Hit the Books

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With all that these leading colleges and universities have to offer--from studying under professors who’ve been successful entrepreneurs to taking classes that focus less on book learning and more on practical exercises--it’s no wonder more undergrads are pursing degrees in entrepreneurship. Take a look at what sets these top 10 programs apart.

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The McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship has completely offers an approach that starts with a general overview of business basics then moves on to specific topics as students go through the process of starting their own businesses. The program’s whole focus is on moving an idea to reality—no matter what that idea is. Students have access to three full-time entrepreneurship mentors as well as a student law clinic. And the program is always looking to innovate and expand: The reason the program is so successful, says director Sherry Hoskinson, is that the faculty and staff apply the principles of entrepreneurship to the program, day in and day out.

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The goal at Syracuse is to ensure students graduate with practical experience. Writing business plans, conducting feasibility studies, mapping out marketing strategies and seeing how all these translate to real-life businesses is par for the course. Syracuse also has a variety of local and international outreach programs, offering student teams the opportunity to work as consultants to inner-city businesses or travel abroad to help entrepreneurs in developing nations.

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Want to unleash your creativity? DePaul entrepreneurship students have access to the Ryan Center for Creativity and Innovation, which helps students generate ideas for their businesses and teaches creative problem solving. The center brings in authors, researchers and experts who’ve worked with all kinds of companies to speak on innovation, creativity, collaboration and motivation. “Creativity in Business” is even a required course for the entrepreneurship major.

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The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute isn’t stuck in the business school at Temple University--it extends to all 17 schools and colleges on campus. The program emphasizes hands-on learning and brings together students, entrepreneurs, mentors, alumni, faculty and business advisors from diverse backgrounds to work on real-time projects. Another great student resource is an innovation lab that provides support and space for student startups and features workrooms, staff and access to entrepreneurs who are always ready to give advice.

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University of Dayton students get plenty of hands-on entrepreneurial experience. In their sophomore year, for instance, entrepreneurship students receive $3,000 of startup funding to create a venture. They develop business plans and cash control systems, and learn about pricing and marketing. In their junior year, students mentor the sophomores starting businesses. And as seniors, students become consultants to community businesses.

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Drexel offers an undergraduate concentration on entrepreneurship as part of its business administration program and also offers an interdisciplinary minor in entrepreneurship. In 2001, The Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology opened a state-of-the-art new space that provides dedicated incubator space for entrepreneurial teams as well as mentoring and conference spaces, a cybercafé and a presentation room.

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At Farleigh Dickinson, the business school’s such a strong believer in entrepreneurship, it now requires that all business students take entrepreneurship classes because of entrepreneurship’s increased importance in the business world. The Rothman Institute also makes it a point to reach out to the community, having students help local business owners develop business plans and running events for teens. And your entrepreneurship education won’t necessarily end when you graduate—alumni can still receive mentoring support.

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Need some practical experience? The University of North Dakota entrepreneurship program has an intensive internship program through the Kauffman Foundation that allows students to become consultants to local businesses to see and learn what it really takes to start and run a business. The internship also gives students an opportunity to develop mentoring relationships with business owners and executives.

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The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies offers an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree that includes courses on management, marketing, accounting, finance, and information and decision science. The school also offers an undergraduate certificate in entrepreneurship to business students that can help provide focus for working in an entrepreneurial environment. And the school believes in helping its community: Teams of students work as consultants to community businesses through the school’s Center for Urban Business.

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As the first university to ever offer a course in entrepreneurship, Babson has become synonymous with innovation in entrepreneurship education. The school sees entrepreneurship not as a discipline, but a way of life--and the school allows students to embark on highly customized paths in specific areas including new ventures, franchises, corporate ventures, socially responsible companies and family-controlled enterprises. Another added bonus: The school hosts the annual Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, which is billed as “the pre-eminent research conference for entrepreneurship.”