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You’ll be taught by entrepreneurs and business executives who bring tremendous expertise to the classroom and relevance to your business interests. You’ll have access to a number of advisors and mentors as well as the opportunity to compete for seed funds and large scholarships. With courses offered during the day, at night, online or in a hybrid format, we can accommodate even the busiest schedule. Our graduates are frequently recruited by firms seeking new employees with entrepreneurial vision and many also start their own businesses or transfer to a four-year college or university.
This program is also a strong complement to many of our other degree programs. If you're studying in another field but have plans to launch your own business, earning a certificate or additional degree in entrepreneurship can help you build the skills you need.
AACC offers the following Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees. The state of Maryland refers to the A.A.S. as a career degree, because it's intended to provide you with skills to enter the workforce. In some cases, AACC has entered into transfer agreements that allow these degrees to transfer to select colleges.
You’ll sharpen your entrepreneurial thinking skills while developing a set of tools to help you launch your own business. You’ll learn how to develop a business plan, obtain resources, manage finances, select employees, capitalize on international opportunities and so much more. Our graduates are often sought after by companies seeking to improve productivity through innovation and creative problem-solving.
The following certificates prepare students for employment and feed into the A.A.S. degree, if desired:
Learn the basics of accounting, sales and marketing while sharpening your entrepreneurial thinking skills. All businesses need managers who can identify opportunities, obtain resources, plan, organize and direct work to accomplish goals. By the time you finish the certificate, you’ll be ready to start your own business, work with others to identify opportunities, join entrepreneurial ventures or work for an established organization.
This certificate is a strong complement to many degree programs. If you're studying in another field but have plans to launch your own business, earning a certificate in entrepreneurship can help you build the skills you need.
If you work in a licensed profession and want to learn more about becoming a business owner, then this program is for you. You will be trained in the basics of entrepreneurship and business ownership. You will learn and apply innovative problem-solving techniques which are valuable to skilled trades and licensed professionals who wish to transition from being employees to business owners.
Prepare to launch and operate your own construction venture or take a leadership role in an existing construction firm or related business. Our Construction Management Entrepreneurship students are often in demand by growth-driven companies which value innovation and creative problem-solving.
Any credit or noncredit AACC student, regardless of their field of study, can use the Hatchery, apply for scholarships and participate in the competitions. Students enrolled in a minimum of 6 credits may be eligible to apply for the Entrepreneurs Scholarship.
Careers Center Room 326, Arnold
Hundreds of students have benefited from the Hatchery’s fully equipped business library, private and workgroup spaces, conference room and computers loaded with software applications helpful to those starting new ventures. In addition to Microsoft Office products and the current term’s textbooks, you’ll have access to a color printer.
The Ratcliffe Foundation believes in supporting student entrepreneurs with their education regardless of the venture. Each eligible student may earn up to $12,000! Since its inception in 2003, the foundation has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships, internship awards and seed funds to hundreds of students.
Each fall, credit and noncredit students compete for cash prizes for the best new big idea. Students record and submit online their two-minute pitch of a unique or original idea that solves a problem or creates a convenience.
In AACC’s version of the ABC Network’s “Shark Tank,” credit and noncredit students who have successfully completed an AACC course in the last year compete for money to support their business venture. They present a comprehensive business plan and pitch their idea to a panel of judges. In spring 2026, eight businesses received seed funds ranging from $3,000 to $25,000!
Connect with students, hear amazing speakers and participate in fun field trips to New York City, Hershey Park and other places. Guest lecturers speak on sales and marketing, creativity and idea generation, stress management, accounting tips and legal issues. The Entrepreneurs' Club (E-Club) meets the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Any student from any field or major can attend the meetings, join the field trips and use the information in their business ventures.
HawkTrade is a student business trade show held each fall and spring featuring AACC students, Ratcliffe Scholars and Ratcliffe Scholar alumni who are in business or who are gathering feedback to launch their businesses.
Students can exhibit for free. Register online to be an exhibitor.
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Daniel Levy found more than classes at AACC, he found a network of peers and mentors who encouraged his entrepreneurial spirit. With that support, he co-founded Mindful Movements, a nonprofit that has earned recognition and funding at both AACC’s Business Pitch Competition and United Way’s Changemakers Challenge.
Read Daniel's StoryIf you're looking to transfer your Entrepreneurship Associate of Applied Science degree (A.A.S.) to a four-year school, we have partnerships and transfer agreements in place with several schools so you can easily transfer when you're ready. Transfer (or “articulation”) agreements are formal arrangements between institutions that allow certain credits to transfer seamlessly from one school to the other.
Don't worry if your preferred school isn't on the list. You can work with a transfer advisor to make a plan for your dream school.
Below are schools that have transfer partnerships with AACC for the Entrepreneurship A.A.S.:
AACC also has transfer agreements for our other business degree programs with:
Paying for college should be simple! Scholarships are available to help you prepare for your career in entrepreneurship. To be eligible to receive these scholarships, you will just need to complete an application for scholarships.
Learn more on our AACC Scholarships page.
Below are a few scholarships you can apply for:
We’re here to help.
You may qualify for a business scholarship of up to $12,000!
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Interests: Kayaking, photography, volunteering and Disney.
A Little More: Often called “Professor Amazing-berg” by a few of her students, she is known for being caring and invested in her students’ success.
If Entrepreneurship sounds appealing, but you’d like to compare it to other offerings, see if one of these is a better fit.
Special thanks to the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation for providing seed funds, programmatic funds and scholarship funds for our students.
Katie Cortina chose to major in photography in her first semester at AACC on a whim, but her time at the school made it an intentional career path. In her involvement with the Entrepreneurial Studies Institute (ESI) and as a Ratcliffe Scholarship recipient, she has networked with local businesses and learned how to make a career out of her art.
Read Katie's Story
