Rankings
WPI's entrepreneurship program has been ranked in the 2005 Top Ten by Entrepreneur.com Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges among schools that have Entrepreneurship Emphasis Programs, announced McRae C. Banks, Ph.D., Head of WPI's business school and Director of the Collaborative for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. According to Gina Betti, Associate Director of the center, WPI's great ranking is attributable to the breadth and depth of its outreach programs for those interested in entrepreneurship and confirmation of that value by its benefactors. The Third Annual Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges ranking was performed by TechKnowledge Point Corp., the world's first and only 24/7 online entrepreneurship research and referral exchange. The full rankings are posted at EntrePoint.
About the 2005 Ranking Categories
Comprehensive Programs
These programs feature the greatest depth and breadth of resources, typically with a large contingent of experienced faculty whose teaching and research expertise specifically relates to entrepreneurship. There are often a dozen or more separate course titles covering everything from entrepreneurship, new venture development, and small-firm finance to change and innovation, venture capital, and technology transfer. Schools with comprehensive programs have a dedicated entrepreneurial studies center, one or more specialty research institutes, business plan competitions, mentoring programs, perhaps an incubator or tech-transfer program, and both undergraduate and graduate programs in entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship Emphasis Programs
These usually sport a smaller number of entrepreneurship faculty and fewer course offerings. Students might still be able to emphasize entrepreneurship within a business or economics major, but the program may only be for undergraduates, or limited on the graduate or undergraduate level. There may or may not be a center or research institute, an incubator or other business outreach initiatives, and if there are, they're typically smaller not only in size but also in scope.
Limited Curriculum Programs
These typically have only a few faculty (perhaps just 1 or 2) teaching a limited number of courses. Students generally do not get a major or emphasis in entrepreneurship studies, but rather take a class or two as part of another major. The program is often designed for undergraduates alone (but may include some grad students) and provides limited resources to support student ventures, business financing or other initiatives.
Last modified: March 06, 2008 15:37:53