For the sixth year in a row, University of Delaware’s Horn Entrepreneurship has solidified UD’s ranking among the top entrepreneurship universities in the nation. In the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine’s Top 50 list for 2025, UD moved up to 27 from last year’s ranking of 31, and is third overall in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Horn, which serves as the creative engine for entrepreneurship throughout the University and together with the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, has made a compelling case for offering one of the best programs in entrepreneurship studies in the country. The ranking takes into account a wide range of factors, including courses offered in entrepreneurship, enrollment, faculty resources dedicated to the effort, mentoring and other opportunities outside class, and the success of alumni ventures.
“At the University of Delaware and at the Lerner College, Horn Entrepreneurship continues to be a catalyst for innovation,” said Oliver Yao, dean of UD’s Lerner College. “The Horn Entrepreneurship programs stand out because they are interdisciplinary, with a rigorous curriculum, dedicated faculty and staff and outstanding students. Horn benefits the entire UD community.”
Horn Entrepreneurship offers an entrepreneurship major; several minors, including integrated design and social innovation and entrepreneurship; and cross disciplinary certificates throughout seven colleges in the University. Last year, more than 1,700 students from 100 different majors participated in Horn’s programs, according to Dan Freeman, associate professor of marketing and Horn’s founding director.
The range of options and Horn’s commitment to providing relevant and accessible offerings to all students are part of UD’s success in the rankings, Freeman said. “We offer a wide array of courses, we engage a large number of students inside the business school, but even more importantly, from across campus and lots of different majors. All UD students are also invited to participate in Horn’s robust new venture development programming that engages close to 100 mentors, and our students realize a fair amount of new venture success.”
The goal is to develop a way of thinking, Freeman emphasizes.
“It’s about helping students develop the mindset, skill sets and means … to be able to be a creative problem solver, to bring people together around a new idea or a vision for how you can make a positive impact in the world,” Freeman said. New ventures are a desirable byproduct, he added, “but it could just as easily be a new social venture, a new policy, or a new process.”
Innovation means coming up with something new and valuable. Adding an economically sustainable model for carrying that out is what makes it entrepreneurship, Freeman explained.
Since 2012, more than 350 entrepreneurs and startups have learned the basics to creating successful ventures through Horn, such as identifying a problem, researching how many people have that problem and what’s involved, and determining “am I going to build something that is actually going to solve a problem in the way that people want it to be solved?”
Some of these entrepreneurs include Mac Macleod, founder of Carvertise, Maya Nazareth, developer of Alchemize Fightwear, and Joel Amin and Bryce Fender, co-founders of Wilminvest.
Not everyone will become a founder or CEO. But, Freeman said, “They will be positioned to be value creators and leaders in any organizational context … it’s really about imagining new possibilities.”
The world is changing very rapidly, Freeman said, and businesses have to innovate. “Every organization needs to be getting better at what they do, and getting better at serving the needs of their customers.”
“The program provides hands-on experiences through real-world projects, which allows students to apply theoretical knowledge, develop problem-solving skills, and understand the complexities of the business world,” Yao said. “Upon graduation, students are equipped with the skills to navigate the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurship.”
Entrepreneurship education is unique in training for creative problem solving, Freeman said, helping students feel a sense of agency and also responsibility. They become “someone who doesn’t just notice problems and complain about them, but actually takes action and knows how to go through a process to generate potentially promising solutions.”