On November 15, the U-M Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) announced the release of the Princeton Review/Entrepreneur magazine annual rankings of undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs for 2023. For the eighth consecutive year, U-M has earned top global rankings. Its undergraduate entrepreneurship programs are ranked #1 in the Midwest region and #5 globally. For its graduate-level entrepreneurship programs, U-M is ranked #1 in the Midwest and #2 globally.
CFE is a hub for U-M’s entrepreneurship community, providing broad access to curricula and applied learning experiences, with partners across numerous schools, colleges, units, and initiatives – including the EXCEL Lab at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. EXCEL is the university’s homebase for performing arts entrepreneurship, leadership, management and professional development resources.
“We are thrilled at the news that Michigan’s entrepreneurship ecosystem continues to rank amongst the best in the world,” said Jonathan Kuuskoski, assistant professor of music, chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship & Leadership, and director of the EXCEL Lab. “Since 2015, EXCEL has established a unique position in our field at the nexus of Michigan’s leading entrepreneurship programming, while also operating within an elite performing arts school and connected to U-M’s top public research university status.”
The EXCEL Lab, embedded within SMTD’s Department of Entrepreneurship & Leadership, provides valuable resources for SMTD students, helping them launch and sustain a life in the arts. Designed to meet an ever-growing need for entrepreneurial and career services, the EXCEL Lab helps students navigate the post-graduation job search, connects them with arts internships and immersive experiences, offers customized coaching and mentorship, and provides substantial project and venture funding. “To date,” Kuuskoski noted, “we have been able to help launch, grow, and sustain more than 350 SMTD student projects and 30 student ventures with over $600,000 in funding and countless hours of mentorship. By coupling those applied learning opportunities with context-rich classes, workshops, coaching, and internships, EXCEL has helped thousands of SMTD students claim their leadership potential and gain greater agency over their artistic futures.”
Kuuskoski continued, “It is very rare for an arts entrepreneurship program to be in this kind of ecosystem and consistently ranked so high. EXCEL is proud to be an integral component of Michigan’s field-leading, campus-wide effort to amplify the dynamic, socially engaged, and forward-thinking ideas that position our students to be the arts leaders of tomorrow.”