Bloomberg Businessweek surveys around 85,000 students at 124 of the top business schools and asks them to rate their program's performance in undergraduate academics, according to a press release by Elaine Cole, the Neeley School public relations manager.

Creativity and innovation among faculty and students separates the university's entrepreneurship program from the rest, said O. Homer Erekson, Dean of the Neeley School of Business.

"We have outstanding faculty that research and teach entrepreneurship and create in innovative ways," Erekson said. "We have a very large student base of 400 students as well, and both students and faculty work together in very creative ways. Our secret is that we are well-rounded.”

Smaller class sizes allow for more opportunities to learn, said Lauren Sharp, a junior double major in marketing and entrepreneurial management. The manageable faculty-student ratio sets the entrepreneurship program apart from other universities.

"The smaller size of our program and the one-on-one time that we get in the business school makes us premier," Sharp said. "The class sizes are a ton smaller, which allows for more discussion-based classes and more attentive students."

Smaller class sizes also allow for immersion, which Erekson said is the tool to helping students learn to think creatively. 

“Immersing students in the entrepreneurial experience teaches them to take risks, to think creatively, and build business plans," he said. "All of our professors model entrepreneurship through their successful careers and the careers of other entrepreneurs.”

The Neeley entrepreneurship program was honored as the 2011 National Model Entrepreneurship Program by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship and is ranked No. 21 in the nation by Entrepreneur magazine.