Why Study Entrepreneurship?
You may think street smarts are enough to be a successful entrepreneur, but these top entrepreneurship programs are giving students the practical and theoretical knowledge they need to succeed in any venture.
Entrepreneur Top Colleges Slideshows
10 Essential Elements of an Entrepreneurship Program
Whether you're looking at one of the schools on our list or have found another program that intrigues you, here's what to look for to make sure you'll be successful in your studies:
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- Experiential learning
- Approachable professors
- Mentorship programs
- Faculty experienced in entrepreneurship
- Interdisciplinary program offerings
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- Community involvement
- Partnerships with entrepreneurial organizations
- Innovative and creative environment
- Graduate support
- A school that fits who you are
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College Days
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Making the Grade
With our research partner The Princeton Review, a leading provider of educational services, we surveyed more than 900 undergraduate and graduate schools about their offerings in entrepreneurship. The questions used in the ranking covered three basic areas: Academics & Requirements, Students & Faculty and Outside the Classroom.
For Academics & Requirements, we asked schools if they offer an entrepreneurship major and/or minor, what types of courses they offer (e.g., e-business, social entrepreneurship, international entrepreneurship, etc.), whether other types of academic opportunities are required of students (e.g., internships, experiential learning, consulting for small-business owners, etc.), and how many entrepreneurship-related courses they offer.
For Students & Faculty, we asked schools what percentage of their total student body was formally enrolled in their entrepreneurship programs for the 2006–2007 academic year, what percentage of their total student body was enrolled in an entrepreneurship-related course for the 2006–2007 academic year, what percentage of formally enrolled entrepreneurship students in the most recent graduating class had launched a business since graduating, what percentage of those students are still in business, and what percentage of their entrepreneurship faculty had started, bought or run a successful business.
For Outside the Classroom, we asked schools whether they have partnerships with other schools that allow those schools to take advantage of the entrepreneurship program; how many officially recognized clubs and organizations they offer specifically for entrepreneurship students and the annual budget for those clubs and organizations; how many non-curriculum-based activities and/or competitions they offer in the area of entrepreneurship and the annual budget for those activities and/or competitions; how many officially sponsored mentorship programs they offer specifically for entrepreneurship students; and whether they offer entrepreneurship scholarships and the total dollar amount of those scholarships.
The questions were refined and the results validated with the help of an advisory board comprised of professionals in the area of entrepreneurship education. Each year, we endeavor to incorporate the full spectrum of feedback when revising our methodology and survey instruments, and the individuals who participated in our board proved exceptional in the assistance they provided.
The survey was conducted from April through June 2007 by Ben Zelevansky, director of data collection, and David Soto, data collection manager. Input on the survey questionnaire was also provided by Adrinda Kelly, senior editor. Additional assistance was provided by Melissa Lopez and Perry Medina of The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur editorial assistant Kristen Henning.