For the second year in a row, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has been cited by The Princeton Review as being among the best schools in the nation for students aspiring to become entrepreneurs. NJIT is ranked No. 43 among the Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies for 2021 across the country, and is the only university in New Jersey to achieve this recognition.
“The schools that made our ranking lists for 2021 all offer exceptional entrepreneurship programs,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor in chief. “Their faculties are outstanding. Their courses have robust experiential components, and their students receive outstanding mentoring and networking support. We strongly recommend these fine schools to anyone considering a college major or graduate degree in this burgeoning field.”
Schools were selected based on data the education services company collected from its summer 2020 survey of more than 300 undergraduate and graduate schools with offerings in entrepreneurship studies. The 60-question survey analyzed over 40 data points, including the percentage of faculty, students and alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors; the number and reach of mentorship programs, scholarships and grants for entrepreneurial studies; and the level of support for school-sponsored business plan competitions.
NJIT IS THE ONLY NEW JERSEY UNIVERSITY IN THE TOP 50 FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDIES.
“As New Jersey’s only public polytechnic university, and as an R1 institution (the Carnegie Classification for very high research activity), NJIT is uniquely qualified to develop technological innovation with societal significance and market potential,” remarked Cesar Bandera, associate professor of entrepreneurship at NJIT’s Martin Tuchman School of Management (MTSM). “Placing for a second year in a row among the Top 50 entrepreneurship programs in the country is a recognition of NJIT’s entrepreneurship education programs and investment in student and community entrepreneurs. Building on the strengths of NJIT, MTSM fosters entrepreneurship centered on technological innovation and societal significance, and our graduates have the entrepreneurial skills required in startup and corporate domains—they make a positive impact.”
NJIT Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Cesar Bandera
NJIT offers 21 credit-bearing entrepreneurship courses, currently to more than 550 students, as well as both major and minor entrepreneurship degrees. Two-thirds of its faculty has entrepreneurial experience and, in the past five years, alumni startups have raised over $1 million in new venture funding. Additionally, MTSM conducts entrepreneurial activities that engage all NJIT colleges and the broader community. Among these activities are the New Jersey Innovation Acceleration Center, which sponsors a New Business Model Competition; the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps at NJIT, which provides seed grants and technology commercialization training to faculty-student teams with competitive innovations; and the Tech Venture Support Program, which provides local technology startups with market research and fundraising assistance.
As part of their experiential learning, entrepreneurship students are also involved with NJIT’s community small business incubator, VentureLink, the largest in New Jersey. Students, alumni and faculty have gone on to establish startups there, joining dozens of companies ranging from the telecommunication to biotechnology sectors. VentureLink provides budding entrepreneurs with educational workshops, professional networking, mentoring programs, office amenities and more.
NJIT’s Office of Research plays an integral role in entrepreneurship as well, through its commitment to commercialization of innovative research with high-potential impact on society. Together with VentureLink, the office works with NJIT researchers to help bring real-world applications to the marketplace.
“The entrepreneurial mindset is embedded on NJIT’s campus through our students and faculty,” said Oya Tukel, dean of MTSM. “NJIT continues to develop an entrepreneurship ecosystem that connects all entrepreneurship-related efforts of the university, so we celebrate this recognition institutionwide.”
OculoMotor Technologies—founded by an NJIT professor and alumni—develops virtual reality based vision therapies, and counts NJIT as an investor as part of the university’s effort to bolster entrepreneurship and commercialization.
“The pandemic has triggered a massive wave of entrepreneurial interest, and more Americans are starting businesses now than in the last decade,” said Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. “That means there’s even more hunger for valuable information and insights on how to build and grow a business. We’re proud to publish this annual ranking, so that we can give future entrepreneurs guidance on the robust education programs that can help them start their journey.”
The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine have administered the survey and rated both the top undergraduate and graduate schools for entrepreneurship studies since 2006. Entrepreneur has also posted the full lists at https://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges. The magazine will feature the rankings in its December issue, available on newsstands on Dec. 1.
