Stanford Entrepreneurship Learning Paths
Find Your Path
Stanford offers an abundance of entrepreneurship courses, activities, and resources. It can be overwhelming! STVP is here to help. We welcome students from any background, experience level, and field of study to accelerate their entrepreneurial learning journey. We provide transformative learning experiences that help you develop entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, mindsets, and networks.
Learning paths
Jimmy Chen
I never considered myself an entrepreneur when I was at Stanford. I thought that was not really for…
Shreya Mantha
STVP has been a cornerstone in my journey — STVP-affiliated courses, PEAK Fellows, and close…
Akshay Dinakar
The chance to build something that could take an entire leap forward for humankind, as opposed to…
Courses
Design your entrepreneurial learning path with STVP-affiliated courses. We welcome students from any background, any experience level, and any field of study to accelerate their journey with STVP, the Stanford Engineering Entrepreneurship Center.
Frequently Asked Questions
- I’m not an engineering student. Can I take STVP-affiliated courses?
- Yes! We encourage students from any Stanford school, discipline, major, background, and experience level to take STVP-affiliated courses and develop their entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, mindsets, and networks.
- I’m curious about venture capital (VC) and finance. Which classes do you recommend?
- Which student organizations should I join? How do I join them?
- Visit the Stanford Entrepreneurship Network to discover groups focused on entrepreneurship.
- Attend the Student Engagement Fair in fall quarter. There, you can chat with current student club members, sign up for email lists, and learn more. You can also contact club officers via CardinalEngage.
- Which STVP fellows program is right for me?
- Every STVP fellows program will connect you to a vibrant network of fellows and mentors, while you develop skills in entrepreneurial leadership and venture creation.
- Mayfield Fellows Program – Learn to lead principled and responsible tech ventures while participating in a paid summer internship with mentorship from experts and peers. Runs Spring through Fall for Stanford undergrad and co-term students.
- Accel Leadership Program – Build the leadership skills to solve real-world problems in a program anchored on case-based team learning. Runs Winter through Spring for Stanford co-term and master's students.
- Threshold Venture Program – Develop leadership skills for the venture ecosystem. Runs Winter through Spring for Stanford Engineering master’s students.
- PEAK Fellows Program – Develop principles for entrepreneurial leadership. Runs Summer through Fall for Stanford undergrad and co-term students.
- Every STVP fellows program will connect you to a vibrant network of fellows and mentors, while you develop skills in entrepreneurial leadership and venture creation.
- How can I engage with research at STVP?
- For undergrads, we recommend you start by learning about the undergraduate research landscape at Stanford. If you are in the School of Engineering, the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) may be a great fit. We also encourage you to apply to applicable Diversity in Research programs, such as this one, hosted by the Management Science and Engineering department.
- For master’ students and undergrads interested in pursuing a doctoral degree, learn more and apply to the STVP doctoral program in the MS&E department.
- Learn more about STVP-affiliated faculty, reflect on which professor’s research closely aligns with your interests.
- In which classes can I work on my startup idea?
- ENGR 145 – Technology Entrepreneurship
- ENGR 245 – Lean LaunchPad
- MS&E 273 – Venture Creation for the Real Economy
- ME 301 – LaunchPad: Design and Launch your Product or Service
- MS&E 272 – Entrepreneurship without Borders
- MS&E 297 – Hacking for Defense
- BIOE 376 – Startup Garage: Design
- BIOE 377 – Startup Garage: Testing and Launch
- CSRE 161P – Entrepreneurship for Social and Racial Equity
- EARTHSYS 213 – Hacking for Climate and Sustainability
- BIOE 375 – Biodesign and Entrepreneurship for Societal Health
- Where can I find Stanford-affiliated funding for my startup?
- There are equity-free grants available through Stanford pitch competitions (BASES 100k Challenge), accelerator programs (Cardinal Ventures, SPARK, Innovation Medicines Accelerator, SENSA Labs), and other funding sources (Stanford research grants, Bio-X). This list is not comprehensive and we suggest you conduct your own search.
- Many campus activities facilitate learning from and speaking with venture capital investors, such as Cardinal Ventures, ASES’ VC3 program, Lean LaunchPad, and Startup Garage.
- Check out these videos from STVP’s Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders series on fundraising:
Acknowledgements
Our sincere thanks to Brandon Farwell, General Partner at Xfund, for supporting learning paths and the Stanford Entrepreneurship Network, and to Fenwick for supporting STVP-affiliated courses taught by adjunct faculty, in partnership with Management Science & Engineering.