<p>Ive been reading up on the double major of business economics and public policy (i think its also known as economic consulting and public policy analysis). Just want to hear any feedback on it, the courseload, the job and internship prospects and the like. I would prefer to hear from those who have had first hand experience, but all input is welcome, thanks!</p>
<p>seriously, nobody on this forum has had any experience with this?</p>
<p>You are asking about a very specific major in a very specific school–and it is currently holiday break (meaning students won’t be back and school–and therefore probably not checking out collegeconfidential) until around January 11th.</p>
<p>I can talk to you about the business school and my own son’s experiences there (as can many others on this forum), but if you are looking for one of the maybe only 170 people majoring in Business Economics, you will probably have to wait until after January 11th–or possibly even contact the school directly. </p>
<p>P.S. My own son considered this major, but decided to go into the Business–Legal Studies major instead because he thought that the Business Economics major focused too much on the banking or government fields only without focusing as much on the the private business consulting area. Kind of strange, too, since the school has a Management Consulting major at the MBA level that is really well-organized and focused on the organizational design and leadership fields sought out by the private sector.</p>
<p>thats interesting, the way I looked at it was that the prereqs and ICORE would give you the background you need in general business, and that Business economics and public policy would teach you how to apply those principles in a changing political and economic climate. i figured that it would eb very useful as a consultant to understand the implications of economic trends and new regulations and policies passed by state and federal governments.</p>
<p>Well, you might be right.</p>
<p>My own son has always been leaning towards a law degree, though–and his view was that he was looking at consulting from that perspective–i.e. business with a slant related to what is legal and meets regulatory requirements. Your perspective seems to be related to consulting based upon a changing geopolitical environment.</p>
<p>I’ve done consulting for many years and find that bringing both of these viewpoints–as well as understanding of the many possible ways to organize people to accomplish different tasks–is what is important. (By this last thing, I mean matrix versus teams versus straight line/staff distinctions). In today’s world, as the companies become more and more international, there may be a continued shift in the importance of each of these three (as well as other factors) when doing consulting work. Maybe I stress the regulatory a lot because that’s what my expertise is in–and maybe that’s why my son strayed into another field (and the major) that had courses that seemed more related to what he wants to do.</p>
<p>I felt like my prerequisite classes in management would give me the background I needed in learning to organize people, however, if i feel it does not I can always supplement with electives. you of course would know better than I, being that it is your field. Thank you for yuour input, by the way. I did not realize you were in consulting.</p>
<p>BEPP (Business Economics and Public Policy) is a great major if you want to go into consulting. It is by far the easiest double major in Kelley (it is about 6 or 7 classes to major in one, and then 2 more to get the double major), and BEPP students have the highest average GPA’s of all majors in the Kelley student (not sure if it is due to the toughness or type of students). The classes sound interesting (haven’t taken any though).</p>
<p>that all sounds great. Im pretty sure its the highest average starting salary too. It seems unique too. I known I certainly havent seen a similar major at many other b-schools.</p>
<p>Yes, it is very rare to see a Consulting undergraduate major at most B-schools. Usually this is only available at the masters level. (with a few notable exceptions, such as USC, Wharton, Virginia, etc.–and, of course, Indiana U)</p>
<p>P.S. I was in management consulting for over 15 years, but due to the economic downturn, I currently work as the financial manager for a large K-12 school district here in California. (And yes, the salaries are better in consulting.)</p>