2014 - Top 5 MBA in Entrepreneurship

While many MBA students seek a steady job immediately after graduation, there is a rare but growing breed of aspirants who are choosing the entrepreneurial route.

Entrepreneurship is not something that can be taught in a classroom; however, what most Entrepreneurial MBA students want is to learn how to start, run and grow a business. MBA programs with focus on Entrepreneurship provide a wealth of knowledge that will help students understand how different parts of a business work and come together. The basic knowledge they gather about finance, marketing, accounting, administration and sales can even help them do it all on their own, especially in the beginning when most startups are likely to be cash-strapped and cannot afford to employ many people.

According to a 2011 survey by the Association of Business Schools, entrepreneurship is one of the top 5 course content areas that students are now looking for. B-schools in turn are now offering excellent coverage of entrepreneurship in the form of course content, workshops, business plan competitions, conferences, and one to one counseling sessions.

Top 5 Entrepreneurial MBA Programs to consider

If you are interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial MBA, here are the top 5 programs that you may want to consider:

1. Babson College (Olin)

Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, offers an MBA program which has been ranked No. 1 in entrepreneurship by the U.S. News and World Report for 19 consecutive years.

At Babson, the entrepreneurial spirit is fueled through curricular and co-curricular activities. Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship is a mandatory first year course, and then there are over 80 advanced graduate school electives that students can choose from.

Babson also has more than 50 entrepreneurial faculty members; 18 full-time academics and over 30 adjunct “entrepreneurs.” Babson also hosts visiting scholars from around the world to conduct research, and learn the best practices in entrepreneurship education.

2. Stanford University

At Stanford, all students are encouraged to enroll in entrepreneurship courses as part of their broad education in general management. They also have the chance to work with local startups. Students can take as many or as few entrepreneurship electives as they like. The Entrepreneurship Club and the High Tech Club are popular in the campus. The students and the staff also hold an annual Entrepreneurship Conference every winter. Students can find jobs with startups through in-house job listings. According to the Stanford website, about 3-6% of Stanford students go directly into an entrepreneurial venture.

The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES) at Stanford maintains a collection of entrepreneurship resources to support their entrepreneurial graduate student community and alumni.

3. Harvard University

At Harvard, entrepreneurial course offerings have grown rapidly since the first formal courses began in the 1930s and 1940s. There is a mandatory first year course on entrepreneurship, and over 30 second year electives. The Harvard Entrepreneurship curriculum is robust and covers general entrepreneurial business creation and management to entrepreneurship in specific contexts. With faculty strength of 35, entrepreneurship department is the second largest at the school.

According to the Harvard website, approximately 50% of its graduating students turn entrepreneurs by the time they are 15 years out of the school.

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)

The MIT Entrepreneurship Center at the MIT Sloan School of Management aims at developing entrepreneurial skills. The Center supports the annual MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and Innovation Teams of students. Entrepreneurial education is provided through MIT courses and by assisting student entrepreneurs with office resources, mentorship, awards and grants.

MIT Sloan has a program specifically for entrepreneurs called Entrepreneurship & Innovation (E&I). Along with the traditional MBA awarded by the Sloan School, the participants of the E&I program are also awarded a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

5. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

Entrepreneurship at Wharton is considered to be one the most influential in the world. The Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program is one of the largest entrepreneurial teaching programs in the world today. More than 20 courses are offered and over 20 professors and practitioners teach courses and guide initiatives for entrepreneurs.

Wharton conducts the world renowned Wharton Business Plan Competition. Venture Initiation Program (VIP) offers guidance to University of Pennsylvania students. Speed mentoring sessions with successful business owners are also offered to students as part of the Entrepreneur in Residence program. The Wharton Small Business Development Center also assists hundreds of local businesses.

Challenges faced by Entrepreneurial MBA students

One of the crucial challenges that students face is how best to take advantage of all the resources that are on offer, especially during their first year at school. Even if the student already has a fairly concrete idea about the business, it is usually pushed to the backburner, while the students struggle to get used to the hectic pace of the course.

Apart from getting inundated by core courses, students may also be distracted by their peers who are busy preparing for campus recruitment. When a majority of your peers are attending orientation programs of renowned companies, it is only natural to second guess yourself. But if Entrepreneurship is your passion, just put your head down and power forward. Stay on your path.

Many students make the mistake of waiting too long to start the company. At a Business School, things are already hectic enough without you having to launch your startup. Nonetheless, remember that there is possibly never going to be a better time that your stint at the business school where you will have access to so many resources, so don’t wait too long to start moving.

Make the most of the curriculum

Many Entrepreneurship MBA courses offer electives which you can choose to specialize in. The first semester of entrepreneurship courses are usually generic in nature and will introduce students to the overall process of starting a company. It is during the second semester that course opens up.  Business schools also offer several Entrepreneurship Seminars where you can network and interact with successful entrepreneurs.

Also, try and be a part of all Entrepreneurship Clubs in the campus. One-to-one counseling, workshops and action-based study programs, all provide significantly useful opportunities for an aspiring entrepreneur. Discuss your ideas with similar-minded fellow students and you may perhaps even come up with something better.

Do all entrepreneurship MBA students become successful entrepreneurs?

Starting your own company definitely has its own risks. Successful entrepreneurs are risk-takers; they are persistent and do not give up easily. Many businesses may not succeed right away, but many entrepreneurs persist, pivot or start a new venture.

A robust entrepreneurship MBA can offer the student with the opportunity to gain enough knowledge, contacts and support to get the business off the ground. Extensive networking between like-minded people and investors, easy accessibility to office space, guidance with business plan and other resources are also things that a Business School can offer.