St. Thomas Climbs to No. 11 in Entrepreneurship Rankings

Teaching entrepreneurial skills at the University of St. Thomas goes far beyond a class or academic major; entrepreneurship is truly a mindset across the entire institution. And that approach is driving more national recognition for the university’s Schulze School of Entrepreneurship.

In the latest Princeton Review rankings of undergraduate entrepreneurship programs, the Schulze School is ranked No. 11 internationally – up eight spots from last year. The 2026 ranking places the Schulze School in the top 10 in the U.S., and No. 5 in the Midwest, Minnesota’s top entrepreneurship school and third among institutions with less than 10,000 students.

“This recognition reflects the incredible energy, creativity and drive of our students,” said Danielle Ailts Campeau, associate dean and Best Buy Chair of the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. “At St. Thomas, entrepreneurship isn’t confined to the classroom – it’s part of the culture. Our students learn to think boldly, take action and create ventures that make a real impact.” 

The Princeton Review ranking reflects factors such as academics; student engagement; successful alumni entrepreneurship ventures; student involvement outside the classroom; competitions hosted by the school; and scholarships.

Last year, students from 85 majors – 70% of majors at St. Thomas – took an entrepreneurship-related course. Before classes even start, first-year undergraduate students of any major at St. Thomas can participate in Freshman Innovation Immersion, an annual program organized by the Schulze School. The program gives students the opportunity to engage in creative thinking, form a venture idea and pitch to an audience.  

Their journey continues with the award-winning Foundations of Entrepreneurship class, which tasks students with envisioning and launching a business that generates revenue within the semester. The goal is to develop confidence and begin to grow and hone entrepreneurial skills. Some of the ideas from the zero-to-revenue class go on to become thriving entrepreneurial ventures. For instance, hat company Love Your Melon, which recently relaunched as LYM, was born at this class. 

As students’ entrepreneurial ideas take root, they grow skills and test ventures through competitions including the Fowler Business Concept Challenge, St. Thomas Business Plan Competition, e-Fest and the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge. The Fowler Business Concept Challenge set a new record this year with 115 student submissions, the highest in the competition’s history. This is a 35% increase in submissions from last year. 

Last year, the Schulze School awarded $2.69 million in scholarships and grants specifically to undergraduates studying entrepreneurship. The school also awarded $448,000 in total cash prizes and more than $625,000 in in-kind prizes in its competitions last year. 

The support for students continues when they become St. Thomas alumni. After graduation, alumni continue to grow and scale their start-ups through resources like the accelerator programs gALPHA and gBETA, as well as alumni tracks in Schulze School entrepreneurship competitions. 

In addition, more than 100 Schulze School alumni volunteer as mentors, judges and advisers, showing the full-cycle journey from student entrepreneur to experienced mentor. 

“The Schulze School helps ideas take root, supports growth after graduation and brings alumni back to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs,” Campeau said. “It’s about giving back to the ecosystem that supported them.”