |
| Organizations and Society | ||
| Micro-Organizational Theory: Social Behavior in Organizations | ||
| Macro-Organizational Theory: Organizations in Social Context | ||
| Math and Statistics Requirements | ||
| MATH 0100 | Single Variable Calculus, Part II | 1 |
| or MATH 0170 | Single Variable Calculus, Part II (Accelerated) | |
| or ECON 0170 | Essential Mathematics for Economics | |
Or AP BC Calculus with a score of 4 or higher | ||
Or IB High-level Math with a minumum score of 5 (IB Standard-level is not accepted) | ||
| SOC 1100 | Introductory Statistics for Social Research | 1 |
| or APMA 0650 | Essential Statistics | |
| or ECON 1620 | Introduction to Econometrics | |
| Track Requirements | ||
| One Introduction to Research Methods course (selected from the following): | 1 | |
| Methods of Social Research | ||
| Two Organization-Relevant Electives (OREs) Not all of the courses listed here will be offered in any given semester, and others are sometimes added. The following are approved examples-please consult with Courses@Brown/Brown.edu/BEO website for current offerings: | 2 | |
| ORE courses allow students to deepen and/or broaden their exposure to topics and settings that are either strongly determined by, or strongly determining of, organizational activities and outcomes. An ORE course will have a clear linkage to commerce, organizations and/or entrepreneurship, and it will incorporate organizational phenomena and perspectives in a significant portion of its coursework. | ||
Any from the Advanced Research Methods or Advanced Organization-Studies lists; or | ||
| American Advertising: History and Consequences | ||
| Human Factors | ||
| csciStartup | ||
| Industrial Organization | ||
| Economic Organizations and Economic Systems | ||
| Financial Institutions | ||
| Sociology of Education | ||
| The American Teacher: How Policy Shapes the Profession | ||
| Education, the Economy and School Reform | ||
| Entrepreneurship Practicum: Starting, Running, and Scaling Ventures | ||
| Social Entrepreneurship | ||
| Prosperity: The Ethics and Economics of Wealth Creation | ||
| Law and Society | ||
| Eco-Entrepreneurship | ||
| The Real Estate Development Process: An Entrepreneurial Lens | ||
| One Advanced Organization Studies course (AOS). Not all of the courses listed here will be offered in any given semester, and others are sometimes added. The following are approved EXAMPLES-please consult with the Courses@Brown and the Brown.edu/BEO website for current offerings: | 1 | |
| AOS courses directly employ and extend the theories and perspectives introduced by the foundational Organizational Studies courses. They are either taught by core Organization Studies faculty or vetted on a regular basis by the Organization Studies track advisor, to ensure that they thoroughly incorporate Organization Studies perspectives and focus primarily on organizational processes and phenomena. | ||
| Psychology in Business and Economics | ||
| Health Policy Challenges | ||
| Nonprofit Organizations | ||
| Leadership in Organizations | ||
| Migrants, Refugees and the Mediterranean | ||
| Investing in Social Change | ||
| Law, Innovation and Entrepreneurship | ||
| Sociology of FIRE: Finance, Insurance, + Real Estate | ||
| One Advanced Research Methods course (ARM). Not all of the courses listed here will be offered in any given semester, and others are sometimes added. The following are approved examples-please consult with Courses@Brown and the brown.edu/BEO website for current offerings: | 1 | |
| ARM courses allow students to deepen and/or broaden their expertise in one or more methods of empirical inquiry. | ||
| Ethnographic Research Methods | ||
| Mathematical Econometrics I | ||
| Applied Statistics for Ed Research and Policy Analysis | ||
| Focus Groups for Market and Social Research | ||
| Context Research for Innovation | ||
| Market Research in Public and Private Sectors | ||
| Principles and Methods of Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Capstone: two-semesters required 1 | 2 | |
| BEO Capstone I: Organizational Studies Track and BEO Capstone II: Organizational Studies Track | ||
| Total Credits | 15 | |
| 1 | If a student in the Organizational Studies track completes only the fall semester of the capstone course (BEO 1930A), she/he must take one additional ARM or AOS course. |
Entrepreneurship and Technology Management Track
| Foundation Requirements (foundation requirements must be completed before taking the capstone in fall of senior year) | ||
| ECON 0110 | Principles of Economics | 1 |
| ECON 1110 | Intermediate Microeconomics | 1 |
| Any two of the following three courses: | 2 | |
SOC 0300 | Organizations and Society | |
| Micro-Organizational Theory: Social Behavior in Organizations | ||
| Macro-Organizational Theory: Organizations in Social Context | ||
| ENGN 0030 | Introduction to Engineering | 1 |
| ENGN 1010 | The Entrepreneurial Process | 1 |
| Math and Statistics Requirements | ||
| MATH 0200 | Multivariable Calculus (Physics/Engineering) | 1 |
| or APMA 0330 | Methods of Applied Mathematics I | |
| SOC 1100 | Introductory Statistics for Social Research | 1 |
| or APMA 0650 | Essential Statistics | |
| or ECON 1620 | Introduction to Econometrics | |
| Track Requirements | ||
| One gateway course in Engineering or another physical science 1 | 1 | |
| Five courses that develop expertise in a technical subfield 1, 2 | 5 | |
| Capstone: two-semesters required (must be taken in fall and spring of senior year) | 2 | |
| BEO Capstone I: Entrepreneurship and Technology Management Track | ||
| BEO Capstone II: Entrepreneurship and Technology Management Track | ||
| Total Credits | 16 | |
| 1 | For specific gateway and subfield courses, refer to the BEO website. |
| 2 | Technical subfields include Biotechnology/Biomaterials, Information Technology and Computer Engineering, Energy and the Environment, and others. |