Overview
Calvin College's business department is pleased to announce a New Business Major. The major is designed to be:
- Academically rigorous
- Relevant to current business practice
- Permeated with a Reformed Christian perspective
The new major is structured so that after exploring and establishing a foundation for business study, all business students engage a core of business courses that address general and functional areas of business - management, strategic management, business ethics, marketing, and finance.
Students in the new Business Major will select an area of concentration designed to prepare them for entry-level positions in business. The concentrations include: Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, and Small Business Management.
Finally, all business majors will take a Senior Business Capstone that engages teams of students in a "live" business setting where they integrate and apply the knowledge, skills, and virtues they have gained from earlier coursework as they tackle real problems and develop solutions for area businesses.
The new major will allow business majors to gain essential business knowledge, skills and virtues to be prepared to take transformational leadership roles in business and society.
Students are encouraged to take core and elective courses in the history, politics, culture, and languages of other countries.
Other Program Features
The Business Department offers a variety of experiential learning opportunities through internships. Internships are four credit hour classes in which students attend seminars and work 10-15 hours a week with a local firm in a field of the student's choosing. Internships are normally taken during the senior year. In addition, Calvin's Service Learning Center offers opportunities to participate in community service.
Requirements:
For full course descriptions see the course catalog.
I. Exploration (3 credits required)
- BUS 160
II. Foundation (19 credits required)
- Accounting - BUS 203, BUS 204 (A "C" or above in BUS 203 is the gateway requirement for the business major)
- Economics - ECON 221, ECON 222
- Quantitative Methods - MATH 143, IS 171
III. Business Core (15 credits required)
- Organizations and Management - BUS 360 (Which also fulfills the Integrative Studies college core requirement)
- Ethics in Business - BUS 362
- Financial Principles - BUS 370
- Marketing - BUS 380
- Business Strategy - BUS 396
IV. Depth - Business Concentrations
The new Business Major offers concentrations in four functional areas of business: Marketing, Finance, Human Resources and Operations. We will also offer a concentration in Small Business Management
V. Integration (3 credits required)
- Business Capstone - BUS 397
Concentrations:
Students will prepare themselves for productive participation in a functional area of business by developing a depth of understanding in a business concentration that is selected based on each student's particular calling, interests and gifts. A business concentration in Marketing will enable Calvin business graduates to engage in market research, advertising, public relations, or product development. A concentration in Finance will prepare students for opportunities in banking, insurance, the securities industry or in corporate finance. The Human Resource concentration will enable students to participate as HR generalists, recruiters, or compensation and benefits specialists. A concentration in operations will enable students to pursue employment in operations, supply chain management or manufacturing. Finally, for students with a particular passion for small business management, we offer a concentration in Small Business Management which is designed to provide the knowledge, skills, and virtues necessary to be part of a small business, a family business or to engage in entrepreneurial opportunities.
Business department graduates and students who have taken the Internship in Business indicate they have learned a great deal through these experiential learning opportunities. The New Business Major enhances experiential learning opportunities. Many of our concentrations include the ability to use an Internship in Business (BUS 359) toward the concentration requirement. In addition, we have added the Business Capstone (BUS 397); A significant component of this course will be to engage with an area business to tackle real problems and develop business solutions.
I. Marketing
- Consumer Behavior Theory and Practice - BUS 382
Plus one of the following:
- Advanced Topics in Marketing - BUS 381
- Advertising and Public Relations - CAS 385
- Internship in Marketing - BUS359
II. Finance
- Financial Instruments and Markets - BUS 371
Plus one of from the following:
- Advanced Topics in Finance - BUS 372
- Money and Banking - ECON 331
- Business Cycles and Forecasting - ECON 326
- Internship in Finance - BUS 359
III. Human Resources
- Human Resource Management - BUS 365
Plus one from the following:
- Labor Economics - ECON 365
- Organizational Psychology - PSYCH 301
- Social Psychology - PSYCH 310
- Internship in Human Resources - BUS 359
IV. Operations
- Quantitative Methods for Management - MATH 201
- Production and Operations Management - BUS 363
V. Small Business
- Small Business Management - BUS 364
Plus two of the following:
- Law in Business - BUS 350
- Production and Operations Management - BUS 363
- Human Resource Management - BUS 365
Business Honors Requirements
- A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 and a total of 6 honors courses (college requirement).
- At least three honors courses in the major, one of which will ordinarily be taken before the senior year.
- A GPA in the major of at least 3.3.
- Completion of a thesis in Business 390H with a grade of at least B (3.0).
For more information on the business or any other honors program, refer to Calvin's Honors Program web site.