Major/Minor Requirements

The Business and Entrepreneurship (B & E) program harnesses the power of liberal arts education to prepare students for thoughtful leadership of and engagement with for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, and start-up ventures.  Broadly speaking, “business” refers to the various aspects of managing the people and resources of an organization to meet the goals of the organization within a market framework, while "entrepreneurship" refers to taking initiative and creating positive change in the world through a start-up or in an existing entity. 

The B & E program offers to distinct academic programs: 1) the Business & Entrepreneurship (BUEN) major; 2) the Interdisciplinary Area in Innovation & Entrepreneurship (IA in I & E).

The BUEN major allows students to understand the role of business within society, develop depth within a chosen focus area related to business, and better prepare them for their lives after Lawrence.  The BUEN major is for students who plan to continue into careers in for-profit businesses and not-for-profit organizations, both in the United States and globally.

Students begin the BUEN major with three introductory courses: 1) Business and Society (BUEN 100);  2) Introductory Economics (ECON 100); and 3) Fundamentals of Accounting (BUEN 120).   Students then move on to an intermediate group of core courses that add breadth of both perspective and skills in accounting and financial management, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

In addition, students take a course that helps them to understand business "for the greater good," a class that focuses on the ethical, environmental, and/or societal aspects of business in both theory and practice. This requirement asks students to think critically about the choices that confront businesses today and how businesses have, or have failed to, or could contribute to the greater good of our society.

The BUEN major further requires students to select a focus area (four additional courses) that provides their major with a deeper level of engagement and understanding. Students may currently select from: 1) Entrepreneurship; 2) Arts Entrepreneurship; 3) Business Analytics; 4) Global Business; 5) Natural Resource and Energy Management. Students may also self-design their own focus area, with approval of their advisor and the B & E director. Each focus area requires some courses that bridge business topics and skills from relevant disciplines.

The Experiential Learning requirement of the BUEN major helps to "learn by doing" in a non-classroom setting.  There are a number of ways to fulfill this requirement (see below), but many students will opt for an off-campus internship between their junior and senior years. 

The BUEN Senior Experience seminar (BUEN 600) emphasizes the benefits of blending the tools of business disciplines with multiple liberal arts perspectives on understanding business and its place, history, challenges, and promise in society.  It furthers integrates the Experiential Learning requirement of the major so that students have both an understanding of business and entrepreneurship in theory and in practice. 

 

 

The major in Business & Entrepreneurship requires the following courses:

Introductory level (3 courses):

BUEN 100:  Business and Society

BUEN 120/I-E 120: Fundamentals of Accounting

ECON 100: Introductory Economics

Intermediate core  (4 courses for breadth):

I-E 100, In Pursuit of Innovation or I-E 245/GOVT 248, Social Entrepreneurship

BUEN 220/I-E 220  Foundations of Financial Management 

BUEN 250/I-E 250: Introduction to Marketing

Business and the Greater Good –– select one course from this list of options: 

• BUEN/HIST 307,  History of Black Business in 20th Century America
• BUEN/ETST 342, Workplace Diversity and Equity
• BUEN 365, Ethical Issues in Business Today
• BUEN 370/ECON 289, Natural Resource Governance
• ENST/ECON/GOVT 151, Introduction to Environmental Policy
• ENST/GOVT 270/GLST 271, Global Environmental Politics

Additional courses, including courses taken during off-campus study, may meet this requirement with approval of the advisor and Director of B & E. 

Focus area  (4 courses for depth) - select one area only:

Students should consult their academic advisor for the BUEN major or the Director of B & E for a full list of approved electives for each focus area.

Students who are pursuing the IA in I&E may not select the Entrepreneurship focus area of the BUEN major.

Entrepreneurship

     a. I-E 300, Entrepreneurial Ventures

     b. 12-units of Entrepreneurship electives

     c. 6-units of  BUEN electives

Arts Entrepreneurship

     a. BUEN 150/MUEP 150, Introduction to Arts Management

     b. I-E 280/MUSI 280, Entrepreneurial Musician 

     c. 6-units of Arts Entrepreneurship electives 

    d. 6-units of  BUEN elective 

Business Analytics

     a. ECON 223, Quantitative Decision Making

     b. STAT 255, Statistics for Data Science 

     c. 6-units of Business Analytics electives

     d. 6-units of BUEN elective

Global Business

     a. BUEN 350, Global Business 

     b. One elective on communication drawn from the list below

• FREN 310/BUEN 310, Professional Communication Francophone World
• SPAN 360/BUEN/I-E 315, Introduction to Spanish for Business
• LING 200, Intercultural Communication

     c. One elective drawn from the list below

• ECON 205/GLST 207, Introduction to International Economics
• GLST 100, Introduction to Global Studies
• GOVT/GLST 140, Introduction to International Relations
• GOVT 275/ECON 202, Global Economic Relations

     d. 6-units of Global Business electives

Natural Resource and Energy Management

     a.  BUEN 370/ECON 289, Natural Resource Governance

     b. ECON 285, Natural Resource and Energy Economics

     c. 6-units of Natural Resource and Energy Management electives

     d. 6-units of BUEN electives

Self-designed Focus Area

Students have the option of working with their advisor to propose a set of courses with an explanation of how these courses would result in a coherent focus area in the BUEN major. Students interested in doing this should plan with their advisor and consult the director of B & E before beginning their junior year at Lawrence or, for transfer students, in their first year at Lawrence. The Self-designed focus area must be approved both by the advisor and the Director of B & E.  

Experiential Learning Requirement:

BUEN 594: Experiential Learning and Professional Preparation

In addition to completing BUEN 594, all students are required to do an experiential learning component, which can be fulfilled in one of the following ways:  

     a. Internship, not-for-credit, usually taken in the summer after the junior year

     b. Internship, for-credit, taken during the academic year under the direction of a faculty supervisor 

      c. Internship, for-credit, taking during an off-campus program, such as that offered at the London Centre

     d. Practicum, including BUEN 396, Practicum in Business & Entrepreneurship,  I-E 395, 595, 695, Practicum in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, I-E 255, Start-Up Theatre, and KidsGive. Other practicum options may be accepted with the approval of the Director of B & E. 

     e.  BUEN 401/I-E 401 Field Experience in Development  (includes two, 3-unit courses plus a travel component) 

     f. Shadowing experience with a for-profit or not-for profit business organization 

Approval of the Experiential Learning Requirement is a two-step process. 

Step 1) Students submit to their advisor The Experiential Learning Interest Form no later than the beginning of their junior year. 

Step 2) Students submit the Experiential Learning Agreement to the Director of the B & E program no later than the end of the junior year. These Agreements will be reviewed in conjunction with a member of the Career Center staff. Students who plan on an off-campus internship or shadowing  must have completed the form BEFORE the experience begins.

Senior Experience: 

BUEN 600, Senior Experience seminar (3 units)

Additional information:

Transfer students planning to major in BUEN should consult their advisor at an early date to develop a program for completing the major in a timely fashion.

The BUEN major encourages its students to make full use of the programs and opportunities offered by Lawrence University, including study abroad exploration.  Students should consult the office of Off-Campus programs, their advisor, or the Director of B & E for more information on the programs best suited for their interests and needs. 

All BUEN majors complete an Experiential Learning requirement which enables them to "learn by doing."  Students fulfill this requirement by completing:

1) BUEN 594: Experiential Learning and Professional Preparation, a 2-unit course taught in conjunction with a career service professional.  This course prepares and facilitates the Experiential Learning Activity selected by the students, and support students pursuing a variety of career paths. 

2) Experiential Learning activity, which can be fulfilled in one of the following ways:  

     a. Internship, not-for-credit, usually taken in the summer after the junior year

     b. Internship, for-credit, taken during the academic year under the direction of a faculty supervisor 

      c. Internship, for-credit, taking during an off-campus program, such as that offered at the London Centre

     d. Practicum, including BUEN 396, Practicum in Business & Entrepreneurship,  I-E 395, 595, 695, Practicum in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, I-E 255, Start-Up Theatre, and KidsGive. Other practicum options may be accepted with the approval of the Director of B & E. 

     e.  BUEN 401/I-E 401 Field Experience in Development (includes two, 3-unit courses plus a travel component) 

     f. Shadowing experience with a for-profit or not-for profit business organization 

Approval of the Experiential Learning Activity is a two-step process. 

Step 1) Students submit to their advisor The Experiential Learning Interest Form no later than the beginning of their junior year. 

Step 2) Students submit the Experiential Learning Agreement to the Director of the B & E program no later than the end of the junior year. These Agreements will be reviewed in conjunction with a member of the Career Center staff. Students who plan on an off-campus internship or shadowing must have completed the form BEFORE the experience begins.

  

 

 

The Senior Experience seminar (BUEN 600) provides a bookend to the introductory Business and Society course. Through readings, discussions, and guest speakers, students will consider diverse topics related to contemporary business and entrepreneurship. The Senior Experience seminar also provides a structure for students to reflect on their learning in the major, including the experiential component, and to connect those experiences to their future career plans, goals, and aspirations.