Best Colleges for Entrepreneurship 2026-2027
If you want to start a business, an entrepreneurship major in college is only part of the picture.
A strong entrepreneurship program should give you places to test ideas, people who can challenge them, opportunities to work with other founders, and a way to take a promising concept beyond the classroom. Depending on the college, that could mean an accelerator, a startup competition, a mentor network, a student-run business, seed funding, or all of the above.
The colleges below stand out because they combine undergraduate entrepreneurship education with opportunities to actually build.
For 2026, the 10 U.S. colleges included here are Babson College, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, the University of Houston, the University of Maryland, the University of Michigan, the University of St. Thomas, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Washington, and Washington University in St. Louis. Each offers undergraduate entrepreneurship education plus opportunities to develop, test, launch, or operate a venture.
10 colleges with strong entrepreneurship programs
| College | Undergraduate entrepreneurship option | Standout hands-on feature |
|---|---|---|
| Babson College | Entrepreneurship concentration | First-year students build and run a business through Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship |
| Iowa State University | Entrepreneurship major and minor | Start Something programs connect students with startup projects, competitions, and venture support |
| Michigan State University | Minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation | Required experiential learning can include venture-building programs and pitch competitions |
| University of Houston | Entrepreneurship major and minor | RED Labs supports student founders through mentorship, venture development, and a demo day |
| University of Maryland, College Park | Entrepreneurship-related minors | Pitch Dingman gives student founders access to mentoring, venture development, and prize funding |
| University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | Entrepreneurship minor | Michigan Business Challenge gives students a structured way to develop and pitch ventures |
| University of St. Thomas | Entrepreneurship major and minor | Students can move from early-stage concepts to business-plan and pitch competitions |
| University of Texas at Austin | Entrepreneurship minor and cross-campus programs | Forty Acres Founders focuses on customer discovery, product development, and product-market fit |
| University of Washington | Entrepreneurship minor and Lavin Entrepreneurship Program | Dempsey Startup Competition connects student founders with coaching, investors, and funding |
| Washington University in St. Louis | Entrepreneurship major, second major, and minor options | Student Enterprise Program lets undergraduates own and operate businesses on campus |
How we built this list
We wanted the schools on this list to have a clear, traceable basis for inclusion.
We started with The Princeton Review's 2026 Top 50 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs. The ranking is based on institutional surveys conducted from June through August 2025 and considers more than 40 data points covering areas such as entrepreneurship academics, faculty, student participation, experiential learning, mentorship, competitions, startup activity, funding, and other resources.
Because Appily primarily serves students considering U.S. colleges, we selected the 10 highest-ranked U.S. institutions on that list. Tecnológico de Monterrey, in Mexico, ranks #10 overall, so the University of St. Thomas, ranked #11 overall, becomes the tenth U.S. institution included here.
We did not create a separate numerical ranking or reorder the colleges ourselves.
We then reviewed current university sources in October 2026 to confirm that each institution still offers undergraduate students:
- entrepreneurship coursework or an undergraduate entrepreneurship program
- an opportunity to develop, test, launch, or operate a venture
- access to entrepreneurship resources such as mentoring, accelerators, competitions, startup advising, or funding.
The colleges appear alphabetically here rather than in Princeton Review ranking order.
It's important to note that the Princeton Review ranking relies partly on information from the 2024–25 academic year. Appily's verification is intended to confirm that the undergraduate opportunities described in this article remain current, not to independently reproduce or validate Princeton Review's proprietary ranking calculations.
Programs, eligibility requirements, competitions, and funding can change. So students should check the linked university sources for the latest information.
To remain on this list, a college had to have:
| Requirement | What we looked for |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate entrepreneurship education | A current major, minor, concentration, certificate, or substantial undergraduate entrepreneurship curriculum |
| Hands-on venture building | A current program that allows students to develop, test, launch, or operate a venture |
| Entrepreneurial support | Access to resources such as mentors, entrepreneurship centers, accelerators, incubators, competitions, or startup advising |
| Current evidence | Information available from official university sources at the time of review |
As we shared above, we did not rank these schools ourselves. They appear alphabetically.
Babson College
Babson builds entrepreneurship into the undergraduate experience.
All undergraduate students complete Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship, a first-year course in which student teams develop, launch, and manage a business. Students who want to go deeper can complete an entrepreneurship concentration with courses covering areas such as venture creation, entrepreneurial finance, growth, family enterprise, and social entrepreneurship.
The college also gives student founders several ways to move an idea forward outside class. Babson's B.E.T.A. Challenge has a dedicated undergraduate track, where students compete for venture funding after demonstrating progress on a real business.
Why it stands out: Entrepreneurship starts early here. Students can move from learning basic business functions to running a venture, studying entrepreneurship in greater depth, and competing for startup support.
Iowa State University
Iowa State offers both an undergraduate entrepreneurship major and a university-wide entrepreneurship minor.
The major covers business creation, innovation inside established organizations, and social entrepreneurship. Students can also tap into the university's broader innovation ecosystem through the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship and the Start Something network.
One particularly useful feature is the range of opportunities outside the business school. Iowa State says its entrepreneurship network reaches multiple colleges, with access to project-based courses, startup programs, product-development support, pitch competitions, and other entrepreneurial experiences.
Why it stands out: Students don't have to treat entrepreneurship as a business-school-only activity. The university has built pathways for students in different fields to develop and test ideas.
Michigan State University
Michigan State's 15-credit Minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation is open to undergraduates across the university.
The program combines coursework with required hands-on experiences. Students choose two experiences that can include activities such as an intensive venture-building program or a collegiate pitch competition.
Students working on businesses can also move through programming offered by the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Its venture-development pathway supports students as they research an idea, prepare it for launch, and pursue mentorship and funding opportunities.
Why it stands out: The program builds experiential work directly into the curriculum rather than treating it as an optional extra.
University of Houston
The University of Houston's Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship offers one of the most intensive undergraduate options on this list.
Beginning in fall 2026, admission to the entrepreneurship major is tied to a selective Wolff Center program. UH also continues to offer an entrepreneurship minor to undergraduate students who meet the university's eligibility requirements.
Students who already have an idea or an operating business can apply to RED Labs, a 12-week summer accelerator. The program includes startup-focused instruction, one-on-one mentorship, legal guidance, venture development work, and a demo day. For its 2026 cohort, qualifying businesses also received a $5,000 stipend.
Why it stands out: Students can combine formal entrepreneurship study with structured support for taking an actual venture toward launch.
University of Maryland, College Park
At Maryland, students can pursue entrepreneurship from multiple academic directions.
Undergraduates can pursue entrepreneurship-related minors, including Entrepreneurial Leadership and Technology Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation. The Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship also supports students developing a venture through courses, advising, mentoring, startup programs, and funding opportunities.
Its Pitch Dingman Competition is open to all majors and includes different tracks for ventures at different stages. For 2026-27, the competition offers more than $100,000 in cash prizes across its tracks, plus mentoring and venture-development support.
Why it stands out: Students from different majors and at different stages can enter the entrepreneurship ecosystem, from exploring an idea to pursuing funding for a more developed company.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Michigan's undergraduate entrepreneurship minor is a 15-credit program open to students across the university.
Outside the classroom, the Zell Lurie Institute gives students access to venture-building programs and competitions. The Michigan Business Challenge allows student founders to develop and pitch ventures across innovation, invention, and impact-focused tracks.
For the 2026 competition, the university awarded $200,000 across student ventures. Undergraduate founders were among the recipients.
Why it stands out: Michigan combines an accessible, cross-campus academic program with a sizable venture competition and a broader entrepreneurship infrastructure.
University of St. Thomas
Students at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota can major or minor in entrepreneurship through the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship.
The program pairs classroom study with a substantial competition ecosystem. Students can develop early concepts through the Fowler Business Concept Challenge and more developed businesses through the university's Business Plan Competition.
St. Thomas also hosts e-Fest, a national undergraduate entrepreneurship event where student teams compete in pitch, innovation, and venture competitions.
Why it stands out: Students have multiple opportunities to move from an early idea toward a more developed business plan and competitive pitch.
University of Texas at Austin
UT Austin offers entrepreneurship resources that reach well beyond a single business major.
The Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center provides undergraduate students with education, mentorship, venture-building programs, and startup resources. Students can also pursue an entrepreneurship minor.
For founders, the Forty Acres Founders Program focuses on customer discovery, product development, and product-market fit. The Freed Family Pitch Competition gives undergraduate founders another route to feedback, mentorship, and funding. Its fall 2026 competition offered cash awards ranging up to $20,000 for first place.
Why it stands out: UT gives undergraduate founders several entry points, whether they are still learning entrepreneurship or already testing a company.
University of Washington
The University of Washington's Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship supports students across campus.
Non-business undergraduates can pursue an entrepreneurship minor, while the Lavin Entrepreneurship Program is open to students from all majors and combines coursework with hands-on entrepreneurship experiences.
Students who are ready to build can participate in programs such as the Jones + Foster Accelerator and the Dempsey Startup Competition. The Dempsey competition gives student-led ventures access to coaching, investors, and significant prize funding.
Why it stands out: Entrepreneurship is designed to cross academic disciplines, allowing students with technical, creative, health, environmental, and other interests to build ventures around their expertise.
Washington University in St. Louis
WashU offers several undergraduate routes into entrepreneurship.
Olin Business School students can study entrepreneurship as part of the BSBA, while students in other undergraduate divisions can pursue an entrepreneurship second major or minor. Courses include options focused on venture creation, business planning, social entrepreneurship, startup finance, and launching new enterprises.
The Skandalaris Center adds a strong experiential layer. Its Student Enterprise Program lets undergraduates own and operate businesses that serve the campus community. Students can also seek venture advising, enter the Skandalaris Venture Competition, or apply to startup-development programs such as the Skandalaris Launchpad.
Why it stands out: Students can progress from entrepreneurship coursework to operating a real business, building a startup, working with mentors, and pursuing venture funding.
What should you look for in an entrepreneurship college?
A high-profile business school can be a great option. But a school's ranking doesn't tell you what your own experience will look like. When comparing colleges, you should ask a few practical questions.
- Can undergraduates actually use the entrepreneurship center, accelerator, or incubator? Some university programs primarily serve graduate students, researchers, or alumni.
- Can students outside the business school participate? This matters if your business idea comes from engineering, computer science, design, health, agriculture, media, or another field.
- What happens after you have an idea? Look for a clear path from coursework to customer research, mentorship, prototyping, startup advising, acceleration, and funding.
- Are there opportunities to build something while you are still enrolled? A pitch competition is useful. Running a company, working with customers, testing a product, or spending a semester developing a venture can teach you even more.
Finally, look beyond entrepreneurship itself. You are still choosing a college. Cost, academic fit, available majors, campus environment, career preparation, and the likelihood that you will thrive there matter just as much.
Is an entrepreneurship major worth it?
You don't have to major in entrepreneurship to become an entrepreneur.
A computer science student building software, an engineering student developing a device, or a design student launching a product may benefit more from studying deeply in that field while adding entrepreneurship courses, a minor, or hands-on startup experience.
If you already know you want to study business creation, then an entrepreneurship major can give you a structured foundation in areas like finance, marketing, customer discovery, operations, business models, and venture development. The best choice for you depends on what you want to build and what you still need to learn.
Frequently asked questions about colleges for entrepreneurship
What college has the best entrepreneurship program?
No single entrepreneurship program is best for every student. Babson, for example, builds entrepreneurship into the undergraduate experience from the first year, while other universities on this list offer entrepreneurship alongside engineering, computer science, design, health, and other fields.
The better question is which college offers the combination of entrepreneurship education, hands-on experience, academic options, cost, and campus environment that fits your goals.
What should I major in if I want to be an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurship is one option, but it is not the only one. Your major can also give you expertise in the field where you hope to build a business. Someone interested in creating software might study computer science, while a student interested in medical technology might choose engineering or another health-related field and add entrepreneurship coursework or a minor.
Do you need an entrepreneurship degree to start a business?
No. Students can learn entrepreneurship through majors, minors, concentrations, certificates, electives, accelerators, competitions, internships, and hands-on business experience. When comparing colleges, pay attention to which opportunities undergraduates can actually access and whether you can participate without being a business major. Those are key details that often trip students up.
What makes a college good for entrepreneurship?
Look beyond whether the school offers an entrepreneurship major. Strong programs give undergraduates opportunities to learn how businesses are built and then put that knowledge to work through venture development, customer research, mentorship, accelerators, competitions, startup advising, student-run businesses, or funding.
Should I choose a college based on its entrepreneurship ranking?
A ranking can help you identify schools to investigate, but it should not make the decision for you. Check what undergraduate students can actually access, how entrepreneurship fits with the major you want, what opportunities exist to build something while enrolled, and whether the college works for you academically, financially, and personally.
Finding the right college and program
The best entrepreneurship degree for your needs may not be found at the highest-ranked school.
Look at the opportunities you could realistically use as an undergraduate. Compare the curriculum, startup support, funding, access across majors, and the kinds of projects students are actually building. Then compare those opportunities with your other college priorities.
A great entrepreneurship program can give you room to experiment. The right college should also be a place where you can afford to study, pursue your academic interests, and build the skills you will need whether your first idea becomes a company or simply leads you to the next one.
Ready to find colleges that fit what you’re looking for? Use Appily’s College Match Quiz to explore schools based on your interests, preferences, and college goals.
