The Florida Atlantic University College of Business’ commitment to developing entrepreneurial talent is once again recognized in annual rankings of the best programs for entrepreneurship studies by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.

FAU's undergraduate programs broke into the top 25, advancing to No. 24 from last year’s rank of No. 27, and also hold the impressive No. 2 position among public universities in Florida. FAU’s graduate programs maintained the previous ranking of No. 42.

The Princeton Review, an education services company, also reported schools ranking highest within each of seven regions: International, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, South, Southwest and West. In its South region, FAU ranked No. 5 for undergraduate and No. 8 for graduate.

“We truly appreciate this recognition,” said Kevin Cox, Ph.D., director of the FAU Adams Center for Entrepreneurship. “We remain firmly committed to educating and supporting students and other business founders, as well as providing an impactful and valuable contribution to the vibrant South Florida startup ecosystem.”

For the 2024 rankings, nearly 300 educational institutions from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe were evaluated to identify the best schools for students aspiring to launch their own businesses. The data analyzed included entrepreneurship-focused courses and enrollment, departmental representation by entrepreneurship faculty, mentoring, alumni entrepreneurship ventures, and competitions hosted, such as new venture and business plan competitions.

FAU’s academic programs in entrepreneurship combine practical experiences with rigorous coursework taught by faculty widely recognized for their research.

Through the Adams Center for Entrepreneurship, the Research Park at FAU, Tech Runway, the WAVE Competition, the Madden Center for Value Creation , and the Phil Smith Center for Free Enterprise, FAU students learn to create and test business models, craft comprehensive business plans, launch startups and seek external investments to fuel their ventures.

The rankings reflect the many investments made in FAU’s entrepreneurship programs, said Ethlyn Williams, Ph.D., chair of the college’s Department of Management.

“We have been working to expand our offerings in entrepreneurship programs to ensure that both our undergraduates and graduates are exposed to as many entrepreneurship opportunities as possible,” she said.

The ranked schools are standouts for multiple reasons, said Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review.

“Their faculties are outstanding, and their programs of study have robust experiential components,” Franek said. “Their students also receive mentoring and networking support that will serve them well into their careers.”

The latest rankings are listed on the Entrepreneur magazine website and will be featured in its December issue.

“Entrepreneurs know that the best ideas often come from competition and pressure,” said Jason Feifer, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur magazine. “Higher education is a great example of that. As more schools build out world-class entrepreneurship programs, their energy, excitement and powerful resources only grow — making the schools on our list the best at helping young leaders develop into tomorrow’s world-changers.”

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