TAMPA – The University of South Florida’s Center for Entrepreneurship has the best graduate program in the Southeast and is ranked No. 10 in the nation, according to new rankings released this week by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.
The center, located in the Muma College of Business on USF’s campus in Tampa, was the only Florida school on the list. The rankings have placed the center in the top 25 for the past 10 consecutive years.
”Small businesses are the engine that drive the U.S. economy,“ said Michael Fountain, founding director of USF’s Center for Entrepreneurship, ”and this honor proves that we doing our part to fuel that engine.“
He said the program is exceptional because of its interdisciplinary approach and hands-on learning opportunities for graduate students in the fields of business, engineering, health sciences and sustainability.
The center also offers those who work in the corporate world a chance to strengthen their business skills.
"Entrepreneurship is about starting a business," Fountain said. "But for students who want to work in the corporate world, the center helps generate the kind of thinking that intrapreneurs – people who think like entrepreneurs but work for traditional businesses – need to thrive."
The survey included 300 universities offering entrepreneurship studies from across the United States.
The rankings will be published in the December issue of Entrepreneur, available next week.
The Princeton Review conducted a 60-question survey between May and August, asking schools for data on levels of their commitment to entrepreneurship studies inside and outside the classroom, according to the announcement of the survey results.
More than 40 points were analyzed for the tally to determine the rankings, the announcement said. Topics included: the percentage of faculty, students, alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors, the number and reach of mentorship programs, scholarships and grants for entrepreneurial studies, and the level of support for school-sponsored business plan competitions.
USF Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem noted the excellent company USF keeps on the list: Harvard University, which has ranked first for three consecutive years; Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan, all ranked in the top 10. USF ranked higher than prestigious schools known for their entrepreneurial programs, such as Northeastern University, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia.
"The Center for Entrepreneurship at the Muma College of Business has proven again and again its record of success,“ Limayem said. ”And its success is a win not only for the students enrolled in the program, but for the university and the community it serves.“
”These colleges and (business) schools have superb entrepreneurship programs,“ said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's senior vice president-publisher. ”We highly recommend them to any applicant aspiring to launch a business. Their faculties are truly engaged in entrepreneurism. Their courses are rich with in-class and out-of-class experiential components, and the financial and networking support their students and programs receive via donors and alumni is extraordinary.“
The rankings, information about the survey methodology are posted on these websites: www.princetonreview.com/entrepreneur and www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges.
The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is a Top 25 research university among public institutions nationwide in total research expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation. Serving over 48,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.6 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference.
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