Undergraduate entrepreneur programs have become nearly as popular as dotcom start-ups. If you want to start your own business, you don't necessarily have to wait until graduation. Here are a few schools that will help you out:
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The University of Arizona's Berger Entrepreneurship Program, founded in 1984, is one of the oldest in the country and has been cited by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Students learn preparation of business plans, legal-research techniques and capital procurement. Graduates have founded hundreds of firms.
The Wichita State University entrepreneur program began in 1977; it was first offered as a major through the business school in 1991. The program's focus is on start-ups and on managing innovation, change and growth. Undergraduates majoring in health care, fine arts and engineering can participate.
n To get into the University of Dayton's entrepreneur program, students must have a GPA of 2.7 and must send in a résumé and letter explaining why they want to be an entrepreneur major. Students are divided into teams of four to five people. The university provides each team with $3,000 to start a venture and pairs students with local entrepreneurs. At the end of the year, the $3,000 goes back to the university and any profit is given to charity.
New Mexico's State University entrepreneurship program in its College of Business Administration and Economics teaches 30 students the basics of start-ups. One success story is Southwest Image, a company that sells regional products to customers around the world via Internet auctions.
About a third of the graduates of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of WisconsinMadison start a company within 10 years of graduation. One such recent start-up, the environmentally friendly Cascade Asset Management, recycles computers.
