OSU School of Entrepreneurship recognized in Princeton Review, Entrepreneur rankings

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Oklahoma State University’s School of Entrepreneurship is quickly becoming known as one of the best in the United States, and experts from coast-to-coast are beginning to realize what’s taking place in Stillwater. The OSU School of Entrepreneurship is one of only three newcomers to break into the top 25 rankings of both undergraduate and graduate programs released Tuesday by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.

OSU is ranked No. 24 in the undergraduate program rankings of the nation’s top schools and its graduate program achieved a No. 23 ranking of the more than 2,000 programs reviewed.

“It is indeed wonderful news that our School of Entrepreneurship and the accompanying programs of the Riata outreach center achieved these top-25 rankings by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine,” Larry Crosby, dean of the Spears School of Business, said. “The timing couldn’t be more auspicious considering this is the week of our annual Experimental Classroom, bringing together scholars from around the country and even the world to learn the best classroom practices of entrepreneurship.”

The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine combined on the ninth annual survey that ranks the top 25 undergraduate and top 25 graduate entrepreneurship programs in the United States.

Oklahoma State’s School of Entrepreneurship entered the top 25 for the first time ever. OSU was joined as one of three newcomers to the undergraduate and graduate rankings by the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Maryland-College Park.

It should not come as a surprise that OSU’s School of Entrepreneurship cracked the top 25. The school’s entrepreneurship program started in 2008 and has quickly made a name for itself across the nation. The program was recognized earlier this year as the 10th-best school in the world for outstanding research productivity by the M.J. Neeley School of Business at TCU. Most recently, OSU’s student-led E-Club achieved a No. 9 ranking of the Top 20 University Entrepreneurship Clubs in a poll by FledgeWing.com.

“I can’t say enough about the success that Dr. Mike Morris, head of the school, and Nola Miyasaki, head of the Riata Center, have achieved in their three short years here at OSU,” Crosby said. “They have rolled out degree programs at all levels, tech-transfer initiatives, incubators, large-scale conferences, community outreach, cross-campus cooperations, and you name it. On top of that, the School of Entrepreneurship, that includes leading scholars like Dr. Robert Baron, is ranked 10th in academic research productivity.  As you can tell, we are very proud of our entrepreneurship program here at OSU.”

In addition to teaching strong entrepreneurship fundamentals in the classroom and staffing departments with instructors who are successful entrepreneurs, criteria for the school rankings included excellence in mentorship, and providing experimental or entrepreneurial opportunities outside the classroom.

“Behind the top ranked schools is not only a great formal classroom experience, but a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching entrepreneurship that embraces and encourages a student’s vision to build a successful business,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Senior Vice President – Publisher and nationally recognized expert on college admissions.

To view the rankings, go to entrepreneur.com/topcolleges or visit princetonreview.com/entrepreneur. Full details will also appear in the October issue of Entrepreneur.