Business, Minor | Penn State

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Program Description

The Business minor is a strong complement to virtually any major. Courses prescribed for the minor are taught by Penn State faculty providing courses to the B.S. in Business and the A.S. in Business Administration. It provides students with the opportunity to develop and apply skills appropriate to the business contexts of their chosen majors. Students pursuing the Business minor must complete 13 credits of prescribed coursework and six credits of additional coursework. A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor. The prescribed thirteen credits of coursework presents students with a critical foundation of core business disciplines: accounting, management, marketing, and either macro- or micro-economics. The six credits of additional coursework must be taken at the 400-level.

The additional coursework enables students to expand on the core foundation in one of two ways. They may choose to solidify their business knowledge base by exploring six credits of 400-level business courses in the following disciplines:

Accounting
Business Administration
Business Law
Energy Business and Finance
Economics
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Financial Services
Health Policy and Administration
International Business
Labor Studies and Employment Relations
Management Information Systems
Management
Marketing
Risk Management
Supply Chain Management
Statistics

Alternately, students can augment three credits of 400-level coursework in one of the above listed business disciplines with three credits of 400-level work from an approved list of specific business-related course in disciplines such as:

Communication Arts and Sciences
Corporate Communication
Communications
Criminal Justice
Engineering
English
Human Development and Family Studies
History
Hospitality Management
Information Sciences and Technology
Kinesiology
Philosophy
Political Science
Psychology
Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
Sociology

What is Business?

Business is a professionally-oriented program providing a broad education and solid grounding of business knowledge. The Business minor complements any major and provides a broad education and introduction to business knowledge. With opportunities to learn about business disciplines, including accounting, management, marketing, and economics, students will gain skills and the tools to apply in any setting.

You Might Like This Program If...

You want to add business skills to strengthen your career options. You are not a business major, but are interested in working in a business setting. You enjoy courses in economics, accounting or other business disciplines. You are a collaborator, analytical thinker and effective communicator.

Program Requirements

Program Requirements
Requirement	Credits
Requirements for the Minor	19

Requirements for the Minor

A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Prescribed Courses
Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better
ACCTG 211	Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making	4
MGMT 301	Basic Management Concepts	3
MKTG 301	Principles of Marketing	3
Additional Courses
Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better
ECON 102	Introductory Microeconomic Analysis and Policy	3
or ECON 104	Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy
Supporting Courses and Related Areas
Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better
Select 3-6 credits at the 400 level from ACCTG, BA, BLAW, EBF, ECON, ENTR, FIN, FINSV, HPA, IB, LER, MIS, MGMT, MKTG, RM, SCM, or STAT		3-6
Select 0-3 credits at the 400-level from the following:		0-3
CAS 404	Conflict Resolution and Negotiation
CAS 452	Organizational Communication Theory and Research
CAS 483	Communication and Information Technology II
CC 401	Internal Communication
CC 490W	Seminar in Corporate Communication
COMM 421W	Advertising Creative Strategies
COMM 427	Client/Agency Relations
COMM 471	Public Relations Media and Methods
CRIMJ 408	Police Administration
CRIMJ/SOC 467	Law and Society
ENGL 419	Advanced Business Writing
ENGL 420	Writing for the Web
ENGR 425	New Venture Creation
HDFS 401	Project Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation in the Human Services
HDFS 424	Family Development in an Economic Context
HDFS 425
HDFS 455	Development and Administration of Human Services Programs
HIST 458Y	History of Work in America
HM 435	Hospitality Corporate Finance
HM 471
HM 484	Hospitality Entrepreneurship and Innovation
IST 402	Emerging Issues and Technologies
IST 420	Fundamentals of Systems and Enterprise Integration
IST 425	New Venture Creation
IST 431	The Information Environment
IST 432	Legal and Regulatory Environment of Information Science and Technology
IST 461	Database Management and Administration
KINES 438
KINES 492W	Programming for Business and Agencies
PHIL 406
PLSC 440	Globalization and Its Implications
PSYCH 404	Principles of Measurement
PSYCH 408	Program Evaluation
PSYCH 423	Social Psychology of Interpersonal/Intergroup Relationships
PSYCH 482	Selection and Assessment in Organizations
PSYCH 484	Work Attitudes and Motivation
PSYCH 485	Leadership in Work Settings
RPTM 410	Marketing of Recreation Services
RPTM 415	Commercial Recreation Management
RPTM 470	Recreation and Park Management
SOC 455	Work and Occupations
SOC 456	Gender, Occupations, and Professions

Academic Advising

The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.

Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.

READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY

Beaver

Talha Harcar
Professor of Marketing
100 University Drive
Monaca, PA 15061
724-773-3892
tdh13@psu.edu

Brandywine

Christine Olear
Assistant Teaching Professor, Accounting
207F Main
Media, PA 19063
610-892-1451
cmo16@psu.edu

DuBois

Laurie Breakey
Assistant Teaching Professor
171 Smeal Building
DuBois, PA 15801
814-375-4800
lhp5@psu.edu

Fayette

William Gardner
Assistant Teaching Professor
2201 University Drive
Lemont Furnace, PA 15456
724-430-4245
wsg3@psu.edu

Greater Allegheny

Advising Office
Academic Affairs
101 Frable Building
4000 University Drive
McKeesport, PA 15132
412-675-9140
GA-Academics@lists.psu.edu

Hazleton

Sherry Robinson
Associate Professor of Business
304 Pasco L. Schiavo Hall
Hazleton, PA 18202
570-450-3559
skr12@psu.edu

Mont Alto

Hanafiah Harvey
Associate Professor of Economics
205 General Studies Building
Mont Alto, PA 17237
717-749-6027
hhh10@psu.edu

New Kensington

Rujirutana Mandhachitara
Associate Professor
3550 Seventh Street Rd.
New Kensington, PA 15068
724-334-6769
rum20@psu.edu

Schuylkill

Angela Brown
Program Coordinator, Business
200 University Drive
Schuylkill Haven, PA 17972
570-385-6080
amb536@psu.edu

Scranton

James Wilkerson
Assistant Teaching Professor
Business Building 117
Dunmore, PA 18512
570-963-2643
jmw831@psu.edu

Shenango

Georgia Macris
Assistant Teaching Professor, Program Coordinator, Internship Coordinator, and Baccalaureate Program Adviser
147 Shenango Avenue
309C Sharon Hall
Sharon, PA 16146
724-983-2942
gxm32@psu.edu

Wilkes-Barre

Theresa Clemente
Program Coordinator, Business
44 University Drive
Dallas, PA 18612
570-675-9293
tmc12@psu.edu

York

Ali Kara
Professor of Business Administration
206 Grumbacher Building (GISTC)
York, PA 17403
717-771-4189
axk19@psu.edu

Berks

Sudip Ghosh
Program Coordinator, Associate Professor
Gaige 324
Reading, PA 19610
610-396-6346
BKBusiness@psu.edu

World Campus

Undergraduate Academic Advising
100 Innovation Blvd
Suite 225
University Park, PA 16803
814-863-3283
advising@worldcampus.psu.edu

Career Paths

Adding valuable business skill will strengthen your academic program and assist you in meeting admissions requirements for masters in business programs.

Careers

A minor in business will complement your major and provide a well-rounded skill set that can be applied in business, education, industry, health care or non-profit settings.

Opportunities for Graduate Studies

Upon completion of minor in business, you will have completed business disciplinary courses that can assist you in transitioning to master's of business (MBA) programs.