The UA's Karl Eller Center and McGuire Entrepreneurship program was ranked second in Entrepreneur magazine's annual "Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges and Universities" this week.

The UA is one of five programs to have held the national top-tier status from last year.

The listing, compiled by votes from entrepreneurship program directors, faculty and alumni, analyzed more than 60 program elements from hundreds of programs across the country.

The ranking only applies to entrepreneurship programs and does not consider other school disciplines, areas of focus or reputation factors.

Kenneth Smith, interim dean of the Eller College, said the recognition was well-deserved.

Karl Eller worked hard to establish a prominent entrepreneurship program that would prepare students for success, Smith said.

"It has been incredibly rewarding to see Karl's vision become a nationally recognized reality," he said.

Gary Libecap, director of the Karl Eller Center and McGuire Entrepreneurship Program, said the program is giving students the tools they need to succeed in business.

"We are constantly evolving the experiential learning-based program to prepare students for the business climate of tomorrow," he said.

California-based venture research firm TechKnowledgePoint Corp compiles the Entrepreneur rankings.

David Newton, founder and CEO of the corporation, said programs like Arizona's have some of the best course offerings, faculty and special initiatives in the country.

"Schools like Arizona, DePaul, Maryland and others have made entrepreneurship their flagship effort," he said.

The rankings designate 12 top tier programs per year.

The other four programs that have remained top tier are Babson College; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Programs that have dropped from the national top tier include Harvard, Stanford and Wake Forest.