Minor in Business
Description
The study of business is a liberal arts activity. The Business minor allows students to focus a course of study and co-curricular experiences on the different practices, skills, and issues involved in business careers. Despite the title, the minor should prove of interest to students who plan careers in both the profit and not-for-profit sectors. It consists of courses which emphasize skills in oral and written communication and quantitative analysis, courses in financial markets and accounting, a co-curricular practicum or case study, and a reflective paper that ties practical experience to the academic work of the minor and forms the basis of the minor portion of oral comprehensive exams. The Economics courses—Principles (Econ 101) and a course in finance (either Econ 262, 361, or 362) provide not only useful analytical models but also an introduction to the ways in which the important institutions of modern capitalism address human needs. The Philosophy course asks students to think more deeply about the role of commerce, markets, wealth, social and economic rights, and labor in society. The strongly recommended co-curricular and vocational experiences complement and reinforce the curricular component of the minor. The capstone essay requires students to reflect on how they will fulfill the goals of the Wabash College mission statement through their business endeavors.
The Business minor is administered by the Business Minor Committee. Upon declaring the minor at the end of their sophomore year, students will submit a plan of courses and co-curricular experiences along with a one-page rationale, which must be approved by the Business Minor Committee. At the end of each year, the committee will review all declared minors’ progress. Students interested in the minor should contact a member of the committee.
Current members of the committee are: Professors Frank Howland, Jill Lamberton, Peter Mikek, and Adriel Trott.
Requirements for the minor include 7.5 course credits and a capstone paper. A co-curricular experience is strongly recommended. Details are given below.
Requirements for the Minor
Students are required to take the following 7.5 credits:
- ECO 101
- RHE 101
- ENG 411 or ENG 410
- ACC 201
- ACC 202 or ACC 301
- ECO 251 (1/2)
- ECO 262 or ECO 361 or ECO 362
- PHI 218 — Philosophy of Commerce
- BUS 400 (Senior Capstone Project, non-credit bearing)
Additional courses may be added to the list of available courses with the approval of the Business Minor Committee, and the committee may approve substitute courses on a case-by-case basis. Note that ECO 262 does not count toward the Economics major.
Capstone Paper
In the fall of their senior year, students will enroll in BUS 400. At the beginning of that semester, students will meet with the instructors of BUS 400 to agree on a subject for the reflective essay. Business minors are required in that essay to think critically about how their curricular, co-curricular, and vocational experiences inform their understanding of the role of business in society and how these will help them to live humanely and act responsibly. In the unlikely event that the student has had no relevant co-curricular or vocational experiences, the Business Minor committee will assign to the student an appropriate case study upon which to base his essay. This essay will be read by two members of the Business Minor Committee. The course plan and the reflective essay will form the basis for the oral comprehensive exam.
Suggested Co-curricular experience
Students will be strongly encouraged to participate in one or more of these significant co-curricular experiences: LABB (Liberal Arts Bridge to Business), the Marketing, Finance, and Health Care Immersion programs, or at least one 8-week internship, or a comparable experiential learning activity. Students also will be strongly encouraged to participate in other co-curricular experiences, such as the New York Fall Break and the San Francisco Comps Week trips, and to attend talks given by alumni.