Requirements

The RLCIE Fellows Program is open to all students at the Colleges. New Fellows Candidates entering the program in FY22 will be bound by these requirements. Earlier Fellows Candidates can either conform to these or to the previous requirements they were operating under.

Experiential Requirements:  

Workshops

  • 4 required 1st Year Core workshops
  • 4 required 2nd Year Core workshops
  • At least 4 additional workshops, training sessions, or professional development sessions.

 The 1st Year Pitch Competition

Internship: Complete an approved internship related to innovation and entrepreneurship. We are particularly enthusiastic about internships with companies in Silicon Beach, Downtown LA, Pasadena, Orange County, or Silicon Valley and those involving established tech companies, early-stage firms, and incubators. Internships taken through INT 30 in the Silicon Valley Program count. Fellows Candidates can apply to receive a stipend to help support their approved summer internship.

Mentoring: Upperclassmen participate in mentoring freshmen (and other more junior) Fellows Candidates.

Academic Requirements:

Complete at least four approved courses that help you prepare to be a thoughtful, productive and responsible business leader and innovator. In order for a course to count, a grade of at least B- must be achieved:

Many paths lead to innovation and entrepreneurship, and we encourage students to propose tailored course plans to the Director of the RLCIE: dfilson@cmc.edu. We have listed some pre-approved options below in the areas of economics, data science, leadership along with some that consider the political and social impacts of business and innovation. However, students should not feel compelled to select courses from this list. We particularly encourage tailored plans that include technical subjects (such as design, engineering or the sciences), and we welcome plans involving all subjects and areas of study offered at the Colleges. We encourage students to consider courses outside their major.

Students can count up to four Economics courses related to innovation and entrepreneurship:

  • Econ 65/165 Innovation Management/Industrial Organization (SVP)
  • Econ 98/198 Organizing for Innovation/Economics of Innovation (SVP)
  • Econ 129 Game Theory
  • Econ 134B/Fin 330 Advanced Corporate Finance/Corporate Financial Management
  • Econ 151 Strategic Cost Management
  • Econ 165 Industrial Organization
  • Econ 181 Fintech Practicum
  • Econ 193/Fin 450 Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital

Students can count up to two courses that count towards CMC’s Data Science sequence:

Students can count one upper division Leadership course related to innovation and entrepreneurship:

  • Lead 142 Leading Social Innovation
  • Lead 150 Leadership, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley (SVP)
  • Psych 140 Leadership

Students can propose to count courses that examine interactions between business and society or focus on related personal development, such as:

  • FHS Sacred Grounds: Coffee, Power and Religion
  • Govt 165c Technology and Democracy
  • ID 80 Introductory Personal Finance (.5CR)

We encourage students to propose courses in the sciences as well as non-CMC courses in areas such as engineering, organizational studies, science, technology and society, and other subjects related to the RLCIE’s mission.

One course can be a thesis or a comparable major research project related to innovation and/or entrepreneurship (requires the Director’s approval)

Capstone Requirement: Students must complete at least one of the following in a high-quality manner. Each involves both a written component and an oral presentation demonstrating substantial knowledge of innovation and entrepreneurship. Students must obtain approval from the Director and Executive Director for their topics:

  • Produce a senior thesis related to innovation or entrepreneurship (if not counted towards the Academic Requirements). Other program capstones can also potentially meet this requirement (Team Masters Projects, Clinic Projects, the Fintech Practicum, and DS 180).
  • Explore a business or innovation opportunity in a rigorous way, and provide appropriate analyses that might include ingredients such as a market study, a business plan, or a description of a new product (ideally along with a prototype or a minimally viable version). In exceptional cases in which the business or innovation is already operational, the focus of the document should be modified accordingly.
  • Consult extensively for businesses involved in innovation and entrepreneurship. Provide a document that summarizes the activities involved and results obtained.
  • Provide a major research paper other than the thesis. This might be a paper from a course, an independent-study, or an internship, but it can also be a paper completed solely to meet the CIE requirement.
  • Spend at least one semester working part-time with a startup (normally this will occur through the RLCIE Startup Database), and provide a document summarizing the experience, contribution, and lessons learned. Sufficient hours and engagement with the startup are required. More substantial internships with startups are also appropriate.

 

Feel free to email Ron LaPierre at rlapierre@cmc.edu with any questions.