1.Babson College
Babson Park, MA
www.babson.edu
Tuition: $34,112
Why we chose it: Babson students live and breathe entrepreneurship. They can engage in late-night bull sessions at the E-Tower, a dorm for undergrads who are already building companies. All freshmen team up to write business plans, and then start and dissolve companies during a required yearlong program. "They study it, write about it, and do all the heavy lifting," says John Butler, professor of management at University of Texas at Austin. Across the country, other entrepreneurship educators seek to follow Babson's playbook, says Butler.
2.Ball State University Muncie, IN
www.bsu.edu
Tuition: $18,236 (In-state: $7,168)
Why we chose it: Imagine if your degree hinged on the reception your business received from four potential investors three days before graduation. That's a lesson in entrepreneurial stress that seniors at Ball State University learn. If an idea isn't up to snuff - a fate that typically befalls about 25% of seniors - students fail the course. Larry Cox, director of the Entrepreneurship Center, credits this "senior sweat" program with the high rate - nearly 40% - at which Ball State alumni launch their own businesses.
3.Baylor University Waco, TX
www.baylor.edu
Tuition: $22,220
Why we chose it: Historically Baptist Baylor preaches, "success with significance." Professor of Finance Bill Petty, who holds the W.W. Caruth Chair in Entrepreneurship, assigns "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" to students in his required entrepreneurial finance class. Honors students go through the Balance, Excellence, Scholarship and Team (BEST) program, which teaches how to reach non-financial life goals. Baylor Bears who choose the new Business Fellows major can create their own cross-disciplinary business degree. The only fixed requirement: a quarter of the student's courses must be in the business school.
4.Brigham Young University Provo, UT
www.byu.edu
Tuition: $7,680 (Member of Latter-Day Saints: $3,840)
Why we chose it: The majority of students at Brigham Young University have traveled the world to preach the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the founders of Brigham Young University. These missions instill in the students an entrepreneurial spirit. In last year's program of 129 students, 39 graduated already owning businesses, according to Gary Rhodes, director of the Entrepreneur Center at Brigham Young University. One of the most popular courses, "Entrepreneur Lecture Series," hosts weekly sessions in which successful entrepreneurs - many of them, BYU graduates and/or members of the church - discuss planning, starting, growing, maturing and harvesting new businesses.
5.Cornell University Ithaca, NY
www.cornell.edu
Tuition: $34,600
Why we chose it: A decade before most universities even thought about integrating entrepreneurship across campuses, David Ben Daniel at Cornell was doing it - by developing the design of the university-wide Entrepreneurship@Cornell program. "Cornell built a visionary program that cross-listed courses so that students of all majors were taking entrepreneurship classes," says Jerome Katz, chair of entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University. Today, Cornell provides its students and others at universities across the country with rich media resources such as videos and podcasts of presentations and lectures. Its e-Clips Collection supplies students, educators, and entrepreneurs with real-world views from experts on business, entrepreneurship, and leadership topics. One expert is Scott Belsky, co-founder and former president of sportswear maker Live Big Enterprises. Another is Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET, the first cable TV network aimed at African-American viewers.
6.DePaul University Chicago, IL
www.depaul.edu
Tuition: $23,820
Why we chose it: DePaul emphasizes "learning by doing." The Community Consulting program gives students the experience of solving real business problems in low-income areas. Teams of undergraduates conduct feasibility studies, create marketing plans and complete strategic assessments to help local firms. The popular Start Your Own Business workshops help students jumpstart their ventures. At Idea Clinics by DePaul's Center for Creativity and Innovation they can brainstorm with fellow graduate and undergraduate students.
7.Indiana University Bloomington, IN
www.iub.edu
Tuition: $22,316 (In-state: $7,837)
Why we chose it: In many schools, students learn how to build a business but they're not taught how to get an idea, says Donald F. Kuratko, a recent addition to the faculty from Ball State. That's why Indiana includes courses in creativity. Starting next year, Hoosiers will have the option of taking a high-stakes senior course - which is not required, but highly recommended for serious entrepreneurs. If a panel of VCs and business owners like your venture plan, your senior year tuition is free. The downside: If they disapprove, you fail the course.
8.Saint Louis University St. Louis, MO
www.slu.edu
Tuition: $28,480
Why we chose it: Professors at this research university have published more than 300 articles on entrepreneurship. Jerome Katz, chair of the department of entrepreneurship, runs eWeb (eweb.slu.edu), an Internet guide for entrepreneurship education. The website connects students with local entrepreneurs, faculty members, and investors. In keeping with SLU's Jesuit tradition, the school's Smurfit-Stone Center for Entrepreneurship assists local businesses and turns out socially-conscious entrepreneurs.
9.San Diego State University San Diego, CA
www.sdsu.edu
Tuition: $11,564 (In-state: $3,428)
Why we chose it: San Diego State has consistently pushed the boundaries of entrepreneurship education. For example, it's one of the few undergraduate institutions that focus on biotech entrepreneurship, notes George Solomon, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship/Management at George Washington University. San Diego State's Entrepreneurial Management Center attracts more than 200 teams from around the world for its Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition, which began in 1989, and was the first inter-scholastic competition. The contest gives students the opportunity to talk with the judges and receive informal feedback and advice on the ideas they present.
10.Stanford University Stanford, CA
www.stanford.edu
Tuition: $34,800
Why we chose it: With its extensive network of Silicon Valley contacts and successful integration of entrepreneurship into its engineering program, Stanford wins rave reviews from entrepreneurship professors nationwide. Even though it does not have a formal undergraduate curriculum on the subject, the school fosters entrepreneurship through organizations such as the Business Association of Stanford Engineering Students, which connects both undergrads and grad students across campus at networking and educational events. "We teach students the skills that help them take their ideas out of the lab and into the real world to make a global impact," says Tina Seelig, Executive Director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. Entrepreneurship Week, launched this year at Stanford, featured a contest to create value out of a pad of Post-Its.
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