One of the most important things for anyone aspiring for a career in business is networking. For many people, college is the time to make these connections and learn as much as possible about the field. Especially in entrepreneurship, colleges across the country have student incubators and innovation & entrepreneur programs that help students get started and build their brand.
Here are 5 of the best universities in the U.S. with amazing entrepreneurship programs and resources they offer!
University of Southern California: Marshall School of Business
It’s no question that LA is one of the best places to be when starting a new business. The Marshall School of Business’ MBA program ranks at 17 in the U.S. News & World Report. The Marshall School of Business offers a highly competitive Global Leadership Program. Within the school, the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies supports student’s entrepreneurial ventures. They offer a Venture Fund that supports early-stage and startups and helps students navigate the entrepreneurial world. Case competitions are also a large part of this program, and the school hosts its Marshall’s International Case Competition annually to allow students to experience real-world business problems. (Read more about why aspiring entrepreneurs should compete in a case competition here.)
New York University: Stern School of Business
On the opposite coast, NYU is a powerhouse for business students. As an MBA program, it is highly competitive and ranks at #10 on U.S. News. For their undergraduate degree, entrepreneurship is only offered as a co-concentration at the Stern School of Business. The concentration has courses that cover everything from start-up planning, finance, and marketing for a new business. The Leslie eLab is the entrepreneur lab at NYU that offers space, guidance, and other resources for students. This lab supports any NYU student and staff on startups from any stage. Also at NYU is their Entrepreneur Network that brings together entrepreneurship organizations from across the colleges and provides them with funding and development opportunities.
The University of Texas at Dallas: Jindal School of Management
As a university that’s just surpassing their 50th anniversary, the Jindal School of Management has quickly risen to prominence as one of the Best Colleges for a Business Degree. Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a concentration under the Business Administration degree, allowing students to learn a wide range of topics. The campus offers resources to aspiring entrepreneurs through the Blackstone Launchpad. One competitive program is CometX, an 8-week intensive program that allows students to develop and launch their business ideas. At the end of the 8-week program, students have an opportunity to pitch to potential investors and get the opportunity to compete in the UTD Big Idea Competition as well as many other competitions.
University of Arizona: McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship
According to the 2020 U.S. News & World Report Best Business Schools Rankings, the full-time MBA program that Eller College of Management offers lands at spot 46. Within the Eller School of Management, the entrepreneur concentration for undergraduates is a popular one. The McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship ranks at #6 nationally for undergraduate entrepreneurship programs. From their competitive New Venture Development Program to the Innovation lab, they offer a variety of resources for entrepreneurship. In the last 3 years, the McGuire Center had 29% of their new ventures launch. In addition to their innovation space and venture programs, the Eller College of Management offers resources for case competitions, which are invaluable experiences for entrepreneurship and learning about how the business world works.
University of Pennsylvania: Wharton School of Business
The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania is one of the top business schools in the world. With an acceptance rate of under 7% to the undergraduate business school, it is a prestigious program to get into. However, the resources that Wharton has are incredible. Wharton alumni have gone on to start some of the biggest companies, such as Warby Parker, Harry’s, Code2College, and more. The Wharton Entrepreneurship program offers classes in starting to develop a product and launch a startup as well as venture funding opportunities. A unique program that is offered is the Wharton Scale School series, which helps entrepreneurs who have growing companies learn how to manage growth and scaling operations.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of universities with entrepreneurship programs and resources. One of the most important things to take away from any business degree is networking and the ability to learn more about what it takes to be an entrepreneur and these are just a few of the best in the country!
Opinions expressed by AsianBlurb contributors are their own.
Francisca Li (born 9/15/2001) is a student at the University of Texas at Dallas studying Business with a concentration in IT and Finance. She is a freelance graphic designer and branding expert as well as a co-founder of Orenda Change.
