Non-Business Requirements for the Business Major

The following applies starting with the Class of 2028.

A business degree at a liberal arts university is not just about learning how markets work or how to read a balance sheet. It is also about developing the judgment, context, and perspective to make decisions that are thoughtful, ethical, and responsive to the world around you.

To support that goal, the Business Administration major requires that you take one class from each of the following three categories outside of the business administration department. While we only require one course from each category, we strongly encourage students to make connections to all the liberal arts courses they take during their time here.

Macro Environment

Every business decision is made within a broader context. Understanding how political, economic, environmental, and cultural forces shape markets helps you anticipate change, evaluate risk, and make stronger strategic decisions. Prices depend on inflation, marketing is affected by demographic changes, and capital flows depend on global stability and international policy. You learn to connect business choices to the larger world—an essential skill for strategic planning, sustainability, public policy, and corporate responsibility.

Human Considerations

Markets, workplaces, and industries are all driven by human behavior. These courses help you understand how individuals and groups think, interact, and are shaped by their communities. Leadership depends on motivation, persuasion depends on perception and attention, and teamwork depends on trust and communication. You may learn about motivation, identity, social dynamics, perceptions of risk, or the cultural contexts that influence behavior. This knowledge will matter for management, organizational culture, marketing and branding, and customer insight.

Abilities, Skills, & Knowledge (ASK) 

ASK courses help you take business knowledge further by developing deeper expertise in areas that make business ideas work. You may choose to specialize in writing, design, technical tools, languages, data, or other areas where sustained practice matters. Building depth in a skill gives you a competitive advantage in the world. You can communicate in more precise ways, understand audiences more fully, handle complex information, and execute ideas with confidence. A business strategy becomes stronger when you can write persuasively, model data accurately, design something people want to use, or engage with another culture fluently. These courses allow you to build that expertise in contexts beyond business, then bring it back into your major.

Note: There is no guarantee that courses outside the Business Administration Department will be offered in a manner that fits into an individual student’s specific schedule. Furthermore, some courses may require a student to be simultaneously progressing in a different major/minor. Put another way: not all courses that possibly count towards the Business Administration major are going to be available to every Business Administration student.