Survey of experiential entrepreneurship education offerings among top undergraduate entrepreneurship programs

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze experiential entrepreneurship education offerings – programs and courses – among the “Top 25” undergraduate schools of entrepreneurship in the USA. The motivation is to understand the array and vitality of experiential initiatives across the country. A related aim is to unearth obstacles to offering experiential entrepreneurship and identify affordable, viable options. Surveying undergraduate program deans, chairs and administrators, the authors inventory and analyze experiences offered in top entrepreneurship programs. The target audience for the research is entrepreneurship education researchers and business program leaders. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is a survey approach. A survey was sent to the entrepreneurship program leaders of the “Top 25” business schools according to recently published rankings. In total, 57 percent of the target population responded to the survey. Findings – The authors find that credit-yielding experiential entrepreneurship offerings are abundant. Yet an array of challenges constrain the growth this mode of delivery – including finding suitable faculty, mentors and other support resources. Research limitations/implications – A potential limitation of the study is its focus on “Top 25” undergraduate entrepreneurship programs, as this may not be reflective of activity in the wider sample of entrepreneurship programs. Practical implications – The first inventory of its kind, this study provides vital knowledge about the array of practices by leading programs. The study may be used to drive benchmarking and further innovation by leaders of entrepreneurship programs. Originality/value – To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the most comprehensive, recent study of undergraduate, experiential entrepreneurship education.