School of Business entrepreneurship program recognized by Princeton Review

LAWRENCE — As the University of Kansas School of Business school celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week, its undergraduate entrepreneurship program was ranked No. 18 in the U.S. by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.

The rankings are released annually through a partnership between the Princeton Review and the magazine. The Princeton Review tallied the 2019 results based on surveys it conducted of administrators at more than 300 schools offering entrepreneurship studies. The 60-question survey covered the school’s commitment to entrepreneurship studies inside and outside the classroom. Last year, KU ranked 21st on the list.

“Including an experiential learning component in each course differentiates the KU entrepreneurship program, cements the models and theories students learn in the classroom, and enables the business school to assist Midwestern communities in economic development via new venture creation,” said Wally Meyer, director of entrepreneurship programs.

Entrepreneur also noted that all of the KU program’s faculty have entrepreneurial experience and 35 startups have been launched by grads in the past five years, with $123 million in funding raised by graduates.

Housed at the business school, the KU Center for Entrepreneurship was established to develop an entrepreneurial mindset among all KU students and faculty. Business students can earn a minor or concentration in entrepreneurship through the center’s courses, and students from all academic backgrounds can earn a certificate of entrepreneurship, designed to help recipients start, finance, plan and launch their own business. Other center initiatives include RedTire, which matches retiring business owners with successors from Kansas universities, Jayhawk Consulting, in which student teams address national organizations’ challenges with innovative business solutions, and The Catalyst, a new business accelerator that provides student entrepreneurs with resources critical to success. KU Entrepreneurship is a University Center recipient of an EDA grant which helps to support these outreach efforts.