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WashU Named in the Top Undergrad & Grad Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies for 2021

Nancy Nigh
November 17, 2020
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Washington University in St. Louis continues to be a top school for entrepreneurship – ranking #9 for undergraduate studies and #15 for graduate studies in the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur rankings for Top Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies. The rankings were announced online Tuesday, November 17, 2020 and will be featured in the December issue of Entrepreneur magazine.

The official ranking profiles recognized WashU for the commitment to encourage creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship at all levels and across all disciplines. This distinguishes it from its peer institutions that limit entrepreneurship education to the business school.

“Even during these highly uncertain times, the WashU community stepped forth to support our innovators and entrepreneurs. The Skandalaris staff was determined to not let COVID restrictions get in the way of the work they do to support this ecosystem; we anticipated an increase in ideas coming forward from WashU students and are proud of the way they sought to address the challenges our world is facing”, said II Luscri, Assistant Vice Provost for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Managing Director of the Skandalaris Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “We are honored to develop and serve the next generation of creative problem solvers.”

Support of WashU student entrepreneurs has been crucial for venture success. In the last 10 years, 234 companies founded by undergraduate students have engaged with the Skandalaris Center and gone on to raise a combined nearly $5 billion. Of those companies, 59% are still in business today.

On the graduate side, 142 companies started by Olin Business School students have engaged with the Skandalaris Center and eventually raised a combined total of nearly $188 million.

Washington University in St. Louis offered 47 entrepreneurship courses campus-wide for graduate and undergraduate students in partnership with the Skandalaris Center. These courses were offered across the university and students and faculty from all seven WashU Schools are engaged in the entrepreneurship curriculum.

WashU is one of only 24 institutions who made both the undergraduate and graduate program lists. "The schools that made our ranking lists for 2021 all offer exceptional entrepreneurship programs," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's editor in chief. “Their faculties are outstanding. Their courses have robust experiential components, and their students receive outstanding mentoring and networking support. We strongly recommend these fine schools to anyone considering a college major or graduate degree in this burgeoning field.”

Based on data collected from its summer 2020 survey of more than 300 schools with offerings in entrepreneurship studies, The Princeton Review's ranking lists for 2021 name 50 undergraduate and 50 graduate schools as outstanding choices for students aspiring to become entrepreneurs. The company tallied its lists based on analyses of more than 40 data points from the survey. Data The Princeton Review collected from the schools on its 60-question survey included: the percentage of faculty, students, and 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.