Small Business/Entrepreneurship

Department: Business Administration
Department Chair: Craig Roger
Program Options: B.A., B.S.

The small business/entrepreneurship major prepares you to start your own business. This major provides a broad business foundation. You will have many opportunities to develop hands-on skills. For example, you will perform marketing research and prepare market plans using real businesses as case studies. You will learn about major aspects of business, including leadership, quality, teams, marketing and finance. In the capstone course, you will learn what it takes to work as the administrator and manager for start up ventures. You will complete an internship with a woman-owned small business here in Minnesota, where women have initiated about 70 percent of new business startups in the last two decades.

More people are entering entrepreneurial or small business ventures every year. Women are now the fastest growing segment of new business owners. And an entrepreneurial spirit is increasingly valued by many larger organizations that encourage managers to “take ownership” of their responsibilities. Small firms can work faster, with more flexibility, and take more chances than the large retail corporations.

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you’ll have more responsibility and will likely work much longer than the standard 40-hour week for a salary that may be low to begin with. But, if you like being in control of the operation, enjoy variety and change, and thrive on taking risks, you’ve found the right area to pursue.

Common Aspects of All Business Majors
When it comes to your career, you mean business. And so does the College of St. Catherine. As a small business/entrepreneurship major at St. Kate’s, you’ll benefit from a comprehensive business education that draws on exceptional faculty from academia and business, attracts outstanding students from around the country and world, weaves a focus on ethics into every course, provides introductions to leading corporations, potential employers and women role models and mentors, uses cutting-edge technology to enrich your studies and prepare you for the workforce and prepares you to succeed in the private, government or nonprofit sectors.

At St. Kate’s, you’ll have the opportunity to learn, work and study with business faculty who have real-world experience that enriches their theoretical expertise. There’s no dearth of women role models or creative ways to help you master the curriculum and reach your career goals. Other full-time professors, adjunct and international faculty provide just the right balance of the theoretical and the applied. You’ll not only become familiar with business theory and practice, but you’ll also begin to learn the art of being a successful businesswoman.

Faculty will work with you during your four years at St. Kate’s to develop your business portfolio, a requirement of graduation for students in the business administration department. Presenting a portfolio at a job interview is a powerful way to get the attention of potential employers and prove that you are the right woman for the job. Technology is fully integrated into the curriculum, and faculty will work with you as you learn to perform online research and prepare computer-based presentations. You will learn to integrate technology into your solutions for business problems.

St. Kate’s students frequently receive statewide recognition and scholarships through such organizations as Delta Mu Delta, an international business honor society, and Financial Executives International. St. Kate’s also has an active chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon, the national business fraternity, which offers practical business experience and connections with business executives to members along with opportunities to network with students from other colleges and universities.

St. Kate’s Professional Partnership program will match you up with successful alumnae in your field of interest who will provide links with other professionals and career advice. Most students also participate in internships during their junior and senior years. Internships will allow you to refine your skills, broaden your perspectives and make valuable professional connections. The Entrepreneur Internship program matches business majors with women-owned businesses.

More than 60 companies visit campus to meet students, share information about their companies and recruit potential interns and employees at the annual St. Catherine’s Business Career Fair. Workshops prepare students on résumé writing, researching companies and interviewing. Many St. Kate’s students also attend the Minnesota Private College Job Fair — another excellent opportunity to connect with potential employers.

See also: Accounting, Business-to-Business Sales, Information Systems, Marketing and Management, Financial Economics, International Business and Economics, Management Information Systems.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

ACCT 2110 Financial Accounting
ACCT 2130 Managerial Accounting
ACCT 3210 Financial Management
BUSI 3650 Business Law
BUSI 4440 Small Business/Entrepreneurship
BUSI 4752 Business Practicum (2 credits)
MGMT 2400 Principles of Management
MGMT 3400 Advanced Management
MKTG 2300 Introduction to Marketing (2 credits)
MKTG 3350 Buyer Behavior & Market Research
MKTG 4300 Advanced Marketing

Required supporting courses:
ECON 2250 Statistical Analysis for Economics and Business or ECON 2200 Statistical Analysis for the Social Sciences or MATH 1080 Statistical Analysis or PSYC 2050 Statistical Methods in Psychology
ECON 2610 Principles of Microeconomics
ECON 2620 Principles of Macroeconomics
INDI 2090 Promotional Communication
MATH 1070 Finite Math Analysis or MATH 1130 Calculus I
PSYC 1001 General Psychology or SOCI 1000 Principles and Concepts of Sociology

NOTE: Small business/entrepreneurship majors can complete an economics minor with just two additional courses. ECON 3350 Money and Banking and ECON 3500 Managerial Economics are recommended.

Electives relevant to the small business/entrepreneurship major include:
ECON 3350 Money and Banking
ECON 3500 Managerial Economics
MGMT 3460 Managing a Diverse Workforce
MKTG 3500 International Marketing and Management
MKTG/MGMT4994 Topics

BUSINESS PORTFOLIO
All majors are required to complete a business portfolio. The portfolio is the vehicle that enables you to integrate the life skills and knowledge you bring with you and the knowledge, skills and values learned within the courses and field experiences throughout the program. This portfolio allows you to validate your experiences at the College of St. Catherine.

The portfolio is cumulative in nature; most aspects are completed as part of course work. You must present your portfolio to your advisor no later than September 30 if you will be a December graduate, or February 15 if you will be a May graduate.

For specific portfolio requirements, please refer to the Professional Portfolio Handbook.

Small Business/Entrepreneurship majors satisfy the Writing Requirement for Majors by completing INDI 2090. You complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Writing Requirement with three other writing-intensive courses (CORE 1000 and CORE 3990, and any other writing-intensive course in this or another department).

URL: http://minerva.stkate.edu/academiccatalog0709.nsf/pages/small_business_entrepreneurship
This page was created on 05/03/2007 and last updated on 05/03/2007.
Comments, questions and feedback about this site may be addressed to registrar@stkate.edu.