The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur have named American University one of the nation's top schools for graduate entrepreneurship for the eighth straight year. In the 2027 rankings, AU reached No. 23 in graduate entrepreneurship, its highest ranking on record, up four spots from last year and 20 from 2024. Undergraduate entrepreneurship hit record highs too: No. 46 nationally and No. 5 in the Mid-Atlantic.

American University 2027 Entrepreneurship Rankings

• No. 23 in Graduate Entrepreneurship overall, up from No. 27 and the highest on record
• No. 3 in Graduate Entrepreneurship in the Mid-Atlantic
• No. 46 in Undergraduate Entrepreneurship overall, up from No. 48 and the highest on record
• No. 5 in Undergraduate Entrepreneurship in the Mid-Atlantic, up from No. 7 and the highest on record
• No. 7 in Undergraduate Entrepreneurship among schools with fewer than 10,000 students

The rankings are the latest evidence of Kogod's momentum in AI, sustainability, and entrepreneurship. Over the past four years, the school has rebuilt its curriculum around those areas and power skills, and treated entrepreneurship as more than starting companies. It's an ownership mindset: spot the problem, take the initiative, and own the outcome, whether students launch a venture or join an organization. Increasingly, they're doing it with AI, and pointing it at problems in their own city.

AI for Good, Built for DC

At the AI for Good: DC Sustainability Challenge, held at American University this October, 47 students from 21 majors and five AU schools formed 11 interdisciplinary teams to build AI-powered solutions to problems facing Washington. They took on EV charging infrastructure, lender participation in the city's affordable housing market, the rat population, and how efficiently DC salts its roads in winter.

The winning team, Winterwise DC, built a software-only AI decision assistant that helps the city allocate road salt, protecting the Potomac and Anacostia watersheds while cutting winter maintenance costs. Two more teams won cash prizes for AI platforms: one that reduces road salt use without compromising safety, and one that helps evaluate and scale investments in DC's affordable housing.

A Regional Stage for Student Founders

On November 6, the Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship and DC tech accelerator Oasis Hill hosted the College Pitch Bowl, a new regional competition for student and recent-alumni founders. One team from each of nine universities, from Georgetown and George Washington to the University of Richmond and Virginia State University, pitched operational pre-seed and seed-stage ventures to a panel of investor judges.

The top three teams split $5,000 and each get a year of coaching and mentorship from the Veloric Center. The winner also gets three months of consulting and office space at Oasis Arlington. Hosting the competition puts AU at the center of the region's student startup scene.

“Programs like AI for Good and the College Pitch Bowl reflect how we approach entrepreneurship at American University: you can't learn to be entrepreneurial simply by studying entrepreneurship. You have to practice. The real learning happens when students explore what’s not working in the world, figure out why, and use that insight to build something better. Through that process, they build their networks, develop self-confidence, and become resilient problem solvers," said Danielle Vogel, Director, Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship From the First Semester

The undergraduate gains reflect a choice Kogod made to build that ownership mindset into the core curriculum. From their first semester, Kogod students take business courses that build creativity, adaptability, and critical thinking, the skills employers want from people who make an impact on day one.

In KSB 111, taught by Veloric Center senior fellow Tommy White, first-year students turn $10 into a business in 45 minutes. In the Business & Entertainment program's Managing Talent class, students produce the Veloric Concert themselves, from booking the artist to selling the tickets. That kind of work led Billboard to name the program one of its Top Music Business Schools for the fourth year in a row.

"Rankings are an imperfect measure, so I look at what our students actually do. This fall they used AI to take on the city's toughest problems, from road salt to affordable housing, and pitched their companies to investors against teams from across the region. That's entrepreneurship you can see," said Casey Evans, Interim Dean, Kogod School of Business.

The entrepreneurship results join a strong year for Kogod. The full-time MBA reached record highs in U.S. News & World Report (No. 46) and QS (No. 40 among US programs), and ranks No. 2 in the US on Corporate Knights' Better World MBA ranking.