The David Eccles School of Business ranks No. 12 in the latest MBA rankings for entrepreneurship released today by US News and World Report. The rankings are for the year 2021. The Eccles School ranking is an improvement from the last year’s ranking of No. 17 for MBA entrepreneurship.

In related rankings released earlier from US News and World Report, the Eccles School ranked No. 10 for undergraduate entrepreneurship for 2020 (and No. 6 for undergraduate entrepreneurship among state schools). Newer undergraduate rankings are expected later this year.

The rankings reflect ongoing growth and development of entrepreneurship offerings at the Eccles School, its Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy, and its Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. The school has added many new academic and extracurricular programs for student entrepreneurs and, in 2016, opened Lassonde Studios, a five-story hub for student entrepreneurs at the University of Utah.

“We’re proud to be a top-ranked school for entrepreneurship and continue to look for ways to offer more unique opportunities for students to learn about entrepreneurship and pursue their business ideas,” said Taylor Randall, dean of the David Eccles School of Business. “We want to be the best place to be for aspiring entrepreneurs, and we are making every effort we can to achieve this goal.”

Assistant professor Rob Wuebker is one of the faculty in the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy who leads entrepreneurship classes for MBA students. He said they are making quantum leaps in the classroom, building a stronger ecosystem with every passing year, leading breakthrough research, and committed to providing interdisciplinary and global learning.

“The David Eccles School of Business takes a unique approach to teaching entrepreneurship to its students. We are delighted to see our success reflected in our ranking,” Wuebker said.

“The physical classroom is just one part of the journey for our students,” he added. “We teach them how entrepreneurs think and what habits make them successful, and in collaboration with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute – with many programs and open to all students across campus – our students put these lessons to work. They can build teams within and outside the classroom, learning by doing.”

One of the many curriculum innovations for entrepreneurs at the Eccles School is the new Master of Business Creation (MBC) program. It is an intense nine-month program that is focused entirely on helping a founder grow and scale their company. The first group of MBC founders will graduate after the 2020 Spring semester.

For undergraduates, the Eccles School launched the Lassonde+X program in 2019. This is a three-course program for all undergraduate students to learn the entrepreneurial mindset. Lassonde Founders is another new program for undergraduate entrepreneurs at the University of Utah. This is a residential entrepreneur community for incoming students who are active entrepreneurs.

“At the Eccles School and Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, we provide entrepreneurs with the best of what can be offered inside and outside the classroom,” said Troy D’Ambrosio, executive director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and assistant dean at the Eccles School. “Inside the classroom, we have exceptional faculty teaching in unique ways that make entrepreneurship more real and accessible. Outside the classroom, we offer everything from microgrants to prototyping equipment and startup offices to any student on campus.”

Find the MBA entrepreneurship rankings on the US News website here: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/entrepreneurship-rankings. Find all of the MBA rankings here: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools.

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 seven 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.