Top Entrepreneurship MBAs in Houston

Do you ever feel like making like Fleetwood Mac and “Go Your Own Way” in the business world? If that’s the case, you’re not alone: According to a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, researchers polled more than 30,000 Wharton School graduates and found that more than 7 percent of 2013 grads started their own companies right away. This study fits into a growing national trend of business school students going the entrepreneurial route.

As students have looked more into paving their own road in the business world, business schools have also responded to this growing interest in entrepreneurship. In the Houston Metro, a number of business schools have dedicated research and resource centers made specifically for students wanting to learn more about entrepreneurship.

How do Houston business schools support their budding entrepreneurs? Check out the list below to learn more.

C.T. Bauer College of Business

The C.T. Bauer College of Business was established at the University of Houston in 1942 and is located on a 667-acre campus in Southeast Houston. To support budding entrepreneurs at the University of Houston, The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship (WCE) was founded in 1991 to teach students how to run their own business.

Wollf’s undergrad entrepreneurship has earned rave reviews. The program has been at or near the top the list of the Top 25 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurs  by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine. The program was ranked 1st in 2008, ’10 and ’11, 2nd in 2007, ’09, ’13 and ’14, and 3rd in 2012.

For graduate students, a certificate of entrepreneurship from WCE is a great way to bolster your career options. Offered certificate programs include; Corporate Entrepreneurship Certificate (CEC), Social Entrepreneurship Certificate (SEC) and Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate (TEC).

Cameron School of Business

The Cameron School of Business is part of the University of St. Thomas, which is the only Catholic university in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and located close to downtown Houston, near the museum district. The school offers a traditional MBA program, which can also be taken in Saturday or evening formats. The school also offers a combined five-year BBA/MBA, as well as other joint MBA offerings.

Cameron is also home to the McNair Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, which was formed to help advance research and education on the role of private enterprise, individual initiative and entrepreneurship in fostering economic growth and human flourishing. It was developed thanks to a $5 million gift from the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation and is current run by Dr. Martin Lindenberg.

The McNair Center mainly provides the following:

• Formulating and overseeing an undergraduate minor in free enterprise and principled entrepreneurship.
• Assembling policy fellows, scholars, research associates and graduate students for the discussion and study of free enterprise and principled entrepreneurship.
• Hosting an annual symposium at which participants will converge to share knowledge and ideas about entrepreneurship.

 

Jesse H. Jones School of Business

Founded in 1955, the Jesse H. Jones School of Business is part of Texas Southern University. Located in the heart of Houston, the university stretches across a 150-acre campus in Houston’s Third Ward. The school offers full-time, part-time and Executive MBA program options. The EMBA program is a distance, online program.

The Jesse H. Jones School of Business houses The Gerald B. Smith Center for Entrepreneurship & Executive Development. This center aims to increase the focus on entrepreneurship and to develop academic, student-focused, and community initiatives to give practical focus to the coursework.

Mays Business School

While Texas A&M first offered a general MBA degree in 1951, the School of Business Administration was formed in 1961 and was renamed the College of Business Administration in 1968. Located in College Station, about 1 hour and 45 minutes outside of Houston, the campus spans 5,200 acres plus 350 acres for its Research Park and features its own airport. Texas A&M Mays Business School offers a full-time, Professional and Executive MBA program.

In order to provide resources to entrepreneurs, Mays features The Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship (CNVE). CNVE has served as the hub of entrepreneurship for Texas A&M in 1999 and, according to the school, provides business start up acceleration, competitive opportunities, work experiences and financial support to aspiring entrepreneurs in the Aggie community. CNVE offers over 15 enterprising programs for entrepreneurs, including start up incubator competitions and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, and supports several research ventures and student organizations.

McCombs School of Business

Founded in 1922, the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin offers six different MBA programs. There is a traditional two-year, full-time MBA degree and the Texas Executive MBA, which can be completed at the main campus in Austin. McCombs also offers a part-time Texas Evening MBA on the main campus as well as at two other University of Texas locations: Dallas/Fort Worth or Houston. Finally they offer a dual-degree executive MBA program in Mexico City awarding an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s of Administration from Tecnológico de Monterrey – Campus Santa Fe.

Since 2001, the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship, Growth and Renewal has been dedicated to promoting research and innovation at UT. Named for Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines, programs and partnerships offered by the center include:

• Entrepreneurs-in-Residence: Developed to bring highly successful entrepreneurs on campus to work with faculty and students seeking advice on launching their own entrepreneurial venture.
• Intro to the UT & Austin Startup Ecosystem: An annual event and trade show to help students learn more about the great entrepreneurial/startup programs and resources that are available across campus and Austin.
• Ignite Startup Workshops: A monthly lunch event for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators interested in developing practical entrepreneurial skills.
• The MBA McCombs Entrepreneur Summer Fellowship (MESF): Funded by the generous support of alumni donors and the Class of 2014 Legacy Campaign, the fellowship enables MBA students to continue their entrepreneurial journey as founders, during the summer between their first and second year.

 

Jones Graduate School of Business

Another Houston metro business school named after Jesse Holman Jones, a prominent Houstonian and world-renowned business and civic leader, Rice University’s main campus is located on a 295-acre campus in Central Houston near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Jones Graduate School features three MBA programs: the full-time MBA, Executive MBA and Professional MBA.

Rice is home to the Jones Graduate School Entrepreneurs Organization (JGSEO), a student organization that provides networking, education and mentorship to alumni and student entrepreneurs. The JGSEO hosts  educational events, networking, a business plan competition and CEO Roundtables for budding entrepreneurs in the Rice network.

University of Houston – Downtown

A commuter school, the University of Houston-Downtown was founded in 1974 when the University of Houston acquired the assets of South Texas Junior College. UHD’s College of Business was founded in 1991, and in January 2012, UHD College of Business enrolled its first class of MBA students. The school has full-time and a part-time MBA programs, with all MBA students taking their classes at the award-winning Shea Street Building, which opened in 2007 to house UHD’s School of Business.

UHD is home to the Center for Entrepreneurship, where students are trained to develop new business opportunities for both existing organizations and start-ups. The Center features an entrepreneurship program with two classes: Introduction to Entrepreneurship (creating new opportunities with a new company) and Intrapreneurship (creating opportunities within an existing company).

regions: Houston

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