Smith Business Minors: A Minor for all Terps

Smith student Philip Peker ’18 writes about the Smith Business Minor Program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Research, logistics, software development, arts management, creative, sports, journalism, engineering, medicine – whatever field you find yourself working in down the line, having some sort of base in business will allow you to take your career to the next level. The structure of the modern job market invites a greater influx of entrepreneurs from all walks of life, and rewards those that work hard and work for themselves. Luckily, the Smith Business Minor Program allows students from any school on campus to take business classes and receive a minor in Business Analytics, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, or General Business.

“Developed by Smith faculty Dr. Rajshree Agarwal and Dr. Protiti Dastidar together with the Provost’s office, the minor program allows undergraduates across campus incorporate business acumen into their academic journey,” says Melanie Ashton, Smith Business Minor Program champion and assistant program director. “The program took two-to-three years to develop, as the founding faculty conducted preliminary research and sent out surveys to all the different schools on campus to gauge interest. Within an hour of sending them out, the surveys returned a few thousand enthusiastic responses.” With demand confirmed, Smith went to work in fleshing out the minor program.

The Business Analytics minor, founded by Dr. Frank Alt, equips students with a solid technical foundation in data analysis and model-driven management decision making. With the growing ubiquity of big data, companies are more than ever looking for experts in data analysis and modeling to create competitive strategies for growth.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship minor gives students the necessary tools to innovate, problem solve, and strategize in entrepreneurial spaces. With digital going global, applications, cloud computing, and mobile/social innovation are sweeping Silicon Valley and beyond. The trick to differentiate is to tap into new market opportunities and leverage demand within the digital universe, a skill among many others that is taught within the minor program.

The General Business minor allows students with a deep knowledge core in their discipline of choice to pick up crucial business know-how from all perspectives; finance, logistics, marketing, accounting, management, and more.

A minor, to many, may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things. A few classes don’t stand a chance against a major course study of the same discipline, right? Yet, studies are showing that for those that are not business majors, a business minor will increase their value as a professional exponentially.

“Art majors may need to start their own studio at some point, theater majors may need to manage a whole troupe of performers, producers, and actors, engineers may need to make presentations to clients, and it goes on and on. The value of a business background in today’s job market cannot be overstated,” Dr. Protiti Dastidar, curriculum director of the Smith Business Minor Program, states.

Having a business foundation is also important for managing personal finance, credit, and assets. Even when you hire a third party to take care of your money, you must know the jargon and be able to stay afloat when talking about all these things. The business minor program covers all this and more. For the faculty members continually working on bettering the program, it has been a labor of love. The reward is seeing students who never thought they could market themselves or own their brand, do just that.

For more information about the Smith Business Minor Program, visit go.umd.edu/smithminors.