Today the Ross School of Business announced that it has captured a position in the top three graduate entrepreneurship programs in the nation for the third year in a row, driven in large part by the programs, initiatives and courses offered through the Institute. This is the third consecutive year that Ross has attained a spot in the top three in the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine’s joint ranking of the “Top 25 Graduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Programs for 2015,” which surveyed more than 2,000 schools.
“Developing successful entrepreneurs is core to Ross and the University of Michigan, and has been for decades,” said Alison Davis-Blake, dean of the Ross School of Business. “Interest in entrepreneurship continues to grow and we’re proud to be one of the top business schools to study and teach best practices in new business creation. Through our Zell Lurie Institute, students have access to impressive resources and faculty to help them successfully transform their innovative ideas into viable businesses.”
“To be included yet again in the top ranking across the nation is an honor for us and proof that our initiatives are having an impact on students, alumni and the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Stewart Thornhill, executive director Institute. “This past year we’ve worked to increase cross-campus collaboration, accelerate the growth of student-led entrepreneurial companies and engage U-M alumni and practicing entrepreneurs in customized executive-education programs. With multiple action-based learning opportunities available to our students, we’re looking forward to another year of boundaryless learning and success for our student community.”
“We are on our way to building one of the top campus-wide entrepreneurial education experiences in the country,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, senior counselor for entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan. “We are connecting programs in business, engineering, information, medicine, law, public health and more – joining forces across the university to create a truly collaborative entrepreneurial program.”
Since its inception, the Institute has been leading the way in entrepreneurial education. In the past year, the Institute has continued to innovate through the introduction of new initiatives, including the launch of the new Desai Family Accelerator. With this new program, startups in the area can benefit from student assistance as these early-stage companies progress and bring new innovations to market.
This new initiative serves as a complement to a robust portfolio of offerings that include:
- Three student-led venture funds, including the pioneering Wolverine Venture Fund, that have nearly $7 million under management, delivering returns comparable to the top quartile of professionally-managed funds
- TechArb, a student accelerator jointly managed by Zell Lurie in partnership with the Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering
- The Michigan Business Challenge, an annual business plan competition that exposes students to the rigorous, multi-phase business development and planning process
- Dare to Dream Grants of up to $5,000 for student startups that support business development from ideation to launch
- Entrepalooza, the annual university-wide symposium designed to bring together entrepreneurship and venture capital leaders to share insights and experiences with students, alumni, faculty and members of the broader business community
- The annual Michigan Growth Capital Symposium, a major driver of entrepreneurial engagement in the region, showcasing emerging startups and high-growth companies in new businesses and emerging technologies
The Princeton Review chooses the schools based on a wide range of institutional data it evaluates for this project. Schools are asked about the levels of their commitment to entrepreneurship inside and outside the classroom, the percentage of their faculty, students, and alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors, the number of their mentorship programs and their funding for scholarships and grants for entrepreneurial studies and projects.
Ross has been recognized by multiple sources as a leader in entrepreneurial business education. In addition to the Entrepreneur and Princeton Review ranking, the school has held a spot in the top ten programs ranked by US News & World Report and PitchBook recently included Ross at the number eight position on its annual list of the top universities for VC-based entrepreneurs.