Undergraduate Business Minor
Source: https://business.rice.edu/undergraduate-programs/business-minor Parent: https://business.rice.edu/
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Jonathan Miles
Assistant Clinical Professor of Organizational Behavior\ Undergraduate Business Co-Advisor at Virani Undergraduate School of Business\ Undergraduate Business Minor Advisor
Enhance Your Career Potential by Gaining a Critical Understanding of Business Fundamentals
The business minor at the Virani Undergraduate School of Business allows you to complement your major field of study and develop a critical understanding of business concepts, decision-making frameworks and practical skills in communication, teamwork and organizational effectiveness.
Who It's For
If you are following your passion in the sciences, engineering, social sciences or humanities, a basic understanding of the fundamentals of business will bring value to whatever your future education or career goals may be. The courses in the program are open to any degree-seeking Rice undergraduate who meets enrollment requirements, not just to students who have declared an intention to complete the minor.
The Faculty
The business school faculty maintain an important balance between teaching and research. In every course, you have the opportunity to work one-on-one with an accessible, involved and energetic member of the faculty, who teaches in both the MBA program and business minor.
Rice Undergraduate Business Minor Courses
The undergraduate business minor is an integrated set of seven courses designed to provide Rice undergraduates with a foundation in essential business disciplines that are crucial in every field.
Choose six courses from the list below:
- BUSI 396 Business Communication (3) \ Introduces business communication with a focus on effective strategies and real-world practice. Students assess and develop individual communication skills while building oral and written communication abilities through team-based work.\ Prerequisites: BUSI 305 and BUSI 310\
- BUSI 305 Financial Accounting (3) \ Covers the preparation, analysis, and use of corporate financial statements. Topics include asset and liability valuation, income determination, receivables, inventory, present value concepts, tangible and intangible assets, bonds, leases, shareholder equity, intercorporate investments, consolidations, and cash flow accounting.\ No prerequisites\
- BUSI 310 Leading People in Organizations (3) \ Explores how psychological and social factors shape behavior in organizations such as companies, schools, and sports clubs. Topics include motivation, decision-making, fairness and justice, cross-cultural differences, teamwork, and influence strategies.\ No prerequisites\
- BUSI 343 Financial Management (3) \ Introduces the core concepts of corporate financial management and the tools used to evaluate financial decisions. The course applies time value of money, risk and return, and market efficiency to understand how investors value risky assets. Students develop a framework for analyzing corporate investment and financing decisions.\ Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 or STAT 180 or STAT 280 or SOSC 302 or STAT 305 or STAT 310 or STAT 312 or STAT 315 or DSCI 301 or ECON 307 or POLI 395 or PSYC 339) AND (BUSI 150 or ECON 100 or ECON 200) AND BUSI 305.\ Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for BUSI 343 if student has credit for ECON 343**\
- BUSI 374 Operations Management (3) \ Introduces the design and coordination of effective operations within organizations and across supply chains. Students learn how to manage and improve processes involving products, customers, and information. Topics include bottlenecks, inventory, queues, quality management, and selected strategic issues in operations.\ Prerequisite(s): BUSI 395 or STAT 180 or STAT 280 or SOSC 302 or STAT 305 or STAT 310 or STAT 312 or STAT 315 or DSCI 301 or ECON 307 or POLI 395 or PSYC 339\ Recommended Prerequisite(s): BUSI 305 and (ECON 100 or ECON 200 or BUSI 150)\
- BUSI 380 Marketing (3) \ Introduces the role of marketing in organizations and key marketing decisions faced by managers. Topics include marketing strategy and planning, customer behavior, segmentation and targeting, behavioral economics, product and brand management, distribution channels, sales, digital marketing, advertising, promotion, pricing, and integrated marketing strategy.\ Prerequisites: STAT 280 (See Frequently Asked Questions)\
- BUSI 390 Strategic Management (3) \ Focuses on how businesses develop and execute strategy in market and non-market environments. Topics include competitive and industry analysis, strategy formulation and implementation, and strategic planning. The course uses case studies of real companies alongside assigned readings.\ Prerequisites: BUSI 305\ Recommended Prerequisites: ECON 100 or BUSI 150 or ECON 200.\ Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for BUSI 390 if student has credit for BUSI 471
Interested in entrepreneurship?
The Virani Undergraduate School of Business at Rice Business offers an Entrepreneurship Minor, a collaborative program with the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing. This interdisciplinary minor provides students with a rigorous education in innovation and entrepreneurship, and is administered by the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie). \ \ Explore the Entrepreneurship Minor to discover how you can transform your ideas into real-world impact! \
Interested in accounting?
The following advanced accounting courses are open to undergraduate students and provide valuable preparation for the Master of Accounting (MAcc) degree. While they do not count toward the business major or minor, they are a part of the MAcc pathway.
- BUSI 405 Issues in Financial Reporting I (3)\ Building on BUSI 305, this course deepens understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and financial statement preparation for external users. Students examine key accounting issues, including revenue recognition, inventory costing, long-lived tangible and intangible assets, and discontinued operations, while evaluating alternative accounting methods. The course also covers the accounting cycle, financial statement interpretation, and essential written communication skills for accountants.\ Prerequisite: BUSI 305\
- BUSI 440 Auditing (3)\ This course examines the principles and procedures used by public accountants and internal auditors to assess the accuracy and fairness of financial statements. Topics include compliance and operational audits, professional standards and ethics, sampling methods, audit risk, internal controls, transaction cycles, audit reporting, professional skepticism, and the audit impact of information technology. The course also covers the roles of the PCAOB and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board in setting U.S. and international auditing standards.\ Prerequisite: BUSI 305
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the difference between the BUSI major and BUSI minor?
The business major builds on the minor. The two programs share six required courses, but the major has a higher level mathematics and statistics requirement, additional required courses in management accounting and operations management, and students in the major can earn a concentration in finance or management. Learn more about the difference in course requirements for the business major and minor. - Why pursue an undergraduate business minor?
The business minor complements and adds diversity to the outstanding courses available to Rice undergraduates. Students who are following their passions in the sciences, engineering, or the humanities can also acquire a basic understanding of the fundamentals of business. Moreover, through the business minor they can develop their critical thinking and communications skills, both of which will provide value whatever their future education or career goals may be. - Who can enroll for business minor courses?
The courses in the program are open to any degree-seeking Rice undergraduate who meets enrollment requirements, not just to students who have declared an intention to complete the minor. Two courses, Financial Accounting (BUSI 305), and Leading People in Organization (BUSI 310) have no prerequisites. Other courses require prior coursework at Rice in statistics and microeconomics. Please see the detailed course descriptions for specifics on these prerequisites. - Can I apply transfer credit towards the business minor at Rice?
No more than two courses (six credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the minor. - Can I waive the BUSI 305 Financial Accounting prerequisite before enrolling in BUSI 343 or BUSI 390?
Enrollment in BUSI 343 and BUSI 390 requires completion of BUSI 305 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING as a prerequisite. The program director will not approve requests to waive prerequisites for BUSI 343 or BUSI 390. For further details on course prerequisites, please see course descriptions. - Do students need the prerequisites?
Yes. Microeconomics and statistics are required because these courses provide the foundation for many of the concepts developed in the business courses. The statistics requirements can be fulfilled by completing STAT 280 or an approved alternative (see below). The economics requirement can be fulfilled by completing ECON 100 or BUSI 150 at Rice. - Which courses are approved alternatives to STAT 280?
The following courses are approved: BUSI 395 or STAT 180 or STAT 305 or STAT 310 or STAT 312 or STAT 315 or SOSC 302 or DSCI 301 or ECON 307 or POLI 395 or PSYC 339, plus any courses cross-listed with these courses.
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Have a Question?
Jonathan Miles
Assistant Clinical Professor of Organizational Behavior\ Undergraduate Business Co-Advisor at Virani Undergraduate School of Business\ Undergraduate Business Minor Advisor