This spring, undergraduates at the University of Rochester will have the opportunity to declare a major in business, thanks to a new collaboration between the Arts, Sciences and Engineering's undergraduate College and the Simon School of Business. The major, which is an extension of the pre-existing business minor, was approved by the New York State Department of Education last month.
"The business major is a good fit for the College," said Richard Feldman, dean of the College at Rochester. "It builds upon the curriculum and course work found in the economics major while allowing undergraduates to take advantage of the many opportunities offered at the Simon School."
Feldman says that the College has seen increased student interest in a business major, which will provide an expanded selection of courses in economics and statistics, as well as business-related disciplines, including finance, accounting, marketing, operations management, and organizational strategy. Courses will be taught by both College and Simon faculty. Students will take nine courses required for the major, and then choose between two tracks; the first focuses on organizations and markets, the second on marketing.
"We are pleased to collaborate with the College to provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to major in business," said Mark Zupan, dean of the Simon School. "Our analytic, economics-based framework for solving complex business problems serves students well in an increasingly competitive global business environment."
The major, which has been in development for two years, was created by Feldman, Zupan, Ronald W. Hansen, senior associate dean for program development and William H. Meckling Professor of Business Administration at the Simon School, and Mark Bils, professor of economics. It will be supervised by a steering committee of faculty and administrators from both the College and the Simon School, including Feldman, Hansen, Bils, and Sanjog Misra, associate professor of marketing and applied statistics at Simon; Joanna Shuang Wu, associate professor of accounting at Simon; and Michael Wolkoff, senior lecturer in economics. The steering committee will monitor the program's enrollment numbers and course offerings, and oversee internships, special lectures, and other opportunities that can enhance the student experience.
The program will be jointly managed through the Multidisciplinary Center in the College and the Simon School. Students who complete this major will graduate with a bachelor of arts degree with a major in business from the College.
About the Simon Graduate School of Business
The Simon School prides itself as the place Where Thinkers Become Leaders™ and is currently ranked among the leading graduate business schools in the world in rankings published by the popular press, including BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Forbes. For example, the Financial Times recently rated the School 5th in the world for economics and 6th in the world for finance. More information about the Simon School is available on the World Wide Web at www.simon.rochester.edu.