A student gives a slide presentation, which shows 2 students outdoors holding to-go drink cups with large straws.

Center for Engaged Liberal Arts

Entrepreneurship

Katie Kim ’20 pitches a business plan for offering boba tea to Obies.

Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko

Recognize Opportunity. Add Value. Turn Ideas into Actions.

At Oberlin we define entrepreneurial thinking as the creativity to see potential and create visionary change.

Our approach encompasses three main areas: the broad benefits of entrepreneurial thinking, the fundamentals of business and start-ups, and the tools needed to effect real social change. Through workshops, academic courses, co-curricular opportunities, and consistent mentorship, students with a variety of interests and goals can learn the skills to make a difference.

Location

A035 and A034

Contact

Debra Herzog

440-775-8839

dherzog@oberlin.edu

9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday

Get involved. Get started.

Learn how our programs in entrepreneurship can activate your Oberlin education.

Explore Experience Launch

The Oberlin Innovation Studio

Student stands on stage to present a business pitch to a seated audience

Photo credit: John Seyfried

The Innovation Studio fosters entrepreneurial life skills beyond traditional academic settings and works with students enrolled in the Pathfinder program.

Learn, iterate, and succeed as you navigate the intricate world of entrepreneurship. As you evolve with us, a plethora of resources and support awaits to help transition from a compelling pitch to a thriving venture.

Learn more about the Innovation Studio

Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum

Business Integrative Concentration

The business integrative concentration, open to students of any major in the college and conservatory, covers foundational areas, including accounting, economics, management, and ethics. Through immersive experiences in organizations from local nonprofits to Columbia Pictures, JP Morgan and the World Bank, students test what they learn in the classroom and apply critical thinking and agile action to a wide range of opportunities.

Students collaborate around a big wood table, with laptops and open binders.

Photo credit: Sarah Goodstein

Arts Administration & Leadership

The Arts Administration & Leadership Integrative Concentration trains students in the business and organizational aspects of arts management and production, from museum administration to rock band management to the film industry. Students will acquire both an intellectual and practical foundation in arts management while also exploring enrichment experiences on stage, in museums, and in other co-curricular activities available in the College and Conservatory.

A woman gives a talk.

Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko

Social Entrepreneurship

Oberlin’s Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence builds on our long-standing commitment to social change by hosting a recent alum or community member to mentor student fellows on a venture with a direct positive impact in the surrounding community. Under the guidance of Jesse Gerstin, current Entrepreneur-in-Residence, the fellows are researching minority-owned small business growth in Lorain County for ECDI, a community bank.

A student writes on a sticky note, which is on a board with many other handwritten notes.

Photo credit: Osama Dawood

From the Classroom to the World

The Engaged Liberal Arts at Oberlin takes what you’re learning in your courses and puts it into practice through internships, research, study away experiences, winter term, career exploration, and beyond.

Career Development Bonner Center Fellowships & Awards Study Away Winter Term
Aerial view of intersecting paths in a campus quad.

Resource Links

On-Campus Competitions and Grants

Related Programs

Student-Run Co-Ops and Initiatives

Next Steps

An Oberlin education puts the liberal arts to work in achieving a life of meaning and purpose.

The science center at dusk.

Photo credit: Mike Crupi