Beginning next fall, students from across Tulane will have a new, more convenient way to acquire a foundation in business. The Freeman Business Minor is a new offering designed to introduce non-business majors to the fundamentals of business.
The six-course, 16.5-credit-hour curriculum combines core classes in accounting, business computing and statistical analysis with electives spanning all business areas, enabling students to tailor the program to their personal and professional interests.
“With demand for business education at an all-time high, this new minor gives students in Liberal Arts, Science & Engineering, Architecture and Public Health the option to integrate a coherent business curriculum into their program of study,” said Paulo Goes, dean of the Freeman School. “Business minor students will learn key theoretical concepts and gain the tools and frameworks needed to operate in financial, organizational and strategic contexts, and, significantly, they’ll be able to do it during the regular academic year and within their regular tuition structure.”
Previously, non-business majors could earn a business minor only through the Business Minor Summer Institute (BMSI), an intensive, cohort-based 10-week program offered only in the summer. The new minor streamlines the BMSI curriculum and introduces new classes exclusively for non-business majors, enabling students to complete the program’s requirements as part of their regular coarse load.
“What excites me the most about this minor is the very intentional way it was structured so that students from all majors across campus can take part in it,” said Myke Yest, associate dean of undergraduate education and co-chair of the Business Minor Task Force. Another key benefit of the minor is facilitating entry into Freeman’s 4+1 programs, which allow students to earn a master’s degree in select areas with just one additional year of study. By pursuing the business minor, nonbusiness majors can satisfy the requirements for entry into a 4+1 program, enabling them to take full advantage of the program’s cost and time savings.
“If non-business majors start planning early enough, they can use the new business minor to realize a significant savings in graduate tuition,” said Michael Burke, professor of management and co-chair of the Business Minor Task Force. “It gives them early exposure to business knowledge needed to pursue our 4+1 offerings, which is a big advantage of this new curriculum.” For students not interested in a 4+1 program, the minor offers even greater flexibility, enabling them to choose electives based on their personal or professional interests, from marketing, analytics and finance to management, energy and business law.
“Whether you’d like to be an artist, an engineer or anything in between, there’s value in being able to apply the concepts of finance, marketing and management to your role,” said Yest. “The business minor is designed to complement the learning you do in your major and give you tools you can draw on for the rest of your life.”
