The study of entrepreneurship at Fordham University can be approached from many angles. The Fordham Foundry is only one of them. Here are some of the others.

Curriculum

Gabelli School undergraduates can complete an academic concentration in entrepreneurship to define their bachelor’s degree in business administration. This involves taking either four courses (for a primary concentration) or three (for a secondary concentration) in venture capital, small business finance, Fair Trade, and social entrepreneurship. Coursework cultivates the traits of innovation and resilience that power the world’s great entrepreneurs.

We currently offer about 20 courses that count toward this concentration.

Entrepreneurship-minded students also gravitate toward Fordham’s minor in sustainable business, a cooperative offering of the Gabelli School and Fordham College.

Fordham Law School’s entrepreneurial law program provides legal training across various cutting-edge issues. Students can work with Fordham Foundry members and other entrepreneurs, illuminating the intersection of entrepreneurial law and social justice. Foundry member companies' unique mission reflects Fordham Law’s motto: “In the service of others.”

Extracurriculars

Fordham has an active Entrepreneurship Society that coordinates an annual conference of U.S. startup leaders. Many entrepreneurship students are also members of the Digital Business Society, which brings together Fordham undergraduates with computer science majors from Fordham College for tech-related workshops and speaker events.

External partnerships

Fordham’s partnerships with top-tier entrepreneurship organizations make it an even better place to learn this discipline. Here are several examples:

Compass Fellowship

Fordham is among the few select universities that have participated in this prestigious social-entrepreneurship program run by the Kenneth Cole Foundation, along with Georgetown, Stanford, Duke, UC Berkeley, and others. Compass Fellows are freshmen with a unique socially conscious business idea who receive support on a weekly basis to launch their companies. In subsequent years, they become upperclassmen mentors to future classes of first-year undergraduates. 

Young Entrepreneur Council

In 2015, Fordham connected with YEC, a premier national organization for young entrepreneurs, to provide established entrepreneurs as guest speakers for Fordham Foundry members and undergraduate entrepreneurship students. YEC’s invitation-only stable of business owners includes the leaders of 16 Handles, Rent the Runway, and Convene.