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Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
We empower entrepreneurial thinkers—whether you’re launching a venture, building a family business, creating social impact, or driving innovation inside an organization. Turn ideas into action.
Start your entrepreneurial journey
At Central Michigan University, the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship is more than a program—it’s where students from every major turn ideas into real impact. As Michigan’s first Department of Entrepreneurship, we’re a hub for hands-on learning, innovation, and mentorship.
Here, you’ll:
- Build an entrepreneurial mindset that sets you apart in any career path—launching ventures, shaping social missions, advancing family businesses, or driving innovation inside established companies.
- Collaborate across disciplines to create projects that matter.
- Learn from alumni, faculty, and industry leaders who’ve built their own paths.
- Gain real-world experience through workshops, hackathons, and pitch competitions.
- Compete in the New Venture Challenge, where students win up to $10,000 in cash and grants to grow their ideas.
Whether you want to start something new or transform what already exists, the Institute is your launchpad.
Take the next step!
When you’re ready to get started, stop by Grawn 164 to join the team or visit the Idea Den in Grawn 166—your space to brainstorm, build, and take the next step.
Questions?
Central Michigan University ranked in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings for the second consecutive year. The QS World University Rankings is an international system that incorporates the research output of universities. The evaluation includes the impact, quality, and amount of research generated by a university.
Various metrics are used to rank the universities, with citations per faculty accounting for 20% of the QS criteria and participating in international research accounts for 5% of the criteria. Other factors affecting the overall ranking include sustainability and employment outcomes.
QS World University Rankings is one of three major systems to evaluate universities. Ranking in the QS World University Rankings system places CMU above other universities which remain unranked. Such rankings hold particular importance for international graduate students. Many countries will not send graduate students to universities that are not ranked in one of the three major systems.
The other two systems are Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai Ranking). THE is seen as one of the most prestigious ranking systems. David C. Weindorf, Ph.D., CMU’s Vice President for Research and Innovation, believes now that CMU has ranked for a second year in QS, it has a chance of ranking in THE in future years.
CMU recently surpassed Western Michigan University in scholarly output. WMU is currently ranked in both QS and THE. Surpassing WMU is another reason why Weindorf believes CMU will soon rank in THE.
One goal which Weindorf has for CMU is for the university to evolve in the way it views itself. CMU has long had a reputation for excellence in teaching, but he hopes that in the future, it will view itself as a truly comprehensive university – that is, one focused dually on teaching and research excellence. He says, “CMU’s research is unmistakably high in quality. We are addressing society’s grand challenges head on, not only in Michigan, but nationally and internationally as well.”
This story is brought to you by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.