More and more schools today are encouraging students to start their own businesses. Many prestigious universities in U.S. strongly support student entrepreneurship and innovation. Today we’re going to talk about student entrepreneurship at the top 10 best universities for entrepreneurship in U.S.
No.1 Stanford University
Number of alumni who started their own business:1435
Number of companies founded by alumni:1297
Financing volume:$73.5 billion
Stanford is one of the best universities for entrepreneurship in the United States. Their students are notorious for the love of entrepreneurship and results are very good. The Stanford Entrepreneurship Network is a working group of university programs and student groups that provides the community with opportunities to learn and explore all aspects of entrepreneurship. Stanford’s entrepreneurial system is rich and diverse, with deep connections to Silicon Valley and the rest of the world.
No.2 University of California, Berkeley
Number of alumni who started their own business:1433
Number of companies founded by alumni:1305
Financing volume:$47.5 billion
UC Berkeley celebrates California’s entrepreneurial spirit and promotes innovation. Redefining the way business is done, educating future leaders and helping innovators reimagine the world. UC Berkeley is a global leader in developing successful entrepreneurs and is home to many successful startups in fields as diverse as biotechnology, cleantech and energy, electronics and hardware, and information technology.
No.3 Harvard University
Number of alumni who started their own business:1205
Number of companies founded by alumni:1086
Financing volume:$51.88 billion
The Rock Center for Entrepreneurship supports students in realizing their entrepreneurial ambitions through a variety of programs, including the annual startup competition, one-on-one meetings with entrepreneurs-in-residence, and Rock Summer Fellows. In addition, the Center supports faculty research, seminars, conferences, and alumni events, such as the Rock 100 which is Harvard Business School’s exclusive global network for founders of early-stage, high-impact companies. According to it’s volume and numbers about the startups, Harvard ranks at No.3 of the best universities for entrepreneurship in US.
No.4 University of Pennsylvania
Number of alumni who started their own business:1083
Number of companies founded by alumni:993
Financing volume:$34 billion
The University of Pennsylvania has Venture Lab, the Wharton School’s entrepreneurship center, which serves all students and alumni who are interested in entrepreneurship and innovation, and maximizes their ability to address important challenges through entrepreneurial thinking.
The Venture Lab has a long history, with the Wharton School pioneering the development of a comprehensive entrepreneurial studies program in 1973. Today, Wharton has one of the largest entrepreneurship teaching programs, offering more than 30 courses across seven disciplines to thousands of students and entrepreneurs each year.
No.5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Number of alumni who started their own business:1079
Number of companies founded by alumni:959
Financing volume:$46 billion
The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship believes that entrepreneurship is a teachable craft and provides MIT students with proven frameworks, courses, extracurricular programs, advanced facilities, consulting services, and processes to create a rigorous, practical, customized, and comprehensive educational experience that will promote entrepreneurship at MIT and globally.
No.6 Cornell University
Number of alumni who started their own business:856
Number of companies founded by alumni:807
Financing volume:$30 billion
Entrepreneurship at Cornell is a campus-wide program designed to energize Cornell’s entrepreneurial system. The program has run many events such as large conferences, hackathons, internship and mentorship programs, webinars, business gas pedals, and exciting co-working spaces and competitions.
In addition, there are many resources and programs that support entrepreneurship, including: Cornell Startup Tree, Blackstone Launchpad, Entrepreneurship at Cornell, Careers Beyond Academia, eHub Collegetown, eHub Kennedy Hall, eLab
No.7 University of Michigan
Number of alumni who started their own business:800
Number of companies founded by alumni:736
Financing volume:$25.3 billion
The University of Michigan‘s entrepreneurial system provides support, connections, and opportunities for students, and faculties, helping turn ideas into action. With over 15 entrepreneurship programs and more than 30 entrepreneurial student organizations, the University of Michigan offers one of the best and broadest entrepreneurial learning experiences.
No.8 University of Texas
Number of alumni who started their own business:742
Number of companies founded by alumni:677
Financing volume:$15.8 billion
As a premier research institution dedicated to changing the world, University of Texas at Austin believes that fostering entrepreneurship is critical, which is why they’ve found dozens of ways to educate student entrepreneurs, encourage local entrepreneurial community engagement, support technology commercialization, and serve as a knowledge hub for pioneering research and enterprise.
The university has a number of programs that support entrepreneurship, including: Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute, Longhorn Startup, Austin Technology Incubator, Texas Innovation Center, IC² Institute, Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship.
No.9 University of California, Los Angeles
Number of alumni who started their own business:639
Number of companies founded by alumni:615
Financing volume:$17.2billion
UCLA has several programs that support entrepreneurship, including the Venture Accelerator at UCLA Anderson, located in the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a transformative program for early-stage startups and their founders, with 85% of participating startups going on to scale successfully.
No.10 Yale University
Number of alumni who started their own business:638
Number of companies founded by alumni:594
Financing volume:$24 billion
Yale believes that student’s innovation has the power to change the world. Launched by Yale in 2022, Yale Ventures seeks to foster a vibrant entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem by providing the faculty and students with the support, resources, and opportunities to transform their ideas into new ventures that have a positive impact.
FAQ
Which business school has most entrepreneurs?
The answer goes to Stanford MBAs. The school reports that 18% of the MBA class of 2021 started their own businesses. MBA students can pursue the school’s unique “Startup Garage,” a project-based course which allows teams to develop, prototype, and test a business idea.
Is there a major for entrepreneurship?
There are more than 150 institutions allow students to major in entrepreneurship, including most top business schools.
What education do most entrepreneurs have?
Most entrepreneurs begin with a business bachelor’s degree (maybe a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship) and then improve their skills in an MBA program.
