Ball State University's graduate program in entrepreneurship is moving up in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.

In the magazine's annual listings of top graduate programs offered by business schools, Ball State's entrepreneurship program is ranked 16th, tied with Indiana University-Bloomington, University of Maryland and University of Virginia. Ball State's ranking is ahead of such notable schools as Duke University, Wake Forest University and the University of Notre Dame.

Over the last three years, Ball State's program has been ranked 23rd, 20th and 19th. The newsstand book, America's Best Graduate Schools, which contains all the U.S. News and World Report rankings, is slated to go on sale April 5.

"Our steady rise in the national rankings indicates our continued commitment to excellence in entrepreneurship here at Ball State," said Donald F. Kuratko, the program's founding director and the Stoops Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship. "We are truly respected for being one of the finest business schools for entrepreneurship."

In addition to U.S. News and World Report, Kuratko and the entrepreneurship program have been highly rated in recent years by several publications, including Success and Business Week magazines.

In 2003, Entrepreneur Magazine named Kuratko the nation's top collegiate entrepreneurship program director while his program was named the country's best among regional universities.

"The continued recognition by major publications of our entrepreneurship graduate program is a reflection of one of the college's academic strengths," said Lynne Richardson, dean of the Miller College of Business. "Entrepreneurship is a key component in our nation's growing economy. I am pleased that the Miller College of Business is educating the next generation of outstanding entrepreneurs."

The emphasis of this nationally ranked program is the recognition of opportunities and the conversion of new ideas into business plans with a focus on implementation. New business development, small business management, franchising, family business and corporate entrepreneurship are all areas of study within the major.

The program is designed to help people understand risk and develop an entrepreneurial perspective by overcoming challenges and achieving success.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Kuratko at dkuratko@bsu.edu or (765) 285-9002. Richardson may be contacted at lrichardson@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8192.)