Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S. (SEUS) is an online program offered through the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) to high school students in the United States. The application for the Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S. spring 2027 course is now open. This article will briefly explore the purpose of the course and include comments from several participants.

The generous support of anonymous donors enables SPICE to offer SEUS free of charge to its participants. The student-centered format of SEUS represents a meaningful effort to help bridge Stanford scholarship with students from different backgrounds, including those who may never have experienced programs like this before.

SEUS Instructor, Dr. Makiko Hirata, refers to SEUS as a “journey of co-learning … to co-create the most meaningful learning experience for everyone by honing our ability to communicate and to collaborate and learn from each other’s experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds.” She notes that students “will consider entrepreneurship very broadly, asking questions about each of our responsibilities and rights as global citizens, and how to increase our efficacy to create a better future for all beings.” SEUS treats entrepreneurship as a practice: to notice what moves you, sit with complexity, listen across differences, and turn reflection into meaningful actions.

Lessons begin with several days of exchanges among the students via an online discussion board and collaborative group projects, after which, in a live virtual class, SEUSers engage directly with guest speakers with decades of experience at Stanford, Silicon Valley, and beyond.
 

“[In SEUS,] entrepreneurship was never presented as a good and scalable idea. We always thought about whom we were designing solutions for … and how to create ideas that incorporate both the big picture and zoomed-in perspective.” —Gaia B., CA 
 

“I never thought an online program would have such a profound impact on how I see the world, but participating in lessons, reading about new issues, and discussing with peers who have radically different thoughts has made SEUS one of the best experiences I’ve had in high school” —Ved V., AZ 
 

“SEUS taught me that entrepreneurship is more than just a drive to create meaningful change in the world. It is about both connecting and empathizing with the people whose lives you are looking to change.” —Nate G., CA
 

Dr. Hirata noted that “The collaborative learning with ample opportunities for brainstorming with their classmates brings out the best in these already-motivated and ambitious students. I hope that many high school students will consider applying for the course.”

SEUS’ inaugural cohort from 2025—co-created by 22 students representing 16 states and regions from Puerto Rico to Hawaii—have created an alumni network to keep their conversations going beyond the course. They are looking forward to growing this community of SEUSers over the years. Here are some of their retrospective views on what SEUS has meant to them. 

“[Through SEUS,] I learned how our social context, background, and biases influence the problems we choose to solve and how we approach them. By applying design thinking and striving for balance as an entrepreneur, I feel better prepared to build impactful solutions in the future.” —Iraj S., AZ 

“[SEUS] showed me that being a teenager does not mean I have to wait to start doing meaningful things. [Since SEUS,] I have become much more comfortable with experimentation, failure, and changing an idea as I learn more.” —Komi K., MI 

For updates and application details, please visit the SEUS page on the SPICE website or sign up for announcements.

Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S. is one of several online courses offered by SPICE.

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