The University of Maryland has been named a Top 25 School for Entrepreneurship Studies by The Princeton Review, earning a top 10 slot for undergraduate entrepreneurship education. This marks the fifth consecutive year that UMD has been named a top 25 program, and the first time the university has ranked in the top 10. UMD also ranked No. 6 among public universities and No. 18 among graduate entrepreneurship education. The results will be featured in the December issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.
“I&E at UMD is not limited to the idea of starting companies. We aim to teach innovation methods and cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets to prepare all students to tackle our world’s big challenges, whether they’re at startup companies, large companies, non-profits, the public sector or anywhere else,” said Dean Chang, associate vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship at UMD and head of the Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. “In fact, non-business and non-STEM students are every bit as important to include in the innovation and entrepreneurship process because that process is not as rich and has inferior outcomes without that diversity.”
UMD offers 141 innovation and entrepreneurship courses campus-wide, including coursework run through the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS). Launched in 2014 by the National Center for Smart Growth and the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, PALS pairs faculty expertise and student learning with local and county-level governments across Maryland, to tackle challenges in sustainability. Now in its second year, PALS has so far challenged over 650 students through 47 courses campus-wide that encourage innovative thinking, real-world problem solving and community engagement.
Also included in UMD’s I&E arsenal are the university’s Fearless Ideas Courses, which represent the best and most innovative learning laboratories on campus. The School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation currently runs five “Fearless” courses, making it the second-largest represented program at the university.
“Our standing as a leader in entrepreneurial activities is a result of this university stretching the boundaries of teaching,” said David Cronrath. “Cultivating an environment for experimentation, risk-taking and learning-in-practice, sets the stage for innovation and produces a student ready for the challenges of the future.”
In addition to The Princeton Review rankings, UMD was named a top innovative school earlier this year by U.S. News & World Report, landing at No. 21.
For more information on The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine’s rankings, visit http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/top-entrepreneur. To learn more about innovation and entrepreneurship at UMD, visit http://innovation.umd.edu/.