Business Studies

Georgetown College offers a minor in Business Studies.

[The Business Administration minor has been renamed starting with the Class of 2024, with some adjustments made to the curriculum as well.]

The Business Studies minor in Georgetown College offers students an opportunity to develop business knowledge and skills, in combination with their liberal arts education, to better equip them to contribute to the global economy with creativity and integrity. This minor brings College students together with McDonough School of Business (MSB) students in various curricular programs to examine the field of business from diverse intellectual perspectives and more thoroughly understand business in a cultural, political and social context. The minor allows College students to take business courses in the six main areas of: accounting; finance; operations and analytics; management; marketing; and strategy. Students may also take courses in selected liberal arts disciplines that build bridges between a student’s major, minor or other interests and the broad field of business. Students accepted to the Business Studies minor may not take more business courses than the minor requires. Students accepted to the Business Studies minor and students interested in applying for the minor should not take ACCT 001 or FINC 150.

Minor in Business Studies

College students are eligible to apply for the Business Studies minor if they:

  • are in the spring semester of sophomore year,
  • will complete 2 prerequisites (see below) before the spring semester of sophomore year,
  • have earned a 3.3 grade point average cumulatively and in the prerequisite courses.*

*While a minimum 3.3 g.p.a. is preferred, applications are reviewed by the committee in a holistic manner.

The program is limited to 50 students per class, selected on the basis of an application submitted in spring of their sophomore year. Junior and senior students are not eligible to apply retroactively.* The application will consist of an essay outlining the student’s reasons for seeking a minor in Business Studies, with an emphasis on how the minor would complement the student’s other major or minor interests. A committee of deans from the College and the McDonough School of Business will review the applications.

*Interested transfer students who matriculate to Georgetown in spring of sophomore year or in junior year should speak to their advisor as soon as possible upon matriculation to Georgetown.

Requirements for the Minor 

2 prerequisites:

  • 1 Statistics course (MATH 040, MATH 140, OPIM 173, ECON 121, or GOVT 201)
  • 1 Economics course (ECON 001, ECON 002, or ECON 003)

6 required courses (plus OPIM-170)

  • ACCT 101, Accounting I
  • 2 of the following core business courses:* 
    • FINC 211, Business Financial Management
    • MARK 220, Principles of Marketing
    • MGMT 201, Management and Organizational Behavior
    • MGMT 220, Foundation of Entrepreneurship
    • OPIM 220, Modeling Analytics
    • STRT 261, International Business
    • STRT 283, Strategic Management

*Students should check prerequisites for specific courses in advance. Students may need additional coursework before enrolling in certain core business courses.

  • 3 Electives: Students must take at least 2 additional courses in the MSB. (Note: ACCT 001, FINC 150, OPIM 170, OPIM 172 and OPIM 173 do not count toward this requirement.) Students may choose to take a broad-based minor or to specialize in a single area by taking multiple electives in one area to gain in-depth knowledge. Students may choose the 2 MSB courses from offerings in:
    • Accounting
    • Finance
    • Management
    • Marketing
    • Operations and Analytics
    • Strategy
    • The third elective may be from any of the above MSB areas or from the list of approved College “Bridge Electives”.  These are designated electives in College departments that explore the cultural, political, and social contexts of business. The list of College Bridge Electives is maintained by the College Dean’s Office. Students are encouraged to take a Bridge Elective in their major or minor discipline, or in another area of interest to enhance the integration of their curricular programs. This course, however, will only count toward the Business Studies Minor, and not toward the student’s major or other minors. (Note: “Bridge electives” must be taken in the College. They cannot be transferred from other schools in the University or from abroad).

Study Abroad

Students are strongly advised to complete all business electives on campus at Georgetown. Study abroad programs should be appropriate for students’ majors, but students may receive credit toward the Business Studies minor for a course (maximum of one) taken while studying abroad. The course must be approved in advance by the MSB Undergraduate Program Office. For more information, including to view MSB-approved study abroad programs, please visit the website for the Office of Global Education.

Questions about the Business Studies minor may be directed to Assistant Dean Jessica Ciani-Dausch at cianij@georgetown.edu.