For the seventh-straight year, The Princeton Review ranked the University of Utah as one of the top 25 schools in the country in 2018 for entrepreneurship education in a new survey released today. Led by the David Eccles School of Business and its Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, the University of Utah ranked No. 15 for undergraduate and No. 23 for graduate programs.

The Princeton Review surveyed more than 300 schools offering entrepreneurship studies for the rankings. The data collected for this year’s rankings are from the 2015-16 academic year, which precedes many recent developments at the University of Utah.

In recent years, the University of Utah has grown and improved its entrepreneurship programs and opportunities. Among these developments was opening Lassonde Studios in August 2016. The five-story innovation space is open to all students on campus to “live, create, launch.” 

“Entrepreneurship is one of our core values at the David Eccles School of Business, and we are proud to be recognized as a national leader,” said Taylor Randall, dean of the Eccles School. “We have significantly expanded the number of opportunities we provide to students interested in entrepreneurship. This ranking shows that these efforts are paying off. We want to be known as the best place for students to study and experience entrepreneurship.” 

The University of Utah provides numerous academic opportunities for students interested in entrepreneurship through the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the Eccles School. They include a major and minor, an interdisciplinary certificate for non-business majors, an MBA with an emphasis in entrepreneurship and a Ph.D.

The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute adds to the academic opportunities by providing many experiential-learning opportunities to all students on campus. Those opportunities include workshops, tools, makerspace, grants, offices, networking, scholarships and more.

Programs provided by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute are held at Lassonde Studios since it opened. The building has received national recognition from The New York Times, Business Insider, Fast Company and other publications. Architectural Digest named Lassonde Studios one of the “nine best new university buildings around the world.” The first floor of Lassonde Studios is open to all students at the University of Utah, while all students can also apply to be one of the 400 residents living on four upper floors.

Troy D’Ambrosio, the executive director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and an assistant dean at the Eccles School, managed the construction and opening of Lassonde Studios. He has also been with the institute since it started as one program in 2001. 

“We have only been in Lassonde Studios for one year, and it has already exceeded our expectations,” D’Ambrosio said. “Students from every major are starting companies, building prototypes and gaining life-changing experiences. We look forward to many more years of growth and impact as more students discover what we can offer them.”

Of the schools that The Princeton Review surveyed, 38 institutions’ undergraduate and/or graduate programs made the roster of top schools for 2018. The rankings can be viewed at entrepreneur.com/topcolleges and will be published in the December issue of Entrepreneur magazine, available on newsstands Nov. 28. The Princeton Review posted the lists at princetonreview.com/best-business-schools as well as the methodology for the survey, criteria for the rankings, and detailed profiles of the schools.

The Princeton Review conducted a 60-question survey from May through August 2017. The survey asked schools to report on levels of their commitment to entrepreneurship studies inside and outside the classroom. More than 40 data points were analyzed for the tally to determine the rankings. Topics included: the percentage of faculty, students, alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors, the number and reach of mentorship programs, scholarships and grants for entrepreneurial studies, and the level of support for school-sponsored business plan competitions.

“These colleges and business schools have superb entrepreneurship programs, said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. “We highly recommend them to any applicant aspiring to launch a business. Their faculties are truly engaged in entrepreneurism. Their courses are rich with in-class and out-of-class experiential components, and the financial and networking support their students and programs receive via donors and alumni is extraordinary.” 

This is the 12th year that Entrepreneur has partnered with The Princeton Review to publish this list. Only schools that participate in The Princeton Review entrepreneurship program survey are eligible for consideration for the rankings.

Learn more about entrepreneurship at the University of Utah by visiting the Lassonde Institute website at lassonde.utah.edu. Learn more about the David Eccles School of Business at eccles.utah.edu.