Immerse yourself in creativity, collaboration, and community from the moment you step onto campus. The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Living-Learning Community (LLC) is a premier residential experience designed to engage first-year students, regardless of major, who share a passion for turning ideas into reality.
Live, study, and grow alongside a passionate group of 30-40 innovative peers who will become your collaborators and lifelong friends. The EILLC provides a built-in support network that allows members to navigate their FSU journey with direct access to dedicated Jim Moran College faculty, staff, student mentors, and successful alumni/entrepreneurs. Bridge classroom learning with experience through unique coursework, hands-on workshops, guest speakers, and access to the FSU Innovation Hub.
Live. Learn. Launch.
Where Living Meets Doing: Deviney Hall & The Innovation Hub
The EILLC provides the perfect ecosystem to study, work, and live together. Based in Deviney Hall, you are steps away from FSU’s Innovation Hub, where the EILLC Colloquium course is held. Surrounded by 3-D printers, VR labs, and collaborative workspaces, students are encouraged to explore their own interests and ideas and look for ways to solve problems, ultimately developing a project based on these interests. Students will spend their first year turning creative ideas into viable ventures. Regardless of intended major or future career goals, the value of this experience has the potential to be immense as students gain an understanding of design thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset that applies to any field.
Student Testimonials
“The EILC has been an incredible way to build genuine friendships with like-minded students, and helped FSU feel more like home. I got exposed to resources and opportunities I wouldn't have known about otherwise!”
Elle Van Der Linden, Commercial Entrepreneurship and Finance Student, Class of 2027
“Joining the EILLC was the best decision I made freshman year. It didn’t just give me a place to live; it gave me a community. We became lifelong friends, took classes together, and got a head start many other students don’t get!”
Johnny Robinson, Commercial Entrepreneurship Student, Class of 2027
Application and Selection Criteria
Selection is competitive and based on brief responses to an application prompt. Any incoming first-time-in-college student with an active fall-spring housing contract may apply, regardless of major or career plans. Applications submitted between late February and early April receive priority consideration; later applicants are often admitted when early invitees finalize their college decisions and space becomes available. The earlier you apply, the better your chances.
Benefits of Joining
- Build a Strong Foundation: Connect with like-minded peers and expert faculty to develop the essential skills needed to excel during your first year at FSU.
- Expand Your Network: Build valuable connections with successful alumni and entrepreneurs to expand your professional network and mentorship opportunities while also gaining industry insights.
- Get Early Campus Exposure: Gain priority awareness of JMC and FSU events, student organizations and specialized campus resources through engagement with the InNOLEvation Center for Student Engagement.
- Join a Collaborative Community: Live and study in a supportive residential environment alongside students who share your drive, ambition and academic goals.
- Access Cutting-Edge Resources: Gain hands-on experience through exclusive partnerships with the Innovation Hub.
- Take Exclusive Coursework: Secure seats in specialized courses reserved strictly for LLC students that simultaneously fulfill university graduation requirements.
Course Requirements
Students admitted to the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Living-Learning Community (LLC) take two classes/four hours together per semester. (fall/spring only)
- Class 1: Students will register for the ENT 1021 Colloquium course (1 credit) each semester. The experience is structured as a year-long incubator: in the Fall, you will get acclimated to campus while mastering the core mechanics of how to start, manage, and generate income from a business. In the Spring, the training wheels come off as you work individually or in groups to develop a business concept and pitch it to secure seed funding. Students must attend the colloquium and complete course-related activities for an S/U grade.
- Class 2: The three (3) credit in-house courses will satisfy a Liberal Studies requirement for all undergraduate FSU students and need not add additional credit hours to a student’s course of load.
- Fall: LDR 2160 - Peer Leadership The purpose of this course is to introduce the study of peer education, mentoring, and leadership using text and outside readings, activities, and a variety of other assignments. It will give students a deeper understanding of themselves and an appreciation for the unique experiences and perspectives of others.
- Spring: IDS2128 - Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship This course explores entrepreneurship from antiquity to contemporary society. In particular, the course examines how contemporary entrepreneurship is undergoing a fundamental shift towards a powerful new kind of consumer called the “prosumer.” Additionally, this course seeks to explore how innovation and lean concepts are leading to successful commerce and how that commerce impacts culture and daily lives.
Contact
Britain Riley
Director, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Living Learning Community
Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship
briley@jmc.fsu.edu
850-644-5876
Denise Mercier
Coordinator, Living-Learning Communities
University Housing
dmercier@fsu.edu
850-644-2860