The winners of the Driehaus Cup competition pose with Dean Sulin Ba and Associate Professor of Marketing Jim Mourey. The competition, held twice annually, gives students hands-on experience in entrepreneurship within their first several quarters at Driehaus. DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business is ranked 12th among the top schools for entrepreneurship, according to
rankings released Tuesday by the Princeton Review.
The college’s graduate entrepreneurship program is ranked 15th, up from #20 in 2024.
While focused on business schools in the U.S., the rankings also include a number of universities in Canada, Mexico, and Europe. To compile the rankings, in addition to consulting other data sources, the Princeton Review surveyed administrators at nearly 300 schools in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
The rankings establish Driehaus as a leader in entrepreneurship education. Among top-ranked schools for entrepreneurship, Driehaus stood out as the only college in Illinois. It placed fourth and fifth in the Midwest among graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship programs, respectively.
Education Rooted in Experience
Entrepreneurship is woven into the core curriculum at Driehaus. One of the first courses that all Driehaus students take, “Business Fundamentals and the Entrepreneurial Mindset,” tasks students with developing an original, innovative business idea – and pitching it to a panel of industry leaders, with scholarship money at stake.
The experience, Chair of Management and Entrepreneurship Alyssa Westring said, teaches students to engage actively with the world around them.
“From day one, we’re teaching students to put themselves in the driver’s seat,” she said. “‘How would I lead this organization? How would I adopt this technology? How can I make a difference?’ Students get used not just to identifying problems, but to crafting and pitching solutions. And that mindset makes a difference in any role, regardless of whether students go on to found their own companies.”
Entrepreneurship faculty, she added, bring real-world insights to the classroom. Many are founders in their own right, with experiences launching businesses
across multiple industries.
Network that Spans a City – and the World
.jpg "A student leans in to examine handmade jewelry displayed at a folding table, as the vendor looks on. There are brightly colored DePaul balloons in the background, as well as DePaul's vivid athletics logo, a fierce-faced depiction of a blue demon.")
Students share their creations at the Coleman Center's welcome back market, one of several opportunities student-entrepreneurs have to share their creations. DePaul’s entrepreneurship program connects students to a thriving network of entrepreneurs: a network with deep roots in Chicago and connections worldwide. Forty percent of DePaul graduates who found a business do so in Illinois, according to the blog
Switch on Business.
At the center of that network is the university’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center. Recognized in fall 2023 as one of the
top university entrepreneurship centers globally, the Coleman center offers thousands of dollars in funding to aspiring entrepreneurs from across the university each year.
The Coleman center’s impact spills out well outside the university’s doors. A program for entrepreneurs whose businesses have a social impact invests thousands of dollars in community startups each year.
The Coleman center’s Halperin Emerging Companies Fund, meanwhile, identifies and invests in promising startups connected to DePaul’s community and its mission. The fund gives students firsthand insights into the often-opaque venture funding process. It also creates long-lasting connections to up-and-coming companies.
“We’re proud to invest not just materially but also in relationships across the city and around the world,” said Bruce Leech, executive director of the Coleman center. “Entrepreneurship at its best is an investment in community: in creating jobs, in solving problems, and in strengthening connections.”
Launching Leaders, Across Careers
Entrepreneurship at DePaul, stressed Dean of the Driehaus College of Business Sulin Ba, prepares students to launch meaningful careers in any sector.
“Our alumni are entrepreneurs in their own careers,” she said, “whether those careers involve launching their own businesses or leading from within established companies. Driehaus is among the top 50 producers of Fortune 1000 CEOs, among countless other leaders. Our emphasis on entrepreneurship — on putting theory directly into practice — is a major reason why.”