Business Minor for Non-Business Majors

Put your passion to work.

Do you have a passion in another academic program? Do you want to apply real-world principles to make it work for you professionally? Great—welcome to business!

The Business Minor will give you the knowledge, confidence, and resourcefulness to give your passion a professional boost. There are quite a few requirements, so read on to get started.

Here are a few things you must know.

• Be aware of the minor requirements. You don't want to get to the end of your senior year and realize that you forgot a requirement, you know?
• Students from across campus should be able to enroll into the four Prerequisite Courses prerequisites, but you'll experience registration restrictions when attempting to enroll into the required Business Minor Core and Elective courses. Only admitted Business Minor students have enrollment access to the Business Minor courses offered in the fall and spring semesters.
• Prerequisite courses may be completed off campus.
• You must earn all the minor's Core and Elective courses from the Urbana-Champaign campus. No exceptions for Transfer and Study Abroad courses to meet the requirements for a business minor.
• Credit/No Credit courses won't be applied to the minor, so keep that in mind.
• You have to be admitted into the Business Minor program to earn the Business Minor.
• The Business Minor isn't available to students in the Technology & Management Minor
• The Business Minor isn't considered preparation for transfer into the College of Business.

Of course, if you have questions about any of these requirements, just email busminor@business.illinois.edu. We'll get it cleared up for you.

So how do you get started?

• Have at least 60 hours completed by the end of the fall semester for the January Application period. Have at least 60 hours completed by the end of the spring semester for the May Application period.
• Applicants for the January Application period must have completed all of the Prerequisite Courses by the end of December.  Applicants for the May Application period must have completed all of the Prerequisite Courses by the end of May.  The UIUC approved Prerequisite Course substitutes are listed at the bottom of this page.  Oh, and the Prerequisite Courses (or substitutes) must have been completed with a Letter Grade, however, exceptions will be permitted for earned AP credits.
• Applicants must have a Cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher for the Four Prerequisite Courses to qualify for possible admission into the Business Minor Program.
• Applicants must be in Academic Good Standing (2.00 or higher Cumulative GPA).

Prerequisite Courses:

• STAT 100: Statistics
  ECON 102: Microeconomic Principles
  CS 105: Intro Computing: Non-Tech
  MATH 234: Calculus for Business I
  
• Complete step 1 of the University's Statement of Intent to Pursue a Campus-Approved Minor form. This is the official admissions application form.

The College of Business accepts admission applications January 1-31 and May 1-31. Applications must be submitted into the College of Business's Office of Undergraduate Affairs in 1055 Business Instructional Facility (BIF). You'll be notified of an admission decision by mid-February or mid-June. If you're officially admitted into the Business Minor, you'll be given enrollment instructions. Admission is competitive, based on the cumulative and prerequisite GPAs of the pool of applicants. Planning to pursue the Business Minor does not offer special registration privileges.

Required Business Minor Core Courses:

You'll enroll in ACCY 200 and BADM 310 in the fall semesters, and BADM 320 and FIN 221 in the spring semesters. You can also take these courses during UIUC's summer sessions (but enrollment during the summer is based on classroom space availability).

Sample Schedule

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

First Year 

ACCY 200 & BADM 310

BADM 320 & FIN 221

Second Year

Elective

Elective

ACCY 200: Fundamentals of Accounting

It's designed for non-business majors, and shows you how to understand and interpret accounting principles as they're used in the real world.

BADM 310: Management and Organizational Behavior

It's management and org behavior from a systems point of view. So you'll study classical organizational theory and management, organizational behavior and management science, environmental forces, planning, organizing and control processes, motivation, incentives, leadership, communication, and interpersonal relations. You'll also discuss production, decision-making, and mathematical processes.

BADM 320: Principles of Marketing

An overview of marketing, this course will teach you how fundamental concepts are used in a management setting, including planning, organization, control, and decision making.

FIN 221: Corporate Finance

Learn how financial managers' choices add value to shareholder wealth through investment financing and operating decisions, in this introductory study of corporate financial management.

Minor Elective Courses:

You must select at least 2 of these to complete your minor requirements. You can take them any time after you've fulfilled any of the Elective course's prerequisites.

• BADM 300: The Legal Environment of Business
• BADM 313: Human Resource Management - Prerequisite: BADM 310
• BADM 321: Principles of Retailing - Prerequisite: BADM 320
• BADM 322: Marketing Research - Prerequisite: BADM 320 and STAT 100
• BADM 325: Consumer Behavior - Prerequisite: BADM 320
• BADM 340: Ethical Dilemmas in Business
• BADM 350: Information Technology for Networked Organizations
• BADM 352: Database Design and Management
• BADM 379: Business Process Improvement
• BADM 380: International Business

Prerequisite substitutes:

Prerequisite substitutes for STAT 100:

• ABE 440
• ACE 261
• ANSC 440
• CEE 202
• CHLH 244
• CPSC 440
• ECE 313
• ECON 202
• EPSY 280
• EPSY 480
• FSHN 440
• GE 331
• GEOG 280
• IE 300
• MATH 161
• MATH 408
• MATH 461
• MATH 463
• NRES 440
• PSYCH 235
• PSYCH 301
• SOC 280
• SOCW 427
• STAT 200
• STAT 400
• STAT 408
• STAT 451
• UP 116
•  

Prerequisite substitutes for ECON 102:

• ACE 100
• ECON 101
•  

Prerequisite substitutes for CS 105:

• ACE 161
• CS 101
• CS 125
• CS 225
• ECE 190
•  

Prerequisite substitutes for MATH 234:

• MATH 220
• MATH 221
• MATH 231
• MATH 241

Substitute courses can also be determined using the web tool Transfer.org.

Still have questions?

Here are some FAQs that might help.

Can I take any of the Prerequisite or required Business Minor courses for credit/no credit?

No.

Can I take any required Business Minor courses off campus at another college or university?

Only prerequisites can be completed off campus. ACCY 200, FIN 221, BADM 310, BADM 320, and Electives must be earned from the UIUC campus.

What GPA do I have to earn in the Prerequisite Courses to apply for the Business Minor?

Your cumulative GPA in prerequisite courses must be a 2.00 or higher.

Are there any students who are unable to receive a Business Minor?

Yes. Technology & Management Minor students aren't able to earn a Business Minor.

How do I register for required Business Minor courses after I'm admitted?

You'll be notified by the College of Business with enrollment instructions.

What's the timeline for Business Minor admittance?

Applications are only accepted in January and May. They'll be reviewed in February and June. You'll be notified of a decision by mid-February or mid-June.

Where can I obtain the Statement of Intent to Pursue a Campus-Approved Minor?

Right here: How to "Declare" a Minor