Rice’s graduate entrepreneurship program again ranked No. 4 in US

Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business has the No. 4 graduate entrepreneurship program in the U.S., according to survey results announced this week by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.

This is the second consecutive year that the Jones School’s graduate entrepreneurship program claimed the No. 4 ranking. This marks the fifth year in a row the Jones School has been ranked as a top 10 program in graduate entrepreneurship.

The Princeton Review survey evaluated schools in the areas of entrepreneurship, business fundamentals taught in the classroom, departments staffed with successful entrepreneurs, excellence in mentorship, provision of experiential or entrepreneurial opportunities outside of the classroom, as well as nontraditional features that distinguish the programs.

The 2013 ranking was based on a review of more than 2,000 U.S. undergraduate and graduate programs. The survey results will be published in the October issue of Entrepreneur magazine.

“We are extremely pleased that the Jones School continues to be recognized for our strength in entrepreneurship,” said Bill Glick, dean and the H. Joe Nelson III Professor of Management. “In the last year, the Rice Business Plan Competition increased its prizes and the number of teams competing to enter. We have also seen the growth of internal business plan competitions at Rice, the success of the Jones Graduate School Entrepreneurs Organization and the recent launch of the OwlSpark startup accelerator.”

Glick added that Jones School faculty in strategy, marketing, organizational behavior and finance are also publishing research related to entrepreneurship.

“The external recognition serves as continued validation of what we already know — that Rice University is truly an entrepreneurial campus,” he said.

Unlike other graduate school rankings, the Princeton Review places an emphasis on providing students with real-world education and opportunities in entrepreneurship and in starting a new company. The Princeton Review analyzes several factors, including business plan competitions, mentoring programs, the number of new businesses started by students and the number of faculty that have business experience.

The Jones School’s entrepreneurship program includes nationally recognized entrepreneurship faculty led by Ed Williams and Al Napier and co-curricular experiential learning supported by the Jones Graduate School Entrepreneurs Organization and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Rice’s nationally recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education and the launch of technology companies. Since the Rice Alliance’s inception in 2000, more than 1,400 early stage companies have benefited by participating in the 140-plus programs it hosted and have raised in excess of $2.7 billion. The Rice Alliance was also recognized in 2013 as the No. 1 University Business Incubator in the World by University Business Incubator Index.

“It is a great honor for the Rice Alliance of Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Jones School to receive this prestigious recognition,” said Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance. “We continually strive to advance entrepreneurship education and business creation and growth. This year, Rice University created the OwlSpark Incubator, launching nine new businesses and enriching Houston’s entrepreneurial community.”

The Jones School is also home to the Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program, designed to equip current and aspiring school leaders with the management tools, strategic framework and supportive networks they need to meet the challenges of public school leadership.

To view the complete rankings, visit www.entrepreneur.com/article/224441.