mpanies like Google, G
Intuit, Atlassian, and
d eBay are ass much about entrepreneurrship as they aare about tech
hnology, and Com
indiividuals with a a liberal arts education e
help to drive inn
novative culturres in this glo
obal hotspot. The mission o
of the Silicon Valley Program (SSVP) is to provvide the stude
ents of the Claaremont Collegges with an offf‐campus stud
dy alternative that marries t challenges facing techno
ology firms in Silicon Valleyy. Students o
on the program will explorre theoretical the liberal arts to ns to the dail y tasks associated with an
n internship in
n technology. organizational structures and will apply classroom lesson
et corporate executives—an
nd early‐careerr professionalss—who will prrovide insights into current cchallenges. Students will mee
BACCKGROUND Opeen to students from all five C
Claremont Colle
eges, the SVP is ro
ooted in the m
mission of Claremont McKenna College, and shares a foundatio
on with the Evans ITAB Netw
working Trip, a on trip held ann
nually the onee‐week networrking immersio
weeek prior to the spring semestter. This trip haas introduced oveer 175 CMC stu
udents to caree
ers in one of th
he most inno
ovative regions of the world,, and, more importantly, has insp
pired an underrstanding of ho
ow a liberal arts education will serve them well in future en
ndeavors. PERS GATHER AT GOOGLE FOR A BRREAK BETWEEN CLASSES SVP
LOCATION Thee program is ce
entered in the ggreater Mounttain View, CA areaa. Classes are h
held at the Plug and Play Tecch Center in Sun
nnyvale. Prograam staff secure
es housing for sstudents in Mountain View, w
while students with internships in San ncisco may see
ek housing in the City. Fran
INTEERNSHIPS Alumni and paren
nts who lead su
uccessful caree
ers in Silicon entors and inte
ernship sponso
ors at scores Vallley serve as me
of SSilicon Valley co
ompanies. Internships vary d
depending upo
on the needs of the sponsorin
ng organization
ns and the skillls of the students. Generallyy speaking, inte
ernships are secu
ured in engineering, finance,, human resources, product devvelopment, cusstomer service,, marketing, an
nd other corp
porate functions. Many internships feature
e significant 1 nalytical dutiess. All internshiips must quanntitative and an
proviide students w
with the types o
of experiencess that would be affforded to early‐career profeessional staff.
Interrnship sponsorrs have includeed: Atlassian, eBay / PayPal, Edmoodo, Electric Im
mp, Equinix, Heewlett Packard
d, Intuit, Retaiil Next, Tegile, Uber, and Zyn
nga. Students are encoouraged to iden
ntify qualified ccompanies of ttheir chooosing for potenntial internship opportunities and work with the Program D
Director for inttroductions to hundreds of interrested contactss. N IN THEIR HONOR
R WITH SPRINNG 2013 SVPERSS AT A RECEPTION
INTER
RNSHIP HOSTS, ALLUMNI, PARENTS, AND FRIENDS Silicon Valley Prrogram Overview Page
CURRRICULUM Thee curriculum includes four courses presente
ed by the Rob
bert Day Schoo
ol of Economicss and Finance aat Claremont McK
Kenna College. Courses will b
be taught by faaculty from the
e Rob
bert Day Schoo
ol. ECO
ON 123 CM: “Qu
uantitative Dataa Analysis” will give students an introduction to advanced data analysis. The m
main objective of th
he course is to allow students to apply statisttical concepts to laarge data sets u
using both spread sheet softwaare and stattistical packagess. Emphasis will be placed on aacquiring proggramming skillss within these p
programs. There
e will be an emp
phasis on real liife applications both from dataa source pub
blically available
e and from com
mpanies in the Silicon Valley, addressing both pu
ublic policy que
estions and topics related to inteernships. ECO
ON 165 CM: “In
ndustrial Organiization” uses ecconomics to stud
dy industries an
nd firms. We will explain why imperfect com
mpetition is pervvasive, discuss how to describe and compare imp
perfectly compe
etitive industries and firms, con
nsider alteernative strategies firms emplo
oy, examine how
w industries evolve over time, e
evaluate the im
mplications for p
profitability and welffare, and assess the impacts o
of public policiess on firm straategy and industry performancce. The insights are partticularly useful for prospective
e consultants an
nd entrrepreneurs, and
d prospective in
nvestors, managers, and policy makers will benefit from th
he course as we
ell. ECO
ON 198 CM: “Ind
dependent Stud
dy on Innovatio
on Man
nagement” guid
des the studentt through an ind
dependent stud
dy of several topics related to the manageme
ent of inno
ovation. The reaadings describe
e and analyze th
he key straategies and pracctices recent technology‐based
d firms use to man
nage innovation
n along with the
e context that innovative firm
ms operate in; w
with a focus on h
how appropriatte man
nagement comb
bined with an u
understanding o
of surrounding circumstances can help firms generate innovatio
ons and app
propriate return
ns. Some students will be requ
uired to seek acad
demic supervision from a faculty member at their home cam
mpus. ECO
ON 030 CM: “Intternship” will allow each stude
ent, in consultation with tthe program dirrector, to securre an internship
p at a Silicon Valley ffirm. The intern
nship should be
e with a tech
hnology company, or should be in a field closely related to tech
hnology innovation in Silicon V
Valley. Internsh
hips must have a co
orporate sponso
or or supervisorr who understands that this is firstt and foremost an academic un
ndertaking, and
d will be supervised by the p
program director. Students fro
om some cam
mpuses may nott earn credit forr the internship
p. CO‐C URRICULAR ACTIVVITIES VP semester wiill be afforded Studeents on the SV
oppoortunities to meet informally with corporatte executives in a nnumber of com
mpanies, as weell as recent graaduates who can pprovide insightts into how Silicon Valley worrks. The CMC Alum
mni Association
n’s Silicon Valleey Chapter has adopted the SVP sstudents, and w
will organize n
networking and
d social functtions. The program director will reach out to the alum
mni offices of th
he other four ccolleges as theiir students parti cipate in the p
program. FALL 22012 SVPERS GATHER AT ORACLE ARRENA FOR A WARRIO
ORS GAME ELIGIBBLE STUDENTS All sttudents of the Claremont Collleges are eligible to parti cipate, so longg as they have completed ECO
ON 050 CM ourse Juniors, ffirst‐semester Seniors, and or ann equivalent co
seconnd‐semester SSophomores will be considereed. Students mustt have attained
d at least a 9.0 cumulative GP
PA. Excepptions to thesee criteria may be made by the Executive Direcctor of the Rob
bert Day Schoo
ol. Students fro
om Pomona, Scrippps, Harvey Mu
udd, and Pitzerr colleges mustt consult with theirr home campuss' off‐campus sstudy professio
onals. PARTNNERSHIPS The SSilicon Valley p
program is man
naged by the R
Robert Day Scho ol of Economiccs and Financee at Claremont McKenna Colleege. The Collegge’s Center forr Global Educattion supports the oorganization off the off‐campu
us study program, and the direcctor of the Wasshington Progrram has served
d as a valuaable resource. In addition, th
he program dirrector has estabblished key relaationships with
h the CMC Office of Alumni & Pa rent Relations, as well as facculty and staff o
of Pomona, udd, and Pitzerr colleges. Scrippps, Harvey Mu
DATESS The pprogram operaates on the sam
me schedule ass the Clareemont Collegess. It includes aa three‐day orieentation sessi on prior to thee start of the in
nternship / classses. The prog ram operates in the fall and spring semesteers. FURTHHER INFORMATIO
ON Moree detailed information may b
be found on the program webssite (www.cmcc.edu/svp). 2 Silicon Valley Prrogram Overview Page