OSU School of Entrepreneurship programs receive top ranking from Princeton Review
Monday, October 1, 2012
For the second year in a row, Oklahoma State University’s School of Entrepreneurship is one of only a handful of schools to have both its undergraduate and graduate programs recognized as being among the best in the United States, according to the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.
The School of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business is ranked No. 14 in the graduate program rankings of the nation’s top schools, and its undergraduate program achieved a No. 22 ranking. More than2,000 programs were reviewed in the 10th annual survey that ranks the top entrepreneurship programs in the nation.
“Being recognized for the second consecutive year is truly an honor that everyone associated with the School of Entrepreneurship and the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship should take great pride,” said Larry Crosby, dean of the Spears School of Business.
“I think this award shows that even though the entrepreneurship program is still relatively young, its impact is being felt not just in Oklahoma and not just in the southwest part of the nation but all across the United States. These are exciting times to be a part of the Spears School of Business, the School of Entrepreneurship and the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship.”
The Spears School’s entrepreneurship program started in 2008 and has quickly made a name for itself across the nation. The OSU School ofEntrepreneurship debuted in the top 25 a year ago when the graduate program was ranked No. 23 and the undergraduate program made its debut at No. 24.
The programs rose to No. 14 (graduate) and No. 22 (undergraduate) in the 2012 rankings, released Monday.
“The OSU School of Entrepreneurship and the Riata Center feature a unique mix of the most comprehensive entrepreneurship curriculum in the country, cutting edge research, and impactful outreach programs,” said Bruce Barringer, interim head of the School of Entrepreneurship. “We’re also active in reaching out to other colleges within the university to offer courses and mentor students who are interested in launching entrepreneurial ventures. We are grateful to the Princeton Review and Entrepreneurmagazine for their recognition.”
The OSU entrepreneurship program has received national recognition from several organizations in recent years for its excellence in a number of areas:
- 2012 National Model Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program Award, given annually to one university in the United States (United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
- Ranked No. 9 in the 2011 Top 20 University Entrepreneurship Clubs (Fledgewing.com)
- Ranked No. 10 in the 2011 Research Productivity World Ranking (M.J. Neeley School of Business at TCU)
Besides Oklahoma State’s School of Entrepreneurship programs, only 11 other schools appeared in both the undergraduate and graduate rankings: Babson College, the University of Southern California, WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis, Arizona, Oklahoma, Temple, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Utah, DePaul, Maryland, and North Carolina.
The Princeton Review conducted its surveys of school administrators from April through June 2012. The wide range of data the education services company used to evaluate the programs and tally the rankings included: the schools’ levels of commitment to entrepreneurship inside and outside the classroom, the percentage of their faculty, students, and alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors and the number and reach of their mentorship programs. The company also considered their funding for scholarships and grants for entrepreneurial studies and projects, and their support for school-sponsored business plan competitions.
To view the rankings, go to http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges or visit
http://www.princetonreview.com/top-entrepreneurial-colleges.aspx. Full details will also appear in the October issue ofEntrepreneur.