April 16, 2003
|
| UIC scores high marks for entrepreneurship |
|
The University of Illinois at Chicago is among the top U.S. colleges and universities for entrepreneurs, according to research by Entrepreneur magazine.
The magazine's inaugural list in the April 2003 issue researched more than 700 entrepreneurship programs and grouped the Top 100 into two categories: serving students nationally and regionally.
The UIC program ranked second by surveyed alumni, fourth by surveyed peer institutions (program directors), and tenth by surveyed faculty.
UIC was the only regional program nationally rated in the Top 10 by faculty and alumni, as well as in the Top 8 by peers. UIC is alphabetically listed as one of 13 "first tier" programs among regional colleges and universities nationwide.
"Entrepreneurship is no longer just about starting your own business," said Wim Wiewel, dean of the College of Business Administration. "It is also about innovation in any business. The UIC College of Business Administration has long been considered one of the top programs nationwide, and we are very happy that this has again been recognized."
The study was conducted from September to December 2002 by TechKnowledge Point Corp. of Santa Barbara, Calif. More than 30 criteria were used in the study, including course offerings, teaching and research faculty, business-community outreaches, research centers and institutes, degrees and certificates offered, and faculty and alumni evaluations.
In addition, nearly 300 schools responded to surveys allowing program directors, faculty and alumni to rank their own entrepreneurship programs against the competition. These survey results appear along with the Top 100 list.
"It is particularly satisfying to be second nationally according to our alumni in the region and fourth among peer program directors nationally," said Gerald Hills, UIC's Coleman/Denton Thorne chair for entrepreneurship and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Meanwhile, NASDAQ named UIC's Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies one of five national winners of the NASDAQ Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award in 2001. In the same year, UIC earned a #3 national ranking in SUCCESS magazine's Top 50 "Best Schools for Entrepreneurs."
UIC's entrepreneurship program offers an MBA concentration, an undergraduate program in entrepreneurial studies and Ph.D. coursework. The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies also directs the selection of new members to the annual Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame and has founded a national college student association on 104 university campuses.
In addition, the institute sponsors a prestigious annual research symposium on marketing and entrepreneurship and a certificate program for business owners and managers. UIC's Center for Urban Business, as part of the institute, provides programs for minority and smaller enterprises.
For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu PR
|
| |
|
