Omaha native and University of Nebraska–Lincoln senior Luke Pavel transferred to Nebraska from a small college to complete a degree in advertising and public relations. Pavel, looking for a way to expand his skill set, added a business minor to round out his experience. Once he started taking classes, he opted to add a business minor after talking to his academic advisor. The business minor for non-business majors, offered by the College of Business, is open to all students at Nebraska. The 18-credit-hour minor provides a critical overview in areas such as accounting, business law, economics, finance, marketing and management.
“Business is part of our lives, and by adding this minor I feel like I can be prepared to use the skills I learn in advertising and public relations and combine that with business skills, having the ability to apply it to a wide range of things,” Pavel said.
In addition to the business minor, the College of Business recently expanded its minor offerings to include business analytics, entrepreneurship, global leadership, law and business, and Clifton Builders management. The variety of new minors offers students a way to incorporate business basics and skills into any program of study.
“It’s my dream to attend law school, and when the opportunity arose to gain a law and business minor, I could not let it pass by. My first class focuses on the common law, and we are learning about how laws work and how attorneys interpret the laws for their cases. This minor will give me a background that other aspiring attorneys would not otherwise gain before law school,” said Elaina Bailey, a junior management major from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
By joining forces with the Nebraska College of Law, Nebraska Business offers the collaborative law and business minor that builds students’ familiarity with legal concepts for jobs that do not require a juris doctorate but require some knowledge of the law. Its four courses are taught by five Nebraska Law faculty, including former Chancellor Harvey Perlman.
“Position descriptions for non-attorney jobs listing legal knowledge as a qualification have dramatically increased, with national job sites like Indeed.com currently showing more than 80,000 listings,” said Dr. Donna Dudney, associate dean of undergraduate curriculum and programs and associate professor of finance. “We see the minor being a natural fit for business majors, but non-business majors can also benefit from legal knowledge. For example, an understanding of EPA regulations and compliance would complement a degree in environmental studies.”
Students can also develop sought-after skills in business analytics with the 12-credit-hour minor. Students build a solid technical foundation in data analysis and model-driven management decision-making skills.
“One of my biggest takeaways so far in my coursework is the importance of Excel proficiency. This minor has helped me build practical skills required in my future career as well as see its practical applications in the real world with the growth of big data,” said Tina Blaser, a junior accounting major from Bloomington, Illinois.
The 18-credit-hour entrepreneurship minor teaches students how to create successful businesses based on the expertise developed in their majors. With the 12-credit-hour global leadership minor, students learn to identify global opportunities and gain experience in real projects while studying abroad. The Clifton Builders management minor is offered to students selected for the Clifton Builders program, a three-year, cohort-based program that develops entrepreneurship and leadership skills. Applications for the 2019-20 Clifton Builders cohort are due February 1.
Students should visit business.unl.edu/businessminor for more information about each minor. Visit MyRed.unl.edu to enroll.