The David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah received another top 10 ranking for entrepreneurship today as the Princeton Review ranked its undergraduate entrepreneurship program No. 10 and its graduate program No. 16 for 2021.
The new undergraduate ranking adds to a series of top 10 rankings for the Eccles School from organizations including US News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek.
“Entrepreneurship is one of our core values at the Eccles School, so we are excited to be named among the best schools,” said Taylor Randall, dean of the David Eccles School of Business. “Our namesake was one of the first entrepreneurs in Utah, and we challenge every student to get involved with entrepreneurship to apply what they are learning in class, develop grit, and create their own futures.”
Entrepreneurship programs at the Eccles School are provided in partnership between the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy and the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. Last year, these divisions worked with 7,400 aspiring student entrepreneurs who launched 446 startup teams, enrolled more than 2,000 students in entrepreneurship courses, and awarded $1.4 million in scholarships and tuition waivers for students to experience entrepreneurship.
This is the 11th straight year that the Eccles School has been ranked among the top 25 schools in the country for entrepreneurship by the Princeton Review. In recent years, the school has added many unique programs that continue to attract international attention and have elevated it to be recognized among the best in the country.
“We are proud to be recognized among the best entrepreneur programs in the country,” said Matthew Higgins, chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy. “We have an unmatched variety of programs for students who want to learn and practice entrepreneurship. We have everything from high school business idea competitions to the first-of-a-kind Master of Business Creation. Behind these programs are some of the most experienced and renowned faculty members and scholars you will find anywhere.”
The Eccles School made a significant investment in 2016, when it opened Lassonde Studios, which is managed by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. All students at the University of Utah are welcome to “live, create, launch” in the five-story building that has been featured by publications including The New York Times and Architectural Digest. Inside Lassonde Studios, students can join a living-learning community and participate in many programs and activities, including mentor hours, startup office, maker space, social events, startup pitches, and more.
“We opened Lassonde Studios and created the many programs inside to provide all the resources students would need to pursue their ideas, launch companies, and learn by doing,” said Troy D’Ambrosio, executive director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and an assistant dean at the Eccles School “Our top 10 rankings are a great recognition of our efforts and our students’ success. We have quickly become one of the best places in the country for student entrepreneurs, and I don’t think any other school offers the same depth and variety of resources we provide.”
New at Lassonde Studios this year is the Lassonde Founders program. This is a residential program for young entrepreneurs who want to live, create, launch, and learn together with help from scholarships, peer coaches and many other resources. The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute admitted the first group of 31 founders during the inaugural year for 2020-21.
Inside the classroom, the Eccles School recently added several new academic programs. In addition to electives, a certificate, minor, and major in entrepreneurship, the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy now offers the three-course Lassonde+X program for students from any major to learn the entrepreneurial mindset. It also offers the Master of Business Creation for founders to spend nine months launching and scaling their companies with access to scholarships, mentors, and many resources. Both of these programs were new for the 2019-20 academic year.
“All students can benefit from adding at least one entrepreneurship course to their majors,” Higgins said. “Entrepreneurship is about adding value, innovating, and being creative. Every student can benefit by learning these qualities and how to think like an entrepreneur. Many of our graduates launch companies and work for themselves, but just as many put their entrepreneurial skills to work at corporations that need creative problem-solvers.”
The full Princeton Review rankings and methodology can be viewed at princetonreview.com/entrepreneur. The results can also be found at entrepreneur.com/topcolleges and will be published in Entrepreneur magazine, available on newsstands in December 2020.
Princeton Review selected the schools and tallied its rankings based on its survey of administrators at more than 300 undergraduate and graduate schools offering entrepreneurship studies. The survey asked administrators more than 60 questions about their school’s commitment to entrepreneurship studies inside and outside the classroom. The Princeton Review analyzed more than 40 survey data points to determine the school lists and rankings for 2021.
This is the 15th year that Entrepreneur has partnered with the Princeton Review to publish this list.
“The schools that made our ranking lists for 2021 all offer exceptional entrepreneurship programs,” said Rob Franek, the Princeton Review’s editor in chief. “Their faculties are outstanding. Their courses have robust experiential components, and their students receive outstanding mentoring and networking support. We strongly recommend these fine schools to anyone considering a college major or graduate degree in this burgeoning field.”
“The pandemic has triggered a massive wave of entrepreneurial interest, and more Americans are starting businesses now than in the last decade,” said Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. “That means there’s even more hunger for valuable information and insights on how to build and grow a business. We’re proud to publish this annual ranking, so that we can give future entrepreneurs guidance on the robust education programs that can help them start their journey.”
Learn more about entrepreneuring at the Eccles School, where entrepreneur is a verb, here: eccles.utah.edu/entrepreneur.
ABOUT THE DAVID ECCLES SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
The Eccles School is synonymous with “doing.” The Eccles experience provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation. Founded in 1917 and educating more than 6,000 students annually, the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business offers nine undergraduate majors, four MBAs, eight other graduate programs, a Ph.D. in six areas and executive education curricula. The School is also home to 12 institutes, centers and initiatives that deliver academic research and support an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. For more information, visit Eccles.Utah.edu or call 801-581-7676.
ABOUT THE LASSONDE ENTREPRENEUR INSTITUTE
The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is a nationally ranked hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Utah and an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business. The first programs were offered in 2001, through the vision and support of Pierre Lassonde, an alumnus of the Eccles School and successful mining entrepreneur. The institute now provides opportunities for thousands of students to learn about entrepreneurship and innovation. Programs include workshops, networking events, business-plan competitions, startup support, innovation programs, graduate seminars, scholarships, community outreach and more. All programs are open to students from any academic major or background. The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute also manages Lassonde Studios, a five-story innovation space and housing facility for all students. Learn more at Lassonde.Utah.edu.