UH Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship Ranked No. 1 for Seventh Consecutive Year

The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship in the University of Houston’s C. T. Bauer College of Business has once again been named the No. 1 undergraduate entrepreneurship program.

The Wolff Center is the first undergraduate program to secure seven consecutive No. 1 rankings on The Princeton Review’s list, besting its own record of six consecutive wins in the 2025 ranking last November.

Each year, The Princeton Review ranks undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs based on a survey of nearly 300 schools across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. Programs are evaluated on factors such as enrollment, alumni success, mentorship and a university’s financial investment in student entrepreneurship, among others.

The Wolff Center’s continued success underscores its ability to transform students into service-minded entrepreneurial leaders.

“This unprecedented success — as this is the first time ever an undergraduate program has been ranked No. 1 in entrepreneurship seven times in a row — unequivocally speaks to the sustained excellence, at the highest level, of Wolff Center and Bauer education,” said Xianjun Geng, dean of Bauer College. “This record-breaking ranking adds tremendously to our Bauer brand name as a top public business school in the nation and affirms University of Houston and the city of Houston as a top destination for entrepreneurship education and practice.”

Each year, an elite cohort of 30-35 students is selected to join the Wolff Center, where they gain hands-on experience and one-on-one mentorship to turn their business ideas into reality.

“You come into this program with the expectation of not studying entrepreneurship but being an entrepreneur,” said Dave Cook, executive director of the Wolff Center. “Everything we do is real — your side hustle is real; your intellectual property is real.”

The Wolff Center’s impact extends beyond its annual cohort. It also offers an entrepreneurship minor and various certificates available to UH students from a range of majors. Additional opportunities — including the RED Labs summer accelerator, pitch competitions and outreach programs — help students immerse themselves in Houston’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“Entrepreneurs fuel job creation, innovations and community development, which makes this No.1 ranking so impactful,” UH President Renu Khator said. “We’re not only graduating students from a prestigious program, we’re elevating the city, state and beyond, and I’m grateful to the Wolff and Duddlesten families for supporting our drive to excellence.”

Cook said the center’s strength lies in its hardworking students, community-focused mentors and passionate donors who share a mission to change lives, not just businesses.

“It’s real, it's palpable — you can feel it and see it when you interact with our students and donors,” Cook said. “Everybody is elevated through the process of what the Wolff Center has done.”

The Wolff Center is never static: Program leaders continuously evaluate more than 40 extracurricular programs each year to ensure ongoing improvement and innovation. Enrollment in entrepreneurship courses has grown 41% over the past five years — from 3,290 students in 2021 to 4,639 in 2025.

“If you look at the Wolff Center and where it is this year, it won’t be the same next year,” Cook said. “We are pushing the limiting view of what the Wolff Center was. We're stretching that in every way we know how.”

The Wolff Center’s footprint is set to expand in the coming years as it moves into the new $75 million Innovation Hub, part of UH’s Centennial Project. Construction on the four-story building will begin in spring 2026, with completion expected in fall 2027 near the M.D. Anderson Library.

Strategically located at the heart of campus and open to all students, the Innovation Hub will feature a makerspace, the Energy Transition Institute, the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, and advanced science and engineering laboratory space.

Sharing the second floor with the Wolff Center will be Stimulating Urban Renewal Through Entrepreneurship (SURE) — a program where UH students engage with local Houston business entrepreneurs, help refine their business plans and gain a two-way partnership with these entrepreneurs in return.

The new facility will enhance the Wolff Center’s visibility in the Houston region as an incubator for innovation and collaboration, said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, UH’s vice president for energy and innovation. It will also integrate and transform the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at the university.

“Our goal is to really spread the culture of entrepreneurship across campus,” Krishnamoorti said. “That’s why the location matters — it’s in the middle of campus, at the intersection of everybody coming in.”