THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE AND TYPE OF START-UP FIRMS IN RURAL AREAS AND THE FACTORS THAT DETERMINE SUCCESS OR FAILURE.THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL BE LEVERAGED TO DEVELOP NEW MATERIALS AND INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS TO ENHANCE A UNIQUE COLLEGE CURRICULUM ON AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP. WE PROPOSE A FOUR YEAR INTEGRATED PROJECT COMBINING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR UNIVERSITY LEVEL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMS.WE WILL EMPLOY NATIONAL, FIRM-LEVEL DATA TO IDENTIFY FACTORS THAT INDUCE A START-UP TO LOCATE IN A RURAL RATHER THAN URBAN MARKET AND EXAMINE WHETHER THOSE FACTORS ALSO MATTER FOR FIRM SURVIVAL. WE WILL ASSESS WHETHER VARIATION IN STATE POLICIES HELPS EXPLAIN DIFFERENCES IN RURAL FIRM START-UP RATES AND SUCCESS ACROSS THE STATES. WE WILL SURVEY A SAMPLE OF RURAL ENTREPRENEURS TO IDENTIFY COMMON TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL RURAL FIRMS AND COMMON OBSTACLES TO SUCCESS IN RURAL REGIONS.LASTLY, WE WILL DEVELOP A RESEARCH-BASED ENTREPRENEURIAL CURRICULUM INCLUDING SIX TEACHING CASE STUDIES OF RURAL FIRMS, AIMED AT BUILDING THE REQUISITE SKILL SET TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF SUCCESSFUL RURAL ENTREPRENEURS. FINDINGS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN RURAL REGIONS.