Oct 10, 2007
Entrepreneur Magazine Ranks DePaul Among The Nation’s Top 10
DePaul University’s entrepreneurship program has yet another reason to celebrate this fall. In addition to marking its 25th anniversary this month, the program has been cited among the top 10 in the nation in Entrepreneur magazine and Princeton Review’s fifth annual “Best Schools for Entrepreneurs,” which will appear in the November issue of the magazine.
DePaul was rated fifth — highest among Midwest universities— in the graduate entrepreneur program category and seventh— highest among Chicago-area universities — in the undergraduate category of the rankings.
The 900 schools surveyed to determine the best “were evaluated based on key criteria in the areas of academics and requirements, students and faculty, and outside-the-classroom support and experiences,” according to a news release issued Oct. 10 by Entrepreneur and Princeton Review. A total of 50 — 25 undergraduate and 25 graduate programs —made the list of the best.
The Entrepreneur accolades come one month after another national magazine, Fortune Small Business (FSB), praised DePaul in its ranking. FSB chose DePaul’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program as one of the 25 best in the country (programs were not ranked by number). It also named the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, which offers an entrepreneur MBA concentration, among the nation’s top 26 “B-schools with entrepreneurial flair.”
Founded in 1982 at the College of Commerce, DePaul’s entrepreneurship program has grown to encompass 12 undergraduate and graduate courses taught by 16 faculty members.
Courses cover business plan development, entrepreneurial strategy and management, new venture financing, business growth, creativity, innovation and technological change, among other topics. More than 400 students take courses in the program each year. The program is supported by the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, which manages education and outreach programs designed to stimulate the start-up and growth of entrepreneurial firms.
“We have a bright, hardworking faculty that brings creativity into the classroom in order to provide students with a valuable academic and experiential learning atmosphere,” said Harold Welsch, Coleman Entrepreneurship Chair, who founded the program. “The faculty is often supplemented by highly successful entrepreneurs who share their experience to enhance the learning process. This synergy is effective in getting the message across to our aspiring entrepreneurs.”
The schools ranked by Entrepreneur/Princeton Review were:
Top 25 Graduate Programs
1. University of Southern California 2. Babson College 3. The University of Arizona 4. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill5. DePaul University
6. University of California, Los Angeles 7. Drexel University 8. Chapman University 9. University of South Florida 10. University of Illinois, Chicago 11. Loyola Marymount University 12. Temple University 13. Monterey Institute of International Studies 14. University of Colorado at Boulder 15. Tulane University 16. Syracuse University 17. Indiana University, Bloomington 18. University of Maryland 19. San Diego State University 20. University of Washington 21. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 22. Rice University 23 University of California, Riverside 24. Northwestern University 25. University of Notre DameTop 25 Undergraduate Programs
1. Babson College 2. University of Houston 3. Drexel University 4. The University of Arizona 5. University of Dayton 6. Chapman University 7. DePaul University 8. Temple University 9. University of North Dakota 10. Loyola Marymount University 11. Wichita State University 12. Syracuse University 13. University of Notre Dame 14. University of Maryland 15. University of Oklahoma 16. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 17. Xavier University 18. The University of Alabama 19. University of Southern California 20. Ball State University 21. The University of Iowa 22. Brigham Young University 23. Baylor University 24. Northeastern University 25. The Ohio State University