University of Maryland Ranks Among Nation’s Best in Entrepreneurship for
Undergrads and MBAs
College Park, Md. – September 21, 2011 – The University of Maryland is among
the top in the nation for its leading entrepreneurship programs for
undergraduate and graduate students, ranking No. 18 and No. 22 respectively by
The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine. The Robert H. Smith School of
Business is a major driver of entrepreneurship education at the university, with
its 25-year-old Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship championing programs
university-wide for students, faculty and regional entrepreneurs.
The rankings were released in the October issue of Entrepreneur magazine.
The Dingman Center, located at the Smith School, helps lead the university’s
entrepreneurship efforts and is recognized nationally for its innovative
teaching methods that combine classroom activities, practical experience and
cultural immersion programs. The center’s programs include:
- Dingman Center Angels: The region's leading angel network connecting
entrepreneurs seeking seed and early-stage funding with angel investors.
- Technology Commercialization: In conjunction with the Clark School of
Engineering’s Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute and the Office of
Technology Commercialization, a program that has MBA students helping to
create businesses out of university research and technologies.
- Pitch Dingman Program: Weekly sessions that invite students
campus-wide to pitch business ideas for immediate feedback from seasoned
entrepreneurs-in-residence. The program hosts competitions twice per
semester where students compete for funding.
- Cupid’s Cup Business Competition and BB&T Invitational: The
culmination of the Pitch Dingman Program, this annual competition has
students vying for $25,000 in funding provided by Under Armour founder and
Smith alumnus Kevin Plank ’96.
- Dingman Jumpstart: An intensive weeklong program to help students
create business plans and kickstart a viable venture.
- China Business Plan Competition: An annual business plan competition
that has Smith MBA students traveling to Beijing to compete against their
counterparts at Peking University for the best business plan to incorporate
the China market.
- Israel Global Technology Entrepreneurship Fellowship: A summer program
that has Smith MBA students working on technology commercialization at the Technion Institute in Haifa, Israel.
In addition to taking MBA and undergraduate courses in entrepreneurship,
Smith students are active in several student entrepreneurship clubs. Undergrads
can participate in Smith’s Entrepreneurship Fellow Program, which offers courses
and co-curricular activities that explore venture creation and innovation.
MBA students participate in experiential learning programs through the
six-credit, required, Smith Experience program, which includes entrepreneurship
consulting experiences through the Dingman Center and the Center for Social
Value Creation, opportunity to work with a venture capital fund through the New
Markets Growth Fund, and global study trips that focus on entrepreneurship
abroad.
The Princeton Review surveyed 2,000 schools for the rankings, which are based
on key criteria in the areas of teaching entrepreneurship business fundamentals
in the classroom, staffing departments with successful entrepreneurs, excellence
in mentorship, providing experiential or entrepreneurial opportunities outside
of the classroom, as well as non-traditional, distinguishable aspects of their
programs. The University of Maryland rankings are attributed to strong programs
at both the Smith School and the A. James Clark School of Engineering and
fruitful collaborations between the schools.
The University of Maryland’s rankings can be seen at
www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges and
www.princetonreview.com/entrepreneur.
Additional information about the Smith School’s entrepreneurship programs and
initiatives through the Dingman Center.
About the Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader
in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the
University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate,
full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, MS in business, PhD and executive
education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The
school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning
locations in North America and Asia.
