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SALT LAKE CITY — A new set of US News and World Report rankings has recognized the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business as one of the top entrepreneurship programs in the country.
The school’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program ranked seventh best program overall and fourth best among public schools for 2024.
The latest rankings also show a slight increase from related rankings released earlier this year, which ranked the Eccles School’s MBA program as the 12th best entrepreneurship program overall and fifth among schools public.
“Our tradition of entrepreneurship continues to be recognized in our top 10,” said Rachel Hayes, dean of the David Eccles School of Business, in a press release. “At the Eccles School, we welcome students from across campus to learn about entrepreneurship inside and outside of the classroom. We have something for every student to learn the values of entrepreneurship, including what it means to innovate and persevere in the face of any challenge.
The entrepreneurship program praised by the Eccles school is offered thanks to a partnership between the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy and the Lassonde Entrepreneurs Institute — combined to offer a wide range of programs from grants and workshops to elective courses, a unique graduate program, and a living-learning community that fosters innovation.
Lassonde Studios — part of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute — is a living and learning community where students of any discipline or background can live while creating and launching their business ideas. It is located in a five-story building in the center of campus, with innovation space on the first floor and dormitory on the upper levels.
The institute was began as the brainchild of University alumnus and Canadian businessman/philanthropist Pierre Lassonde, who said he and his wife were looking for a way to give back to the university that gave them what they needed to succeed.
“We’re trying to find a way to incorporate into our vision what we really cared about, which was entrepreneurship,” Lassonde said. “We wanted to have a center that would bring together the entire university, not just the business school, not just engineering, but everything else.”
The recently launched Lassonde+X offers a three-course program designed for students of any major to add an entrepreneurial spirit to any field of study and career path.
Additionally, Eccles School launched its Master’s Program in Business Creation in 2019. Program participants receive scholarships to launch and grow their businesses with the support of in-depth mentorship, courses, grants and more.
“We are proud to have one of the largest entrepreneurship departments and as many opportunities as any university,” said Jennifer Brown, chair of the Eccles School’s Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, in the press release. “We offer many ways for students to learn about entrepreneurship, including the opportunity to see entrepreneurship in action. Many students begin with our introductory entrepreneurship courses and then progress to a minor, major, or master’s degree.
Another program from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is the Lassonde Founders Program — a residential community for incoming student entrepreneurs already active in their businesses.
Sade Bowler launched her business Sadie B. Personal care before coming to the United States, with a mission to change the message in the personal care industry by providing not only personal hygiene care, but also “mental hygiene.”
She didn’t expect to be able to focus on her business as part of her academic experience, but that’s exactly what she discovered through the Lassonde Founders program.
“I really hope to become the personal care brand that all Gen Z girls turn to and, you know, the products that they use,” Bowler said. “Our goal is to get into retailers in the years after we launch. Think places like Target and Ulta, just very accessible.”
U.S. News and World Report’s Best Business School rankings are based on the judgments of deans and senior faculty members at peer institutions. This year, they surveyed deans and senior faculty members from each of the 523 undergraduate business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business to determine the rankings.
“Entrepreneurship is not just something students do in the classroom at the University of Utah,” said Troy D’Ambrosio, executive director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and assistant dean of the Eccles School, in the press release. “Students can take the lessons they learned in the classroom and work with us to prototype their idea, build a team and launch a successful business.”
More information and a full ranking can be found usnews.com.
