New Jersey Institute of Technology is once again the state’s top university for entrepreneurship education, according to new rankings from The Princeton Review.
In addition to leading in the Garden State, Princeton Review ranked NJIT No. 2 in the Northeast for graduate entrepreneurship and No. 3 for undergraduates. The graduate program also advanced two spots to No. 17 in the country.
NJIT students formed about 100 companies in the last decade, with the top five companies raising almost $8 million. Student-led startup companies raised $12 million in the last five years overall. That funding came largely from students’ own efforts, following university seeding, noted Associate Prof. Cesar Bandera, who teaches in Martin Tuchman School of Management.
Kathy Naasz, director of NJIT’s Center for Student Entrepreneurship, said she’s pleased at the rate of student interest in hands-on entrepreneurship education. More than 23% of undergraduates and 11% of graduate students participate in entrepreneurship courses or co-curricular events.
“We are launching a new program of Startup Interns, where 15 students are funded to learn alongside entrepreneurs and they will make a match at the Startup Job Fair,” Naasz said, slated for Jan. 29, 2027.
Oya Tukel, dean of NJIT's Martin Tuchman School of Management, emphasized the broader impact of entrepreneurship education.
“Not every student will become an entrepreneur, but developing an entrepreneurial mindset is essential in today's business landscape,” Tukel said. “By reaching more students, we're helping them build the skills and perspectives to identify opportunities, solve problems and create value, regardless of the careers they pursue.”
For all students, NJIT’s entrepreneurship education has been innovating in many ways. Peer mentoring and entrepreneurship open office hours are offered every week. Artificial intelligence, banking partners, a Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence and mentoring for middle school and high school students are also now part of the NJIT entrepreneurship experience, and the university’s Newark College of Engineering is making entrepreneurship part of their first-year coursework.
“The modern student wants to take control over their career and destiny. This is now an expectation,” Bandera said, “not just with entrepreneurship education but with opportunities to become entrepreneurs.”
