USF entrepreneurship among best in nation

If entrepreneurs are the heart of the U.S. economy, then USF’s entrepreneurship program is getting the blood pumping, according to rankings released Tuesday. 

The USF Center for Entrepreneurship graduate program was ranked No. 13 as one of the nation’s best overall entrepreneurship education programs by Entrepreneur magazine and the Princeton Review. This is the eighth consecutive year that the center has ranked in the top 25 nationally. 

According to a press release, Michael Fountain, founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, said he believes the center’s success is due to its interdisciplinary approach, such as the Innovative Technology Challenge that allows students to take a product from prototype to commercial product.

“Entrepreneurship is not only about starting a business,” he said. “For students who want to work in the corporate world, our program helps foster the kind of thinking that ‘Intrapreneurs’ — people who think like entrepreneurs but work for traditional businesses — need to thrive,” Fountain said.

Other universities in the top 25 include Northwestern University, the University of Michigan and Syracuse University.

— Staff report