The 24 best US colleges for future entrepreneurs

The Center for Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University’s John Cook School of Business understands that learning can happen in many ways, and focuses on providing a variety of programs for students. For example, through the Diplomate program, students participate in workshops, hear from speakers, and put their skills to the test in competitions.

US News ranks Arizona’s entrepreneurship program No. 6 in the country, and for good reason. The school’s McGuire Entrepreneurship Program, which is open to all majors, takes a hands-on approach to learning. During the year-long program, students not only take relevant classes, but develop and launch their own venture, start to finish.

21. University of Maryland at College Park
College Park, Maryland

Freshmen and sophomores at Maryland involved in the immersive entrepreneurship and innovation program live together as a community, fostering an environment of creativity and support. These students not only live and study together, but participate in a number of co-curricular activities such as workshops, speakers, and case studies.

TCU’s entrepreneurial management major in the Neely School of Business prepares students to manage people, money, and information. The school focuses on building leadership skills that will support graduates in any career in addition to teaching them the hard skills needed to run a business.

Students of any major can join Startup UW at the University of Washington. The club hosts weekly meetings to connect entrepreneurship-minded students, as well as quarterly events such as BarkTank, where students get the chance to pitch to real investors and VCs. The Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the Foster School of Business also offers classes where students learn to build business plans and launch new ventures.

Michigan students are able to test the waters of entrepreneurship through courses such as “Finding Your Venture” and “Entrepreneurial Business Basics.” Students can also complete a nine-credit certificate program in entrepreneurship, where they cover the basics of getting a new business off the ground.

Lehigh’s Baker Institute sponsors several programs aimed at getting students in touch with their inner entrepreneurs. LehighSiliconValley is a three-credit experiential program that places students in the heart of Silicon Valley for a week, allowing them to observe real-life examples of entrepreneurial problems and solutions. Lehigh’s startup internship grant awards students up to $3,000 so they can afford their dream internships — paid or unpaid.

The Washington University Student Entrepreneurial Program, also known as StEP, allows current students to apply for loans to start real, tangible businesses. The program has funded a number of successful student-run ventures, including a shuttle service that students can book for events and airport trips, and a bike shop that’s been student-owned and run since 2004.

DePaul’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center helps guide and support students in entrepreneurial ventures both on campus and in the greater Chicago area. The center connects students with veteran entrepreneurs, helps them find internship opportunities, and provides support as they build and grow their own businesses.

Clarkson’s Bachelor of Science in entrepreneurship and innovation teaches students to manage the innovation process, develop new products, understand the legal side of entrepreneurship, and create new ventures both independently and within a larger corporation. The Reh Center for Entrepreneurship also helps spur and support new businesses across Northern New York.

University of Dayton’s entrepreneurship program, which undergraduates can apply to during their freshman year, walks students through every aspect of bringing a new business to fruition. Students don’t wait until after graduation to test out their skills, either — all sophomores get the chance to create and run a microbusiness with $5,000 in start-up capital, with support from the Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Also ranked the No. 9 best entrepreneurship program in country by US News, UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School aims to build students who can lead and grow companies. As undergraduates, business students can choose a major concentration in entrepreneurship or complete a minor in the subject, where they take classes such as “venture capital and startups” and “new product development.”

The Fox School of Business and Management’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute allows students of all disciplines to infuse entrepreneurship classes into their studies. Even students who don’t choose to major or minor in the subject can complete a certificate of entrepreneurship, where they learn the basic skills for becoming a self-starter, no matter their academic background.

Miami’s Farmer School of Business immerses students in the real business world through co-curricular programs such as a start-up weekend and business plan competition. The school also offers a business concentration and a minor in entrepreneurship, where students take classes like “Imagination and Entrepreneurship” and “Technology, Products, and Ventures.”

Within the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch students can choose to either major or minor in entrepreneurship, where they acquire the skills to both start their own businesses and to be self-starters at established companies. In addition to their core classes, students choose from a host of electives, including social entrepreneurship and technology, innovation, and design in entrepreneurship.

Within the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, part of USC’s Marshall School of Business, students can specialize their entrepreneurial interests through six interdisciplinary minors, including game entrepreneurism, the digital entrepreneur, and technology commercialization. Graduates have gone on to found well-known companies, including Kinko’s, Quiksilver, and Salesforce.com.

Students can take a host of classes covering everything from technology to social ventures to family businesses at Northeastern’s Center for Entrepreneurship Education. Though undergrads can complete a minor or concentration in entrepreneurship, those hungry for more can return to earn an MBA specialized in entrepreneurship.

In Syracuse’s Whitman School of Management, students can major in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises (triple-E), where they gain access to programs like the Couri Hatchery, a student-centered business incubator; and the Panasci business plan competition, a campus-wide competition where the top teams earn prize money to get their ventures off the ground. Triple-E graduates earn an average starting salary of $50,563.

Oklahoma undergraduates who major (or minor) in entrepreneurship take a series of venture development courses during their junior and senior years. Throughout this sequence, student teams develop and test a new business, giving them hands-on entrepreneurial experience.

At the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, BYU students are encouraged to dig into their entrepreneurial ideas through the center’s “learn, earn, and return” motto. Students receive mentorships from fellow entrepreneurs, enter competitions to make their ideas a reality, and network with Rollins alumni.

Baylor students who major in entrepreneurship and corporate innovation within the Hankamer School of Business learn the ins and outs of starting a new business through classes such as “Franchising: Franchisee & Franchisor Perspectives” and “Entrepreneurial Leadership.” Undergraduates can also live in the Entrepreneurship Living-Learning Centerwhere they’re surrounded by other like-minded students and receive additional support from faculty.

Consistently ranked one of the top entrepreneurship programs in the country, the Wolff Center offers a bachelor’s in business administration as well as a corporate entrepreneurship certification to cover students of all levels. Outside of the classroom, students can also participate in mentoring programs, business plan competitions, retreats, and internship opportunities.

No two businesses — or entrepreneurs — are alike. So at Babson, both undergraduate and graduate students can personalize their studies through customized two-week programs that specialize on a certain aspect of entrepreneurship. Babson’s overall entrepreneurship program also earned the No. 1 ranking from US News.