Ball State's graduate program in entrepreneurship is currently ranked above similar programs at Duke University and the University of Notre Dame, according to one of the nation's prestigious news magazines.
In the U.S. News and World Report's annual listings of top graduate programs offered by business schools, Ball State is No. 16, tying with Indiana University-Bloomington, the University of Maryland and the University of Virginia. Throughout the past three years, Ball State's program has been ranked 23rd, 20th and 19th.
Donald F. Kuratko, the entrepreneurial program's founding director and the Stoops Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, said the rankings were completed by business school deans at 360 of the top universities in America. Ball State's ranking thus speaks volumes of its continued commitment to excellence in entrepreneurship, he said.
"It shows the respect other schools have had for our program over the years," Kuratko said. "And it certainly indicates that the students in the program are receiving one of the top entrepreneurial educations in the state."
Founded 21 years ago in the Miller College of Business, Ball State's entrepreneurial program offers several areas of study, including business development, small business management, franchising, family business and corporate entrepreneurship, Kuratko said.
"We're trying to prepare our students to have an entrepreneurial attitude so they can apply it to whatever business endeavor they get involved with," he said.
In 2003, Entrepreneur Magazine named Kuratko as the nation's top collegiate entrepreneurship program director and named Ball State's entrepreneurship program as the country's best among regional universities.
In addition to being ranked in U.S. News and World Report, Ball State's program in recent years has been rated highly in both Success and Business Week magazines.
"It puts a stamp of approval on what we're doing here," said Lynne Richardson, dean of the Miller College of Business. "It's really nice to be recognized by our peers."
Kuratko said "America's Best Graduate Schools," which comprises all the U.S. News and World Report rankings for more than 1,400 universities, went on sale Monday on newsstands throughout the country.
He said rankings for Ball State's graduate program are completed every spring, while undergraduate program rankings take place in the fall. Throughout the past five years, the undergraduate program has ranked in the top five schools and has been named the No. 1 public university in entrepreneurship in America, Kuratko said.
"That's really helped propel us at the graduate level," he said.
Kuratko said he is looking forward to seeing the graduate entrepreneurial program grow in future semesters and is glad the program will continue to serve as a tribute to the university's faculty and students.
"It has marked another great achievement for Ball State, and I'm glad my program could be part of that greatness," Kuratko said. "We're building a tradition, and we hope to strive to get better every year. My dream is to keep on going."
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