EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Eastern Michigan University's Center for Entrepreneurship was recently ranked among the top 50 best graduate programs for entrepreneurs by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur. EMU is one of two universities in Michigan to achieve this notable recognition.

This year's survey considered more than 250 colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe. It evaluated many factors, such as graduates' success rates and the number of mentors available for students. Among the factors considered, Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship ranked EMU’s program No. 47 nationwide.  A complete list is available on the magazine’s website, and details regarding the methodology are in the December 2022 issue of Entrepreneur.

“Our interdisciplinary and applied approach to graduate entrepreneurship provides all the benefits of contemporary research in the field,” said Sanjib Chowdhury, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. “We encourage students across the entire campus to take our graduate entrepreneurship courses, which, along with various co-curricular programs, further teach students how to hone their skills and leverage their creativity, among other things. New graduate students can get an MBA with an entrepreneurship concentration or a graduate certificate in entrepreneurship, and both programs can be completed using a hybrid or an online format,” said Chowdhury.

EMU’s Center for Entrepreneurship offers six courses in the graduate program. Over the last five years, more than 200 graduate students have started businesses. Recently, the center launched a new program to help aspiring entrepreneurs jumpstart their ideas. Graduate students already enrolled at Eastern can also take advantage of this program. The Executive Certificate in Entrepreneurship is an eight-week in-person and online hybrid program that offers business instruction, professional coaching, mentorship, networking, and the chance to pitch your startup ideas for financial awards. 

In 2022, the Center for Entrepreneurship offered this program twice. Brighton resident and EMU alumna Sarah Beatty was selected among 16 entrepreneurs in the inaugural cohort. Ascha Jones was chosen among 16 entrepreneurs in the second cohort, each receiving a $25K prize after pitching their idea to a panel of business leaders. Beatty is the founder of Ann Arbor-based Culturewell, a cleanliness analytics platform that saves healthcare administrators money, and Jones is the Founder of Trip Slip, a wrap-around digital solution for field trips.

About the Center for Entrepreneurship
Established in 1986, EMU's Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) strives to enhance a culture of entrepreneurship in the EMU community by supporting a strong entrepreneurship curriculum and offering various co-curricular programs. The CFE also encourages local entrepreneurship by engaging EMU students and faculty in innovation, business creation, and growth in southeast Michigan.

About Eastern Michigan University
Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 14,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and its graduate school. National publications regularly recognize EMU for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. Visit the University’s rankings and points of pride websites to learn more. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website. To stay up to date on University news, activities and announcements, visit EMU Today.