Top 50 Best Graduate Programs for Entrepreneurs in 2022 The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur have again partnered to rank the top programs for studying entrepreneurship at the graduate level.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
There are those who describe the current, faster-and-faster-moving marketplace as a fourth industrial revolution. And the best entrepreneurship programs are those that help students appropriately speed up and, when necessary, scale-up their ideas, from unicorns to innovative business models. Students who enroll at these schools will find themselves at the forefront of innovation and development, and often with an interdisciplinary focus that acknowledges the interconnectedness of today's economy. Perhaps more importantly, they will also get opportunities to enrich themselves and their communities, adding economic and social value through innovation, team building, and leadership.
Entrepreneurship encompasses so much that it's almost more than an academic discipline. Studying entrepreneurship involves building self-confidence and business connections alike, developing creativity, and getting real-world results. That's why we've worked with The Princeton Review for fifteen years to point students in the right direction of the top-ranked undergraduate and graduate programs for entrepreneurs. This year's survey considered more than 250 colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, and evaluated a multitude of factors. We considered not just the school's programming but also its graduates' success rates in the business world, the number of mentors available for students, and more. Read on to see which schools made the grade. (To read more about our methodology, pick up the Dec. 2021 issue of Entrepreneur.)
Courtesy of Rice University1. Rice University (#1 West)
Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Houston, TX
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 52
Tuition: $63,162
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 286
What Sets Us Apart
The entrepreneurship program at Rice University emphasizes experiential learning and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Our classes are designed to ensure students get hands-on experience, working through the venture-building process in real time and in teams, under the guidance of entrepreneurial faculty and instructors from the industry. (The majority of our teachers for these courses have been founders or venture investors.)
Our students are investing real money and building real solutions, whether that's for physicians sourced directly from the medical district across the street or for our alumni-owned companies. Through these projects, we facilitate interdisciplinary connections, ensuring teams are well-rounded in terms of experience and expertise. Our programs and courses combine students from across degree programs and schools; students interested in healthcare innovation build medical solutions via teams of clinical, bioengineering, and business students.
We cater to all graduate students, emphasizing the importance of the entrepreneurial mindset. Students are identifying unmet needs, prototyping hypothesis-driven solutions, acquiring customer and user feedback for their proposals, testing hypotheses and conducting evidence-based iterations, and communicating novel and transformative ideas to diverse stakeholders. Whether our students pursue finance, consulting, or marketing, we believe every student will benefit from mastering these skills.
Photo Courtesy of Kellogg School of Management2. Northwestern University (#1 Midwest)
The Larry and Carol Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice
Evanston, IL
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 52
Tuition: $76,601
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 110
What Sets Us Apart
Our best-in-class ecosystem at Northwestern University lets students choose from three core tracks: New Venture Creation, Growth and Scaling, and Corporate Innovation.
New Venture Creation offers a three-course "Discover. Test. Launch." experience that helps students develop and start businesses. Typically, 300 students enroll and about 25 ventures emerge annually. Building-block courses focus on the skills and expertise required in entrepreneurial ventures. Faculty include local venture capitalists and serial entrepreneurs. We collaborate with the Schools of Law, Engineering, Medicine, Journalism, Performing Arts and undergraduates in a proven quality curriculum called NUvention, which drives stronger ideas through breadth and depth of perspective. We offer two commercialization courses where students work with scientists who have developed technologies at Northwestern or other labs in the Chicago area.
The Growth and Scaling track is for students running rapidly scaling startups, planning to join or acquire high-growth companies or planning to re-ignite privately held companies.
Corporate Innovation courses have evolved to focus on creative thinking to drive innovation. The track provides a diverse curriculum in branding, strategy, product management, and the management of innovation, and offers hands-on experiences in collaborating with innovation labs worldwide. All of this curriculum is supplemented by the programming detailed above.
Courtesy of Babson College3. Babson College (#1 Northeast)
Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
Babson Park, MA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 40
Tuition: $71,564
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 372
What Sets Us Apart
Entrepreneurship, and the economic and social value it creates, is more than an academic discipline at Babson College; it is a way of life. We teach our proprietary Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® (ET & A) method in a variety of curricular and co-curricular settings, both on campus and around the world. Entrepreneurship is a required course for every single Babson student, and 70% of students take one of more than 70 electives.
Babson College has the largest dedicated entrepreneurial faculty in the world. The entrepreneurship department has 51 faculty members; 23 full-time academics and 28 adjuncts, 100% of whom have both entrepreneurial and teaching experience. Through our Price Babson Entrepreneurship Educators Program, we have trained over 5,000 faculty from all over the world to teach our unique pedagogy.
Our campus is a living/learning laboratory, with five entrepreneurial centers that offer accelerators, laboratories, and other immersive opportunities in which students can pursue their passions for social innovation, startups, family entrepreneurship, women-led entrepreneurship, fashion, and food solutions. The Weissman Foundry is a unique prototyping and experimentation lab for our students. Babson's entrepreneurial culture encourages faculty, staff, students, and alumni to be entrepreneurial leaders all the time, exploring, pursuing, and growing initiatives and ventures.
Courtesy of University of Michigan4. University of Michigan (#2 Midwest)
Ross School of Business, Zell Lurie Institute; College of Engineering, Center for Entrepreneurship
Ann Arbor, MI
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 75
Tuition: $66,376(in-state); $71,376(out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 426
What Sets Us Apart
The University of Michigan's entrepreneurial mindset gives our graduate students an essential new way to perceive failure and opportunity, and helps orient them toward systems thinking. This method helps to spark creativity and innovation inside and outside the classroom. This contemporary approach toward an entrepreneurial education focuses on action-based learning that reaches far beyond the basics of creating a business.
With a broad mix of in-depth programs and cross-campus collaboration connecting students from our 19 schools and colleges, U-M students are immersed in an experiential approach to entrepreneurial education. Our students not only study the fundamentals, but put their knowledge into practice, with courses and opportunities that let them launch companies, invest real dollars in new ventures, intern for entrepreneurs globally, advise growing startups, participate in our business accelerator, and more.
Entrepreneurship is an interdisciplinary pursuit with opportunities in many fields, including engineering, natural sciences, medicine, education, and more. Pursuing these opportunities requires building a team with a diverse knowledge base, including but not limited to management, technology, law, and finance. U-M works to unite these students in graduate-level course offerings and programs, producing successful and well-rounded ventures that explore fresh and innovative ideas.
Courtesy of The University of Texas at Austin5. The University of Texas at Austin (#2 West)
The University of Texas at Austin
Texas Master of Science in Technology Commercialization; Texas MBA Programs
Austin, TX
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 61
Tuition: $49,543(in-state); $54,924(out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 84
What Sets Us Apart
The University of Texas at Austin uses its ecosystem to the fullest, with unique, hands-on programs that extend from graduate programs on campus to the greater Austin startup community. Students can go deep on their own startup, covering the early stages of venture creation, funding, and launch before graduating. We also provide students hands-on opportunities to take things a step further, working with local area startups to experience things like follow-on financing, so they can experience all these steps in real-time across multiple companies before graduating.
We know how important new technologies are, which is why our entrepreneurship students spend extensive time with recently developed assets at The University of Texas, Texas A&M University, and NASA. They perform in-depth assessments on these technologies, preparing business plans and launch plans for the most appealing ones. Each year several teams license the technologies they have analyzed. As an example, one team recently became enthusiastic about a heat-absorbing paint technology that could be used to reduce energy costs. They wrote a business plan focusing on the housing market, licensed the technology from NASA, and had sales before they graduated. From zero knowledge to first sales took only ten months.
Courtesy of University of California—Los Angeles6. University of California—Los Angeles (#3 West)
University of California—Los Angeles
Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Los Angeles, CA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 37
Tuition: $69,507 (in-state); $69,507 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 149
What Sets Us Apart
The comprehensive approach of University of California—Los Angeles allows us to reinforce curriculum topics with active learning outside of the classroom. We've offered experiential fellowships for 40 years, and a wide range of speaker programs, round tables, and conferences in which students can interact with and learn from entrepreneurs at all stages. We believe that entrepreneurship includes developing both a mindset and management skills that help entrepreneurs to manage risk across a wide range of settings. Our students interact with entrepreneurs in the UCLA and Los Angeles ecosystems, as well as with students and faculty in UCLA's 11 professional schools, providing many opportunities for collaboration, growth, and innovation. Our growing set of healthcare innovation offerings are particularly well suited to Los Angeles and market needs, and our Global Access Program, Accelerator and Business Creation Option Program allow students to test their skills, as well as their hypotheses, by learning and adapting prior to launching their ventures.
Marshall School of Business7. University of Southern California (#4 West)
University of Southern California
Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
Los Angeles, CA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 34
Tuition: $70,536
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 107
What Sets Us Apart
The University of Southern California is a large institution, but its entrepreneurship education is centralized at Greif, a hybrid unit encompassing curricular and co-curricular offerings. This allows Greif to operate like a startup, in that we continuously pivot and adapt offerings to meet each student's needs (where they are and what works best for them).
To provide our unique students maximum flexibility, we partner with other schools to offer seven minors supported by complementary co-curricular programming. Our curriculum caters to each student in their entrepreneurial journey, and we provide entrepreneurial opportunities via a founder pipeline or an entrepreneurial-mindset pathway. Bridging theory and practice by utilizing faculty who have experience as both expert practitioners and academics, they are provided release time to support co-curricular programming.
Every student graduating with an entrepreneurship minor is equipped to either form a venture or use their entrepreneurial mindset in their chosen profession. Either way, Greif produces students who will be more competitive and successful in the California economy (fifth largest in the world) and the global marketplace. Our graduates become part of an extensive alumni network that includes clubs in the USC Alumni Entrepreneurship Network (an active membership of 1,700). They also have access to the Marshall School of Business's 90,000 living alumni across 101 countries and USC's 437,000 living alumni from 150 countries.
Courtesy of University of Washington8. University of Washington (#5 West)
Arthur W. Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
Seattle, WA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 59
Tuition: $37,842 (in-state); $54,684 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 357
What Sets Us Apart
We at the University of Washington grow entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Throughout more than 150 years of history, UW has demonstrated an extraordinary track record of entrepreneurial impact across the globe while driving more than $15 billion dollars in economic activity for the state. Our approach is a symbiotic one, driven by collaboration with Seattle and our region, one of the top startup ecosystems in the world. Students graduate with the foundation to launch lasting businesses or to innovate from within, and UW spinoffs employ more than 4,000 people in the state of WA alone.
While at UW, students engage in programs from global leaders such as the Creative Destruction Lab, Amazon Catalyst, and Microsoft's Global Social Entrepreneurship program. UW features a unique accelerator experience that goes beyond academics. It's a six-month program for student teams ready to become early-stage startups. Since 2010, more than 85% of those who received seed funding are still in business today. Students work with the Institute for Protein Design, the Clean Energy Institute, and fellowship programs in technology commercialization and social entrepreneurship. Additional opportunities and highly innovative experiences can be found at the Maritime Innovation Center, CoMotion's FinTech Incubator, the WA Clean Energy Testbeds, and the WE-REACH Biomedical Entre Center. We also actively celebrate that the entrepreneurial journey is not linear, and diversity is celebrated and encouraged. Whether our student founders are working on a unicorn idea or a small business, we are here to serve them with respect.
Courtesy of University of Rochester9. University of Rochester (#2 Northeast)
Ain Center for Entrepreneurship
Rochester, NY
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 59
Tuition: $47,212
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 100
What Sets Us Apart
Graduate students at the University of Rochester are encouraged to step outside of their specialized areas of study to participate in a broader entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Eastman School of Music encourages its graduate students to think not only as musicians but as creative entrepreneurs; the School of Nursing runs a one-of-a-kind Center for Nursing Entrepreneurship. The Warner School of Education is equally innovative, offering a distinctive Entrepreneurial Skills for Educators course, and the MS in TEAM program combines STEM and entrepreneurship curricula, serving as a model for new interdisciplinary entrepreneurship master's programs, both within and beyond the University of Rochester.
The vast majority of the entrepreneurship offerings—curricular and co-curricular—at UR are open to all graduate students, allowing individuals to meet other like-minded innovators, and to share new perspectives frequently. Programs such as the Ain Team emphasize a multidisciplinary approach to entrepreneurial learning and welcome students from any class year in any discipline. Team members then pursue innovative projects and provide input on entrepreneurial programming at UR. Adaptability and familiarity with the different facets of entrepreneurship are the University of Rochester's strength, and these connections among disciplines are fundamental to UR's success.
Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University10. Northeastern University (#3 Northeast)
NU Center for Entrepreneurship Education
Boston, MA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 75
Tuition: $44,605
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 252
What Sets Us Apart
Northeastern University has always been an innovator; it was, in fact, one of the first schools to offer a formal entrepreneurship program, back in 1958. We have always considered this subject to be a legitimate academic field, and tenured our first professor in entrepreneurship in 1973. Now, we have tenure-track faculty who create courses on their own cutting-edge research. These faculty also create the textbooks for the courses—our first was published in 1968—so we are creating pedagogy rather than just teaching what others have developed.
Entrepreneurship at NU is interdisciplinary, not only within the business school but also across campus. NU created the first free-standing school of entrepreneurship in 2001 in order to build interdisciplinary activities with tenure-track faculty among five of our colleges. Our students work in cross-disciplinary teams regularly in class and so become accustomed to doing so when they start their ventures. Likewise, the teachers get put together in cross-disciplinary teams to teach the courses. We have, for example, courses taught by music and entrepreneurship professors, and design and business professors.
NU also places an emphasis on student leadership, so much so that the programs in our entrepreneurship ecosystem are run by students.
NU's approach to entrepreneurship education, therefore, is distinctive because it is part of our DNA, it is tied to experiential learning globally, it is interdisciplinary, and it has an ecosystem driven by the students themselves.
Courtesy of The University of Texas at Dallas11. The University of Texas at Dallas (#6 West)
The University of Texas at Dallas
Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Richardson, TX
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 30
Tuition: $16,607 (in-state); $32,262 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 311
What Sets Us Apart
At The University of Texas at Dallas, we value experiential learning, with a particular focus on launching startups, commercializing IP, and partnering with corporations. Our course with AT&T puts student teams in direct contact with AT&T managers determining 5G application asset deployment. We launched a new course, "Venture Fellows," that places students in venture capital firms for a semester, conducting due diligence with the partners.
Partnerships
We closely partner with the local business community, including hosting joint programs.
Outstanding Events
The Institute hosted multiple outstanding "live online" events, like the Fall Women's Summit held during Women's Entrepreneurship Week (over 300 public attendees) and our Big Idea Competition (which had Mark Cuban as the keynote speaker).
Ever-Evolving Incubator
The UTD on-campus incubator completed its third expansion with additional lab and office space.
Inclusive Courses
We work with all students across campus, including the rapidly growing Bioengineering and Sciences program. Lucas Rodriquez, a Bio PhD, took our ENTP course, was mentored, and participated in our competitions, his spinout CerSci Therapeutics was acquired Fall 20 for what will be $900M (based on milestones), proving our academic and resource support model for any UTD grad student.
Training and Resources
The Institute provides training and resources beyond the classroom, like funding and space, which enabled four student-formed companies to be acquired this year totaling over $100 million.
LaunchPad Program
UTD is now leading the Blackstone LaunchPad program for all UT System universities, sharing our best practices with others.
Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign12. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (#3 Midwest)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering
Urbana, IL
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 30
Tuition: varies by program
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 67
What Sets Us Apart
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's vibrant campus has all the tools for enterprise in one place: resources, opportunities, mentoring, and development. This concentration differentiates us from our peers with less concentrated pockets of venture capital or without access to large cities. It also yields a highly collaborative university-wide ecosystem driven by a campus roundtable on entrepreneurship that meets monthly to make the best use of the resources and find synergies across the whole university. The approach to education prepares students for the opportunities that will be available to them as students and graduates in the Midwest, leading to many more bootstrapped, grant-based companies. While many such ecosystems mirror that of Silicon Valley or other metropolitan area-based ecosystems, ours prepares students who wish to engage in entrepreneurship and understand what it takes to grow into Chicago or other metropolitan areas around the country.
Courtesy of Washington University in St. Louis13. Washington University in St. Louis (#4 Midwest)
Washington University in St. Louis
Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship
St. Louis, MO
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 50
Tuition: $63,765
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 123
What Sets Us Apart
At Washington University in St. Louis, entrepreneurial education at WashU and Olin is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, focus on experiential learning, and rigorous standards for all academic outputs.
The co-curricular opportunities provided by the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship maintain this level of quality. The Center encourages students to take action on new ideas and become creative problem solvers suited for today's changing economy. While many students choose to enroll in entrepreneurial programs with the goal of starting ventures, others seek to bring an entrepreneurial mindset into corporations and nonprofits.
It's certain that any student studying entrepreneurship at Olin Business School, and WashU as a whole, will interact with students from other disciplines, and the region at large, before graduation. Students will also, regardless of academic focus, engage with entrepreneurship, through an elective course, an immersive case experience, or a hands-on startup consulting opportunity. This holistic, immersive approach separates WashU and Olin from its peers.
Courtesy of Brigham Young University14. Brigham Young University (#7 West)
Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology
Provo, UT
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 28
Tuition: $27,720 (total program cost LDS); $56,832 (total program cost non-LDS)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 164
What Sets Us Apart
After careful review, we believe we may have the finest integrated core for teaching entrepreneurship in the world. The curriculum reflects the latest academic thinking and research in the field and is augmented with real-world experiential learning components and frameworks.
Our curriculum is deeply rooted in lean startup and design thinking principles and practices. In fact, we were one of the first universities to comprehensively adopt this approach in our entrepreneurship education. To this day, many schools around the world continue to teach their students to write static and outdated business plans instead of identifying, testing, and pivoting on key business model hypotheses.
Lean methodologies help entrepreneurs operate more effectively and efficiently within the areas of uncertainty that they face every day as they search for a repeatable and scalable business model and aim to achieve product/market fit. This approach is allowing us to educate smarter entrepreneurs who launch validated ventures that last. Cutting-edge academic offerings combined with deep mentoring is our secret sauce.
We also recently launched a new venture studio program called Blue Forge Studio. While venture studios are popping up these days in industry, we believe this may be the first program of its kind on a university campus. It is designed to provide startups with access to critical human capital and expertise versus financial capital.
Courtesy of North Carolina State University15. North Carolina State University (#1 Southeast)
North Carolina State University
NC State Entrepreneurship
Raleigh, NC
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 51
Tuition: $51,655 (total program cost in-state); $88,599 (total program cost out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 55
What Sets Us Apart
North Carolina State University's Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (TEC) focus within the Jenkins MBA Program allows students to choose two different paths: one focused on the commercialization of intellectual property (creating products, goods, or services) and the other taking a more traditional approach to entrepreneurship.
The focus on commercialization brings with it a highly interdisciplinary approach, so much so that it is split between MBA students and Masters and Ph.D. students from other programs within the university. NC State University ranks in the top ten in terms of patent generation, yet most of those patents sit on the shelf. Students and faculty with a focus on commercialization get those patents off the shelf and into new businesses as products, goods and services. For those who choose the commercialization path, this applied, practical program ensures the production of new business start-ups is part of each student's educational experience. Students can expect to learn about technology opportunity analysis, building their own pool of technologies from real intellectual property, and finding ways to create ideas and explore potential high-growth business opportunities.
NC State's entrepreneurship curriculum promotes critical thinking that allows students to either develop and launch their own concepts or become valuable team members and leaders in new ventures and larger organizations. In addition, NC State has created a research-focused lab for faculty and students to generate practical research for academia and entrepreneurs.
Courtesy of Saint Louis University16. Saint Louis University (#5 Midwest)
Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship
St. Louis, MO
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 90
Tuition: $52,475
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 149
What Sets Us Apart
Keeping with our Jesuit roots ("Men and women for and with others") and placement as a highly ranked school for service, we teach how to create social and non-profit ventures as well as for-profit ones, how to help others do this, and how to pursue entrepreneurship for yourself.
To make entrepreneurship education available to undergraduate students who might want this for their futures, we have grown it far beyond the business school, delivering the education and experiential training where they are academically based, to prepare them for the entrepreneurial roles they will pursue in their professional careers. This means teaching students not only in business, but also in 14 departments about how to identify opportunities and launch startups.
Our network of nearly 100 faculty across the campus collaborates to connect students to an extensive set of resources to help them achieve their goals and dreams. This is done both on campus (instructors, mentors, advisors, competitions, clinics, labs, centers, coworking spaces, shared-use kitchens, maker spaces, accelerators, etc.) as well as locally off-campus (in one of the top ten startup cities is the U.S.—with all that implies). We connect students nationally through programs like our MedLaunch Medical Accelerator, the SXSW Student Startup Madness and our own nationally recognized Service Leadership Program to help them access opportunity locally and nationally.
Courtesy of The University of Oklahoma17. The University of Oklahoma (#8 West)
Tom Love Center for Entrepreneurship
Norman, OK
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 23
Tuition: $23,375 (in-state); $37,125 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 39
What Sets Us Apart
The combination of two factors makes The University of Oklahoma's graduate entrepreneurship education distinctive.
First, OU places a strong emphasis on innovation—it is a major university-wide theme. The MBA program facilities are located in Oklahoma City in the heart of the OKC Innovation District and adjacent to the OU Health Sciences Center. This proximity to centers of technological and scientific advances provides many opportunities for students to learn from and network with leading innovators. Interacting with faculty and post-docs who are commercializing technologies emerging from university labs provides MBA students with practical experiences.
Second, the Tom Love Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development links the development of new ventures with the economic development goals of the state of Oklahoma. The focus on business development and job creation expands the scope and purpose of the entrepreneurship program. OU's entrepreneurial ecosystem—which includes the Tom Love Center for Entrepreneurship, the Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth and the Tom Love Innovation Hub—has expertise and facilities to support every kind of entrepreneurship and economic development endeavor. At OU, graduate students have a unique opportunity to catalyze economic growth through entrepreneurship.
Courtesy of DePaul University18. DePaul University (#6 Midwest)
Coleman Entrepreneurship Center
Chicago, IL
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 31
Tuition: $65,000 (total program cost)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 90
What Sets Us Apart
DePaul University was one of the earliest founders of entrepreneurship education in the U.S. with the first entrepreneurship course offered in 1971. We now offer a combined bachelor's and master's degree in entrepreneurship (4+1) and recently launched our BS major in entrepreneurship and minors in entrepreneurship for business students and non-business students.
The entrepreneurship program collaborates with DePaul's CDM College, one of the largest computer science schools in the nation, for joint programming-technology commercialization. Partners in the entrepreneur ecosystem in Chicago include the 1871 tech incubator, 2112 music/film incubator, ISTC and the mHub maker space. Our 100-member Campus Advisory Team from across the university and our 60 CEC Mentors implement entrepreneurship education across all DePaul Colleges and also support our alumni. Student entrepreneurship organizations include CEO and NetImpact. The CEC's Internship Program pays DePaul students to work in new ventures and we had over 75 participants this year.
Our Spring business plan competition, The Purpose Pitch, focuses on the cause behind forming a business and strength of purpose beyond just making money. Over 40 student/alumni teams applied and the final 8 teams presented to over 300 people virtually. DePaul and the CEC, along with IIT hosted the 2018 GCEC Conference in Chicago and is a leadership school member. DePaul also hosts University Pitch Madness each summer with ten midwest universities competing.
Courtesy of University of South Florida19. University of South Florida (#2 Southeast)
Center for Entrepreneurship
Tampa, FL
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 147
Tuition: $8,537 (in-state); $16,472 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 84
What Sets Us Apart
The approach the University of South Florida takes for graduate entrepreneurship education focuses on learning basic concepts, tools, and processes in a classroom setting and then experiencing how they are applied in a specific setting. It is also expressly interdisciplinary since we have very strong interactions with the Colleges of Engineering, Health Sciences, and the Sciences. In fact, part of the curriculum involves taking engineering courses and the Associate Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship teaches engineering. Experiential learning occurs in a variety of settings: domestically with technology-based firms or minority-owned businesses in the Tampa Bay community; internationally as part of a study abroad or exchange program; and in consultation, whether that's an internship or a course that integrates the local business community into a course assignment.
As part of a new initiative, and a result of collaboration between the Center for Entrepreneurship and the Technology Transfer Office, six USF-owned patents were identified with significant commercial potential and an LLC was formed for each to commercialize these technologies. As a first step, we pulled from our graduate entrepreneurship students to build interdisciplinary teams of students with a technical and business background and had them go through an NSF-I Corps style Customer Discovery workshop. This is a key example of how we approach entrepreneurship education at USF.
Courtesy of University of California San Diego20. University of California—San Diego (#9 West)
University of California—San Diego
California Institute for Innovation and Development (CIID)
La Jolla, CA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 26
Tuition: $51,453 (in-state); $54,968 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 73
What Sets Us Apart
The Rady School's approach to entrepreneurship education is unique in its focus on collaboration. Students collaborate in the classroom, with corporate and community partners, research institutions, and academic units across the UC San Diego campus. Uniquely positioned in the heart of San Diego's life science industry, the school engages with the entire San Diego innovation ecosystem—which is flourishing in the life science, technology, and healthcare IT industries—to provide a comprehensive entrepreneurial experience for its students.
While at the Rady School, students can participate in a variety of programs designed to enable collaborative opportunities. The school's StartR Accelerator program, which provides current students and alumni the opportunity to participate in focused hands-on company development, matches teams with mentors experienced in entrepreneurship and working with startups. Students can also participate in the StartR Inclusion program, which fosters entrepreneurship in underserved populations by matching teams with mentors and advisors. In addition, students can take part in the Rady Venture Fund, a student-run venture capital fund that pairs students with seasoned venture investors and provides real capital to startup companies.
Courtesy of New York University21. New York University (#4 Northeast)
Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship
New York, NY
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 25
Tuition: $76,860
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 152
What Sets Us Apart
New York University offers a learning process that blends the real world with the classroom. Students are equipped with the frameworks, methodologies, and tools needed to drive, anticipate, lead, and navigate a rapidly changing business environment. We provide enriching programs such as:
● extensive co-curriculum programs and services through the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship, which provides hands-on assistance to students working on launching and growing startups
● experiential courses such as the Endless Frontier Labs and Tech and the City, where students work closely with the founders of groundbreaking, high-tech startups
● consulting projects and internships with high-growth, venture-backed startups
● global treks that foster understanding of startup ecosystems in other parts of the world such as Israel and India
● a one-year Tech and Entrepreneurship MBA that offers intensive study at the intersection of technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship
Our focus is on nurturing entrepreneurial talent capable of launching and leading all kinds of transformative organizations, whether venture-backed startups, a social enterprise tackling a gnarly global issue, or a corporate division challenging the way business has always been done.
Stern is figuratively and literally at the richly diverse center of the world's largest and most thriving business ecosystem: New York City. We leverage this unique positioning by deeply immersing our students in this dynamic environment.
Courtesy of Syracuse University22. Syracuse University (#5 Northeast)
Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars; Couri Hatchery; Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship
Syracuse, NY
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 32
Tuition: $46,324
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 97
What Sets Us Apart
CROSS-CAMPUS COMMITMENT
Entrepreneurship is an academic signature of Syracuse University. It is at the core of the programs at multiple schools on campus. While the numbers provided above represent the Whitman School's offerings as part of the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises program, the cross-campus numbers are greater. This cross-campus commitment to entrepreneurship results in many student ventures starting and growing every year, thousands of students enrolled in entrepreneurship courses, many full-time faculty involved in programming, and dozens of community-based experiential opportunities for students. The Chancellor recently announced a $100 million investment in scholarship, and entrepreneurship is central to that. We also recently launched a centralized incubator and resource center (Blackstone Launchpad) to provide additional help across campus and there is a push for additional new faculty in the coming years.
MILITARY INVOLVEMENT
We work with thousands of military veterans each year, helping to manage their transition to civilian life. We've worked with more than 120,000 military veterans entrepreneurs over the past few years and have been acknowledged for this at the highest levels of government and private industry. The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities has been in existence since 2007 and is now offered at ten universities around the United States, inspiring similar programs in other countries.
Courtesy of The University of Utah23. The University of Utah (#10 West)
Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute
Salt Lake City, UT
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 30
Tuition: $30,500 (in-state); $30,500 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 123
What Sets Us Apart
Our approach to entrepreneurship education is unique in its pedagogy, academic strengths, and vast resources available to students.
First, we teach students how to experiment and pivot. Second, we teach students the principles of a lean startup—one for which large amounts of capital are not required—and modern methods of fundraising such as crowdsourcing. Third, we believe students should learn by doing—including starting businesses while in college. Fourth, we believe successful entrepreneurship is not the product of a "lone genius" but rather a team activity requiring many types of people.
The Master of Business Creation has specific learning objectives students will use in their real-world startups such as executing fast-cycle-time learning, navigating ambiguity, leading innovation, and mastering complex analysis and problem-solving. MBC students have a unique opportunity to get a credentialed degree.
Our academic strength includes how we merge award-winning entrepreneurship and strategy faculty, creating a blended department, and giving students a broader understanding of value creation. Our courses focus on helping students develop skills essential to success: market entry, competitive advantage, supply-chain management, digital marketing, data analytics, and fundraising. We add to these qualities the resources available for students in our Lassonde Studios building. The link between learning and doing is evident in all our courses and activities.
Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle/University of Maryland24. University of Maryland (#6 Northeast)
Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
College Park, MD
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 22
Tuition: $45,499 (in-state); $54,409 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 75
What Sets Us Apart
Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) is the highest strategic priority of the president of the University of Maryland. I&E at UMD is not limited to the business and engineering schools. In fact, non-business and non-engineering students are every bit as important to include in the innovation process because this diversity encourages a richer process and leads to superior outcomes. For that reason, UMD launched the Academy for I&E in 2013, reporting directly to the president and provost with a campus-wide purview and mission to engage all 40,000 students in all 12 colleges and schools in I&E. UMD is now about 50% of the way there through extensive campus-wide collaboration across every school and college and systematic embedding of I&E modules in many required general education and pre-requisite courses for certain majors. (Learn more at https://innovation.umd.edu/learn.)
We view entrepreneurship as a way of thinking, doing, and being that can be applied to most aspects of work and life. It is an exercise in self-expression, team building, and problem-solving in order to create new value in the world. The study and practice of entrepreneurship helps students build self-confidence and develop important personal skills in areas like creativity and leadership. Students learn concepts and methods like need-finding, opportunity recognition, value creation, design thinking, business modeling, and project planning and management. These can be applied throughout their careers. (Read about the Innovation Gateway at https://innovate.umd.edu.)
Courtesy of Boston University25. Boston University (#7 Northeast)
Innovate@BU
Brookline, MA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 29
Tuition: $56,412
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 40
What Sets Us Apart
Boston University offers a wide variety of classes across its 18 colleges. This range of studies is the strength of our education, for it means we can embrace our belief that entrepreneurship applies to many disciplines. Our mission is to actively engage and intermix students from across the university in entrepreneurial classes and activities: an engineering student, for example, can take a business class course in order to help them launch their new venture. Classes such as the BU Law Clinic help further enrich the BU entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing startup law services to other BU students.
Our extensive co-curricular programs are focused on experiential learning and we also actively engage our alumnae in opportunities to share their wisdom and experiences with students, including special lectures, classroom appearances, and the mentoring of student entrepreneurs. This connection with alumni is particularly welcomed by graduate students. In addition, we engage our students in entrepreneurially oriented educational opportunities outside of the University such as a for-credit program that embeds students in companies inside the MassChallenge digital health accelerator.
Courtesy of Texas A&M University - College Station26. Texas A&M University—College Station (#11 West)
Texas A&M University—College Station
McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship
College Station, TX
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 19
Tuition: $42,462 (in-state); $61,498 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 33
What Sets Us Apart
Our approach to graduate entrepreneurship education is unique in that it focuses on real-world experiential opportunities. All of our programs are extracurricular so we minimize traditional instruction and rather use a flipped classroom to educate them on Lean Startup and other business principles. We then create an environment in which the students are exposed to different trends and opportunities in entrepreneurship and those with ideas, can gather data to evaluate customer and market needs. Our environment encourages creativity, the exchange of ideas/talent, and multi/cross-disciplinary collaboration amongst the students. Peer feedback and leadership are also integral to our programs, and we leverage an extensive mentor network that enables students to seek feedback and learn from the experience of other entrepreneurs, business professionals, and entrepreneurial faculty and staff at Texas A&M. At our Center, students are encouraged to learn but are also provided with the ability to earn access to advanced programs and resources (including financial support) that can help them to launch their own companies. With this approach, we are able to focus resources that support the diverse needs of the entrepreneurial students on campus, ranging from those without ideas that want to use their skills to help others to those that are already running a business or participating in other, college- or topically-focused entrepreneurship programs.
Courtesy of Clemson University27. Clemson University (#3 Southeast)
MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Greenville, SC
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 22
Tuition: $20,302 (in-state); $33,040 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 38
What Sets Us Apart
Students coming into the Clemson MBAe program apply with a business idea in mind. From the first day of class MBAe students are embraced by a professional advisory group of entrepreneurs and executive leaders who provide support, advice, and feedback throughout the program. Courses are taught by a combination of seasoned entrepreneurs and experienced faculty known for research within the entrepreneurship discipline. All students are required to complete an internship with a successful entrepreneurial company that includes an in-depth entrepreneurial narrative of the internship provider. One of several competitions available to students, and which all participate in, is the EnterPrize Awards, which offers over $25,000 in startup cash prizes. We also provide Incubator space to students who successfully graduated from the MBAe program; support includes office infrastructure and continued educational programming. In addition, we provide access to multiple incubator spaces across industry sectors.
Courtesy of Erasmus University Rotterdam28. Erasmus University Rotterdam (International)
Erasmus Enterprise; Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 35
Tuition: $58,276
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 130
What Sets Us Apart
We believe that our Strategic Entrepreneurship MSc program is built on three important elements: diversity, networking, and integration. We have a diverse faculty with their own take on entrepreneurship and different experiences, teaching a variety of topics with different methods (from case studies to out-of-the-building practice). We also have a great network of practitioners, entrepreneurs and investors, and incubators/accelerators. The diversity of this network allows students to benefit from an array of experiences, which are integrated across all levels of education.
Courtesy of Drexel University29. Drexel University (#8 Northeast)
Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship
Philadelphia, PA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 36
Tuition: $25,800
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 7
What Sets Us Apart
The Close School holds the distinction of being the nation's first independent, degree-granting school of entrepreneurship with both a graduate major and minor in entrepreneurship. Today's fast-moving market—the "fourth industrial revolution"—creates and reinstates the value in and demand for independence, innovation, and intellectual dexterity. Students are taught to reboot ways of working, thinking, and doing, thanks to Close's pioneering approach to entrepreneurship education, which prepares students to meet the global market on solid, confident personal and professional footing.
Students leave Close with an expansive view of what it means to be entrepreneurial, beyond starting a company or sparking innovation within an established organization. Entrepreneurship comes to represent both habit of mind and an attitude; it's the mindset and process that lend to pursuing innovation across diverse life contexts. At Close, we guide students in the cultivation of a life approach built around this approach that leads to innovative thinking, calculated daring, and proactive behavior. Close offers two uniquely positioned joint master's programs: Biomedicine and Entrepreneurship for students looking to pursue innovation-driven careers in life science and Legal Studies in Law and Entrepreneurship for students seeking to develop legal knowledge for entrepreneurial pursuits.
Courtesy of The University of Tampa30. The University of Tampa (#4 Southeast)
John P. Lowth Entrepreneurship Center
Tampa, FL
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 10
Tuition: $51,570 (total program cost)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 27
What Sets Us Apart
We offer a one-year program, designed to align with the urgency of entrepreneurship and provide a significant advantage to students seeking to move directly into business. It was designed using the twofold cluster and competencies approach. First, based upon research conducted with experts, we identified the key topics that need to be addressed in an advanced degree program in entrepreneurship. We then clustered those topics into groups to create eight clusters. Each of these was then named and identified as a four-hour-credit course in the program, for a total of 32 credit hours.
Courtesy of Temple University31. Temple University (#9 Northeast)
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute
Philadelphia, PA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 38
Tuition: varies by program
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 28
What Sets Us Apart
At Temple University, we see innovation and entrepreneurship as two sides of the same coin. TU's university-wide programming balances perspective shifts and the entrepreneurial mindset to recognize opportunities and develop differentiated, innovation-based, purpose-focused, and value-creating business models. Here, students will learn the practical skills and behaviors needed to fund and launch ventures or implement their vision in existing organizations.
Our academic and co-curricular programs are strategically integrated and focus on experiential learning/launching. We say "Don't come to TU to learn about E-ship, come to TU to launch your venture!" The best time to launch a venture is as a student since learning is enhanced by application (testing ideas/launching ventures).
Entrepreneurship is threaded into TU's DNA. GenEd courses like our core CLA Intellectual Heritage courses teach creativity and social entrepreneurship while offerings in environment science/tech demonstrate sustainable entrepreneurship ventures through field trips. We also transform core curriculum to include entrepreneurship, whether that's in our eight BFA degrees or engineering capstone courses that include Technical Communication or Lean Startup.
Temple University's Entrepreneurship Academy (TUEA) is a novel approach to training faculty and funding or co-developing new courses and programs. It has thus far yielded specialized programs in: Freelancing, Urban Healthcare, Sports Innovation, Entrepreneurial= Engineering, Social Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Licensing, and Retail.
Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison32. University of Wisconsin—Madison (#7 Midwest)
University of Wisconsin—Madison
Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship
Madison, WI
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 20
Tuition: $22,618 (in-state); $44,156 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 9
What Sets Us Apart
Students taking graduate entrepreneurship courses at University of Wisconsin—Madison come from a variety of disciplines across the campus. This provides students with the experience of building and working on cross-disciplinary teams in an entrepreneurial environment. One of our longest running courses, Weinert Applied Ventures for Entrepreneurship (WAVE), provides student entrepreneurs with the opportunity to refine their ideas via customer/market discovery. The entrepreneurs then pitch their ideas to our advisory board of experienced entrepreneurs and investors. Successful teams receive a $50K investment from a fund tied to the course with the proceeds going to fund future student startups.
Each summer we also hold a one week, fifty-hour bootcamp program for STEM graduate students. The Morgridge Entrepreneurial Bootcamp alumni have launched numerous companies and raised over $375 million in investor funding, including a recent IPO. These opportunities teach the skills that allow our alumni to become successful entrepreneurs and leaders in their careers. In 2020 UW-Madison and American Family Insurance joined with Creative Destruction Lab to launch the first site in the U.S. to provide students with an opportunity to work on a team with premier startups in the Risk industry from across the globe. Based on the success of the first year we have expanded the program to also include a Health and Wellness track.
Courtesy of University of Louisville33. University of Louisville (#5 Southeast)
Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship
Louisville, KY
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 17
Tuition: $32,000
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 6
What Sets Us Apart
The Innovation MBA offered by the University of Louisville is an experimental and experiential 13-month program. Over the course of the rapid-paced program, students are expected to follow the business model canvas to perform customer discovery, validate a business concept, and launch a business.
Courtesy of University of Minnesota34. University of Minnesota (#8 Midwest)
Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship
Minneapolis, MN
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 13
Tuition: $40,407 (in-state); $50,767 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 35
What Sets Us Apart
Entrepreneurship courses at the University of Minnesota build upon students' prior experience to develop targeted skills and mindsets and support the exploration of each graduate's capabilities and interests. The resources and range of experiential opportunities is very unique and allows students to work, in various capacities, alongside leading entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators. Our full-year Ventures Enterprise course places students on sponsored class projects working alongside leading corporations or mission-driven organizations. Our STARTUP courses provide funding and mentoring to students testing and developing new venture concepts. Our New Product Development course places students on cross-functional teams working with sponsoring companies.
As a National Science Foundation Innovation Corps site since 2014 (promoted to partner level in new Great Lakes Region in 2021), we are leading the development of next-generation practices in teaching entrepreneurship to our students and researchers. This program has tested more than 400 new venture concepts while connecting with 2,000+ STEM innovators across campus. Research faculty, experienced industry mentors, and local alumni who are leading nationally prominent accelerators are working together to integrate both the latest academic research and practical experience into our classrooms.
Courtesy of University of Oregon35. University of Oregon (#12 West)
Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship
Eugene, OR
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 21
Tuition: $31,515 (in-state); $42,741 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 11
What Sets Us Apart
The University of Oregon MBA approach to entrepreneurship is focused on maximizing student success with personalized support. Some students come to their MBA with an idea already developed and the motivation to launch. Others arrive with a general understanding of entrepreneurship and a desire to be a team member in a high-growth company. The third archetype of student knows they want to strike out on their own someday, but feel like they need the tools of an MBA to maximize their chance of success. A personalized MBA requires a strong network of support that includes faculty, mentors from the community, and alumni. We offer a 1:1 mentoring program for our students to connect with professionals. This program helps all our student find their own path into the workforce. Individual mentoring is augmented with advisory "boards" that support our Venture Launch courses. These boards simulate the startup process with experienced leaders who guide startup decisions. For students with an idea, passion, and the drive to launch, this provides a support system that integrates with the Oregon ecosystem.
Throughout the program, all our students meet regularly with both their MBA Program Manager and a career advisor to identify the pathways forward that fit with their goals, life objectives, and skillsets. By focusing on each student, entrepreneurship education at Oregon is about more than just launching companies. Our goal is to see students thrive and engage in business as they follow their passions.
Courtesy of University of Connecticut36. University of Connecticut (#10 Northeast)
Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Storrs, CT
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 21
Tuition: $17,186 (in-state); $39,098 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 17
What Sets Us Apart
At the University of Connecticut, we incorporate entrepreneurship into a variety of curricula (Business, Engineering, Life Sciences, Law, and Education) and provide extensive opportunities for students to engage with entrepreneurs and develop innovative business ideas. The importance of entrepreneurial thinking appears in several project- and strategy-related courses taken by all business students. Similarly, many engineering courses offer content and opportunities to support entrepreneurial endeavors.
Hands-on practical experience is provided through extracurricular programs that support startups for all UConn graduate students along the innovation and startup continuum. For example, a five-part mini-course, Innovation for Medical and Dental Clinical Professionals, guides graduate students at UConn Health towards entrepreneurial endeavors. The PIE program places students in bioscience labs for mentored summer research. Students and mentors participate in weekly seminars and workshops on innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.
At UConn we believe that innovation cuts across all disciplines, not just technology-based fields. Further, we find that developing innovation skills results in better leadership and entrepreneurial skills, united by a need for creativity, vision, and an honest examination of performance. Our many programs and course offerings help UConn develop tomorrow's leaders and entrepreneurs through instruction and practice in entrepreneurship.
Courtesy of The George Washington University37. The George Washington University (#11 Northeast)
The George Washington University
Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence (CFEE)
Washington, DC
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 8
Tuition: $52,826
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 23
What Sets Us Apart
The George Washington University's entrepreneurial education has five key approaches:
- integrating coursework with field-based learning
- ensuring all students have access to the resources of the GWU Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
- augmenting class discussions with visiting entrepreneurs, policymakers, and economic development professionals (especially those in the social entrepreneurial market segment) to present the real world and in some cases, offer employment opportunities
- moving traditional teaching to a field-based, heuristic method of learning
- utilizing GWU's unique location to provide students with a wide selection of policy and social entrepreneurship experiences
An example of an opportunity only available at The George Washington University School of Business was when one of our partners, the International Council for Small Business, working with the United Nations, had "June 26th" declared Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Day worldwide and in perpetuity. The effort, led by Professor Ayman El Tarabishy, allowed graduate students an opportunity to attend and be involved with the event. We also develop and manage semiannual working lunches with individuals, departments, and various schools and colleges. These information-sharing events allow us to better coordinate and promote the numerous entrepreneurial activities at George Washington University.
Courtesy of Florida International University38. Florida International University (#6 Southeast)
Florida International University
StartUP FIU, Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center, Florida Small Business Development Center at FIU, and FIU CARTA Ratcliffe Art + Design INCUBATOR
North Miami, FL
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 39
Tuition: $34,000 (in-state); $39,000 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 26
What Sets Us Apart
Florida International University's approach to graduate entrepreneurship education is to recruit faculty with industry experience. The curriculum at CARTA and the Chaplin School seeks to bridge the gap between creative talent and entrepreneurial success. Entrepreneurship education within academic art and design departments has been introduced into university curricula to prepare graduates to actively participate in the process of building their own companies. Lecturers and mentors are all entrepreneurs, whether they are artists or own their own architectural firms, which allows them to give students valuable, tangible business insights. Like CARTA, the Chaplin School offers graduate courses that are taught by well-known industry leaders who bring into their classrooms real-estate developers, business owners, and management professionals from around the country.
Courtesy of Oklahoma State University39. Oklahoma State University (#13 West)
Riata Center for Entrepreneurship, 36 Degrees North (Tulsa, OK), Institute for Global Social Entrepreneurship
Stillwater, OK
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 22
Tuition: $6,492 (in-state); $18,118 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 31
What Sets Us Apart
Classes at Oklahoma State University provide a blend of experiential activities and classroom instruction. The CIE Scholar Class, for example, is based on the Customer Discovery methodology, and the students in the class break into teams to assess the commercial potential of OSU technologies by interviewing potential customers and others. This effort has reaped tangible rewards, including startups that have gone on to raise several rounds of funding.
The breadth of classes we offer is unique, as are some of our specific courses, such as "Launching a Business: The First 100 Days," "CIE Scholar Practicum," and "Ideation, Creativity & Innovation." Further opportunities are available through our various programs. Our signature Ph.D. program has placed graduates into excellent tenure-track positions. Our MBA concentration is offered both on the Stillwater campus and online. And our School of Entrepreneurship was granted an NSF I-Corps Site, which is rare for a department in a College of Business to operate. We also maintain two student incubators, one in Stillwater and one in Tulsa. In addition to this, we offer an internship program and while our entrepreneurship-specific study abroad experiences have been on hold due to the worldwide pandemic, we plan to restart them ASAP. Finally, our Entrepreneurship Club sponsors activities for our graduate students.
Courtesy of Florida Atlantic University40. Florida Atlantic University (#7 Southeast)
Adams Center for Entrepreneurship
Boca Raton, FL
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 12
Tuition: $6,693 (in-state); $17,921 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 31
What Sets Us Apart
Our distinctive approach to entrepreneurship education consists of initial primary research (the Florida Atlantic University Wave program), a dozen entrepreneurship courses, and educational and financial resources and support provided by the Adams Center for Entrepreneurship. The Center provides a boot camp, professional mentorship, global entrepreneurship week activities, networking organizations, pitch competition, veterans' entrepreneurship program, business plan competition, and support for numerous external competitions.
Our graduates grow their ventures through FAU's Accelerator (Tech Runway), and receive full operational support from FAU Research Park. Together, these university-wide programs provide comprehensive support to all undergraduate entrepreneurs at FAU whether they are in business, engineering, computer science, the Honors College, physical science, liberal arts, education or other programs. In addition, entrepreneurship students work with local startups on consulting projects and are invited to take part in our weekly Boca Raton Shrimp Tank podcast interviews with South Florida entrepreneurs.
Courtesy of University of Massachusetts Amherst41. University of Massachusetts Amherst (#12 Northeast)
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship
Amherst, MA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 7
Tuition: $18,527 (in-state); $37,848 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 0
What Sets Us Apart
Our approach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is fully experiential. It places a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary teams and a focus on action. In short, we don't just talk about ideas but follow through and create ventures out of them. The result is a cross-disciplinary education that is fully immersed in experiential learning.
Courtesy of Wright State University42. Wright State University (#9 Midwest)
Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE)
Dayton, OH
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 3
Tuition: $15,374 (in-state); $25,362 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 3
What Sets Us Apart
Experiential learning gives students the opportunity to interact with active professionals in the business world, take part in real-world situations, and gain experience planning for actionable new ventures.
Courtesy of University of San Diego43. University of San Diego (#14 West)
Entrepreneurship & Innovation Catalyzer (The CatalyZer), Center for Peace and Commerce, The Brink SBDC
San Diego, CA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 13
Tuition: $41,947
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 74
What Sets Us Apart
As a highly ranked professional business school in a private Catholic university, the University of San Diego molds students into ethical entrepreneurial leaders with a strong foundation in the core values of Catholic social justice. To that end, we have initiatives like the Global Social Innovation Challenge (and related courses) to encourage students to focus on businesses that benefit society and encourage students to create socially responsible and environmentally sustainable businesses. At the USD School of Business, we also reiterate our University's Vision 2024 that includes pathways of access and inclusion, care for our common home, anchor institution, and practicing change-making. These goals differentiate us from other regional schools and position us as one of the key players in entrepreneurship education in San Diego for creating ethical entrepreneurial leaders.
Courtesy of American University44. American University (#13 Northeast)
American University Center for Innovation
Washington, DC
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 9
Tuition: $44,354
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 15
What Sets Us Apart
American University's Center for Innovation is directed by three faculty members, who all teach entrepreneurship in business and science programs. Our programming is thus multidisciplinary and our outreach is to all undergraduate, graduate students, and recent alumni. In graduate programming, we have added online graduate teams from around the country and across multiple disciplines to our incubator. This has expanded our scope and enriched our program with a range of new ventures, often run by working professionals. These student ventures, which include mentorships, competitions, workshops, and access to space, are founded by candidates for advanced degrees in business, fine arts, communication, history, special needs education, and others. The "hands-on" approach and consistent support to ventures in the AUCI incubator program is the ultimate in experiential learning for students.
Courtesy of Concordia University45. Concordia University (International)
District 3 Innovation Hub; Bob and Raye Briscoe Centre in Business Ownership Studies; The National Bank Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Family Business; Barry F. Lorenzetti Centre for Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership; KPMG-JMSB Entrepreneurial Indices; Dobson Practicum
Montreal, Canada
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 15
Tuition: $4,181 (in-state); $8,231 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 39
What Sets Us Apart
Concordia University's John Molson School of Business is the ideal place for students with an interest in entrepreneurship. To begin with, there are many research centers: the National Bank Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Family Business, the Centre for Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership, the Bob and Raye Briscoe Centre in Business Ownership Studies, and the KPMG Entrepreneurial Indices. There's also hands-on support from the Dobson Practicum and the District 3 Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as well as mentorship programs, entrepreneurs-in-residence, speaker series, scholarships, and fellowships all of which bring practical relevance to the academic excellence of our faculty. Experiential learning in the form of the Small Business Consulting Bureau, the Surgical Innovation course or consulting for non-profit local ventures in the MBA Community Service Initiative are other features that are unique to the John Molson MBA program.
Courtesy of The University of Vermont46. The University of Vermont (#14 Northeast)
Sustainable Innovation MBA
Burlington, VT
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 5
Tuition: $32,028 (in-state); $52,976 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 33
What Sets Us Apart
Students of The University of Vermont's Sustainable Innovation MBA program benefit from:
- an accelerated one-year program that quickly gets the student back out to the inventing (or reinventing) of their enterprise
- a unique spirit of entrepreneurship in which students learn from and develop relationships with leaders from a masterclass of sustainable, entrepreneurial enterprises, including Ben & Jerry's, Burton Snowboards, Keurig Green Mountain, and Seventh Generation
- global exposure and hands-on experience that comes from meaningful, high impact work with global partners who have access to many emerging markets (such as sustainable innovation with PepsiCo in Latin America or Novellis in Asian countries)
- cutting-edge thinking and practice, thanks to our Innovator in Residence Program, which lets students interact with leading thinkers and doers in the field of sustainable enterprise
- a multidisciplinary impact, with a unique curriculum delivered not only from School of Business faculty, but also colleagues in the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, the nationally-ranked Rubenstein School of Natural Resources, the Gund Institute for the Environment, and Vermont Law School
Courtesy of University of Florida47. University of Florida (#8 Southeast)
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION CENTER
Gainesville, FL
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 23
Tuition: $13,737 (in-state); $31,130 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 0
What Sets Us Apart
The Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center was created to teach, coach, and inspire students to be entrepreneurial in all aspects of their lives. The Center provides students the tools and experiences necessary to creatively pursue new opportunities and innovations in the startup, social, and corporate venture arenas. Through courses, degree programs, and complementary activities such as speakers and workshops, the Center currently serves more than 2,000 students per year.
Courtesy of State University of New York—Stony Brook University48. The State University of New York—Stony Brook University (#15 Northeast)
The State University of New York—Stony Brook University
Innovation Center, Center of Entrepreneurial Finance, iCreate, and Small Business Development Center
Stony Brook, NY
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 4
Tuition: $29,000 (in-state); $30,300 (out-of-state)
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 5
What Sets Us Apart
Students who enroll in The State University of New York—Stony Brook University's Teams and Leadership course or the Tech Innovation course will find themselves immersed in entrepreneur practice. As MBA teams, they will work as consultants for startups and family businesses and build valuable experience through team exercises.
Courtesy of Tulane University49. Tulane University (#9 Southeast)
Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
New Orleans, LA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 12
Tuition: $57,708
Companies Started by Graduates Over the Last 5 Years: 7
What Sets Us Apart
New Orleans, which has emerged as an entrepreneurial hub in recent years, provides a compelling backdrop to entrepreneurship studies at Tulane University. Students in this concentration can focus on early-stage venture creation (founding a company), second-stage growth (working with early-stage companies) and venture finance. Courses provide practical, applicable knowledge about strategy, management, and operations in fast-growing startups. Opportunities for independent study allow students to focus on a particular business segment or industry.
At the Freeman School of Business, graduate students become members of a tight-knit community. Smaller classes mean the professors become mentors and classmates become life-long friends. Students will make professional connections that will support them through their careers.
Courtesy of California State University San Bernardino50. California State University San Bernardino (#15 West)
California State University San Bernardino
School of Entrepreneurship – Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE), Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration
San Bernardino, CA
Number of Entrepreneurship Courses Offered: 22
Tuition: $22,000-34,000 (program tuition range)
What Sets Us Apart
Our mantra at California State University San Bernardino is "Think Like an Owner!" What that means is that we want students to shift their focus and mindset to understand that owners think differently and that cultivating the ownership mindset is paramount.
Our nontraditional approach encourages students to adapt to the coursework as entrepreneurs must. We mimic the entrepreneurial experience of uncertainty as timelines shift, due dates change, and expectations are upended so that students can practice interpreting and adapting.
Our "learning takeaway" tool helps students better document their learning in a social-media context. Students tell us that it increases their retention of material.
Our specific competencies and their assessments—upon entry, at varying points (in sync with competency-testing programs), and at the program's end—allow us to best monitor, track, and review a student's progress.
Our complete ecosystem is designed to support students, whether that's in a fast pitch competition, campus-wide innovation challenge event, angel investor review session, campus venture accelerator, or a wide range of other programs/activities that provide experiential learning and opportunities in which students can grow their network of business connections and local entrepreneurs.
