Miami University’s entrepreneurial program wins highest ranking in its history

For the first time in its history the widely acclaimed entrepreneurial program at Miami University’s business school has won a top, international ranking among both public and private schools. Miami officials said this week the school’s Farmer School’s John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship has “reached new heights in the latest undergraduate entrepreneurship program rankings by Princeton Review, coming in at No. 9 in the world and No. 5 among public colleges and universities.”  Pictured are participants in October's Startup Weekend at Miami, one of the bigger entrepreneurship events of the semester. (Provided Photo\Journal-News)

For the first time in its history the widely acclaimed entrepreneurial program at Miami University’s business school has won a top, international ranking among both public and private schools. Miami officials said this week the school’s Farmer School’s John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship has “reached new heights in the latest undergraduate entrepreneurship program rankings by Princeton Review, coming in at No. 9 in the world and No. 5 among public colleges and universities.” Pictured are participants in October's Startup Weekend at Miami, one of the bigger entrepreneurship events of the semester. (Provided Photo\Journal-News)

For the first time in its history, the widely acclaimed entrepreneurial program at Miami University’s business school has won a top, international ranking among both public and private schools.

Miami officials said this week the school’s Farmer School’s John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship has “reached new heights in the latest undergraduate entrepreneurship program rankings by Princeton Review, coming in at No. 9 in the world and No. 5 among public colleges and universities.”

The No. 9 ranking is the first time the popular program has ranked in the top 10 among both public and private universities and colleges, said Jay Murdock, marketing coordinator for the business school.

And according to the school’s announcement about the new ranking, it’s the 15th year in a row that the undergraduate entrepreneurship program has ranked among the top 10 public institutions.

“This ranking is certainly proof that the program our entrepreneurship faculty have created, and alumni and ecosystem partners have supported, is exceptional,” stated Jenny Darroch, dean of the Farmer School.

“One of our core beliefs is that if you do the right things, results will follow,” said Darroch.

The program, founded less than 30 years ago, focuses on “learning by doing,” applying a practice-based, immersive model of entrepreneurial learning that incorporates play, empathy, creation, experimentation, and reflection, said officials.

“The program has a 100% placement rate for internships which allows students to gain experience solving real-world problems and the overwhelming majority of the program’s faculty have entrepreneurship experience.”

Graduates from the program have sometimes gone on to national attention including the founders of Mad Rabbit, post-tattoo skin cream, which saw the two Miami alums appear on the nationally broadcast TV show “Shark Tank” twice, most recently last month.

Tim Holcomb, entrepreneurship program chair and professor, said: “While we are pleased to see Miami’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program ranked among the top 10 entrepreneurship programs in the world, we are especially proud of the success our graduates achieve after they earn their degree at Miami.”

“Rankings aside, we believe one of the best measures of a program’s impact is the success its graduates experience,” said Holcomb.

Miami officials said during the past decade, Miami alumni have founded or led more than a dozen companies with a total market valuation of $1 billion or more.

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