That’s the point I’m making. A minor in business (or for some students, a secondary major in business) would be sufficient (or even better).
The problem is that many liberal arts colleges are not offering that. I am also aware of a number of liberal arts colleges that hide their business, because they do not feel it is “traditional education” enough. Hiding it is almost as bad as not having it. Rice seems to have the right idea, based upon this announcement.
I can’t tell you how many business classes it takes to be able to participate in a practical brainstorm in a company (adding value), but it certainly more than 1 or 2. Non-business kids catch up if they are very smart, but right out of the box - they sometimes look like they are being asked to play a sport they have never tried against kids who have been playing since they can walk.
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Yes, my current college student described this as not understanding context and even simple vocabulary. Not a business major, but has taken a couple of business classes so far, and encountered this fish-out-of-water feeling in the first one, intro to accounting, where everyone else seemed to know what was going on. While it wasn’t the most exciting course, just learning basic terms and concepts was a start, much less stressful to be initially confused in a class than confused on the job.
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More companies seem to expect applicants and new employees to hit the ground running, as they may not stay with one employer for long. One of my kids would never have sailed past her finance interviews without having the depth of a solid business major.
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@roycroftmom: Agree 100% with your above post.
During busy cycles, some new hires expecting training are often told to “figure it out on your own”.
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I don’t dismiss the value of a few business courses in accounting, corporate finance, investments, entrepreneurship, or even in option/derivative theory or risk management, etc. Perhaps even for all students (like personal finance which is now a standard course in many high schools). But I just think its value is too limited to be worth spending four years of your life. There’s also too much groupthink in business schools that there’re peoples like James Simons who don’t want to hire any of them.
Different schools have different levels of rigor, and different employers make different decisions. One of my kids changed majors into the business school and found it far more intellectually rigorous than her prior English major. She went to work for a major financial institution that only hires finance ( or if not offered at your school) econ majors. She is happy and well prepared.
Simons company, Renaissance Tech, seems to hire computer and math majors exclusively, with an outlier of physics rarely.
Renaissance specifically doesn’t want to hire business/finance majors. It does hire other majors, even though the firm is dominated by math/physics/CS majors.
RT has only 300 employees-it isnt hiring many college students regardless of major. IME, many large corporate employers hiring 1000 plus college grads annually do like business majors, YMMV.
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I was so close to sharing that, but held off.
Here is the good news for @1NJParent -types. Non-business majors can get internships, take stackable credits toward a certification or complete an intensive bootcamp.
Whether you believe in UG business or not (trends say you should), just don’t let your student graduate clueless.
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My D is triple majoring in Psych, Econ and Marketing, and was in a liberal arts initiative (like a core, but voluntary). She can totally vouch for the benefits of learning these different ways of thinking about the world, and how to bring them together. Being in the business school has also brought added internship, recruitment and career services/benefits. I think this is definitely more pronounced at the non-top schools, such as hers (Alabama).
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Indeed ! Every school has a completely different take on their “business” offerings and majors. Looking deep into core curriculum requirements and course descriptions is key. Bucknell for example, has an impressive overall program and USEFUL/RELEVANT majors to offer - refreshingly unique in a liberal arts environment.
Funny that Bucknell has always been that way, for as long as I can remember anyway. Ahead of their time among the LA colleges.
Might I suggest (and please note that this is not really a suggestion) that the discussion of the value of an undergraduate business degree be had on a different thread, if needed. Let this thread focus on Rice and hopefully allow prospective applicants to join the conversation.
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Rice was a school that always interested me until I found out I wanted to go all in on a business major rather than just a minor. I didn’t end up applying this year, but this is extremely unfortunate now given that they would have had exactly what I wanted now. I assume they will only start accepting undergrad freshman starting next year since the deadline for this year has already past.
Undergraduates in the class of 2024 and beyond will be eligible to declare the new business major. At Rice a student can choose any major and does not have to declare a major until the end of sophomore year.
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I predict employment recruiting will really pick up at Rice; it is already quite strong at UT/McCombs, and with Rice entering the arena, many employers will include both schools
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