Business Institutions Minor
The minor in Business Institutions meets the needs of Northwestern undergraduate students who want to learn about the world of business and the institutions that make it go.
Minor Requirements
The minor in Business Institutions requires the successful completion with a grade of C- or above of 11 courses: 4 prerequisite courses in mathematics, statistics, and economics; 4 business tools courses; 1 writing and speaking course; and 2 social science and humanities electives.
Students must complete the 4 prerequisite classes (with a minimum grade of C-) before declaring the minor.
Students interested in additional information should consult a program advisor and/or visit the program office, located at 2010 Sheridan Road. To schedule an academic advising appointment, please visit our booking website.
A current list of Social Science & Humanities Electives is located on our website.
Prerequisites (4 courses)
- MATH 218-1 or 220-1: Single-Variable Calculus with Precalculus / Single-Variable Differential Calculus
- STAT 210: Introductory Statistics for the Social Sciences (or equivalent)
- ECON 201: Intro to Macroeconomics
- ECON 202: Intro to Microeconomics
Writing & Speaking in Business (1 course)
- ENGLISH 282: Writing and Speaking in Business
Business Tools (4 courses)
- BUS_INST 301: Accounting
- BUS_INST 302: Marketing Management
- BUS_INST 303: Leadership in Organizations
- BUS_INST 304: Corporate Finance
Social Science & Humanities Electives (2 courses chosen from the following list):
- ANTHRO 240: Anthropology of Money
- BUS_INST 321: Business and Economic Institutions in Historical Perspective
- BUS_INST 331: Real Estate Finance & Investment
- CHINESE 212: Chinese in Business Practice 1
- CHINESE 312-1: Chinese in Business Practice 2
- CHINESE 312-2: Multinational Corporations in China
- CMN 350-0: Global Media & Communications Seminar
- COMM_ST 274: Power in Entertainment
- ECON 2XX/3XX: Any 200 level or 300 level ECON course excluding required prerequisites for the minor. (*ECON Majors/Minors should note restrictions stated below.)
- ENGLISH 305: Advanced Composition (Only for sections of the course specifically focused on business communications.)
- ENVR_POL 390: Energy Innovation: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives or Climate Change and Policy (*Only these topics have been pre-approved.)
- FRENCH 309: French For Professions
- GERMAN 209: German in the Business World
- GERMAN 309-1: Advanced Business German: the German Economy
- GERMAN 309-2: Advanced Business German: Marketing and Management
- HISTORY 254: Entrepreneurship: A Global History
- HISTORY 300: History of Capitalism (*Only this topic has been pre-approved.)
- HISTORY 353: History of Capitalism, 1500-1850
- HISTORY 325: History of American Technology
- HISTORY 392: From Cybernetics to Cyberwar (*Only this topic has been pre-approved.)
- HISTORY 395: History with Things (*Only this topic has been pre-approved.)
- HUM 260: Economics and the Humanities (*Only this topic has been pre-approved.)
- ITALIAN 206: Business Italian
- LEGAL_ST 315: Corporation in US Law and Culture
- PHIL 262: Ethical Problems and Public Issues
- PHIL 270 / ISEN 230: Climate Change and Sustainability: Economic and Ethical Dimensions
- PHIL 364: Business and Professional Ethics
- POLI_SCI 341: International Political Economy
- POLI_SCI 348: Globalization
- POLI_SCI 374: Politics of Capitalism
- POLI_SCI 375: Comparative Politics of Business Government Relations
- PSYCH 350: Looking Inside the Leaders who Disrupt, Innovate, Transform (*Only this topic has been pre-approved.)
- PSYCH 387: Consumer Psychology and Marketing Research
- RTVF 310: Television History
- RTVF 314: History of the Recording Industry
- SOCIOL 206 / LEGAL_ST 206: Law and Society
- SOCIOL 215: Economy and Society
- SOCIOL 288: Institutions and Society
- SOCIOL 302: Sociology of Organizations
- SOCIOL 316: Economic Sociology
- SOCIOL 324: Global Capitalism
- SOCIOL 330: Law, Markets, and Globalization
- SOCIOL 331: Markets, Hierarchies & Democracies
- SOCIOL 335: Sociology of Rational Decision Making
- SOCIOL 376: Technology, Work, Love, & Life (*Only this topic has been pre-approved.)
- SOCIOL 392: Finance and Inequality (*Only this topic has been pre-approved.)
- SOCIOL 392: Sociology of Consumption (*Only this topic has been pre-approved.)
- SOC_POL 312: Social Policymaking and Implementation
- SOC_POL 331: Economics of Inequality and Discrimination
- SOC_POL 333: Economics of Health, Human Capital, and Happiness
- SPANISH 206: Spanish for Professions: Business
- STAT 301-1: Data Science 1
- STAT 301-2: Data Science 2
- STAT 301-3: Data Science 3
Additional Notes on Prerequisite Requirements
- Students must complete ALL FOUR Prerequisite Courses with a minimum grade of C- before declaring the Business Institutions minor.
- AP Credit may be used to fulfill the Prerequisite Courses requirement --- according to the course equivalencies established by the relevant departments.
- Courses used to fulfill the Prerequisite Courses requirement may be used to meet the requirements of another major/minor/certificate.
- Courses that can be substituted for STAT 210 include:
BMD_ENG 220; CHEM_ENG 312; EECS 302; IEMS 201; IEMS 202; Math 310-1; Math 311-1; Math 314; Math 383; Math 385; PH 302; PSYCH 201; POLI_SCI 312; SESP 210; STAT 202; STAT 320 - MATH 218-1/220-1: Students must receive course credit on their Northwestern transcript to satisfy this prerequisite. Simply placing out of either or both of these courses through placement exams offered by the Math Department is not sufficient.
Additional Notes on Other Requirements
- None of the 7 courses may be double-counted toward any major, minor, or certificate except as a related course for a major. Double-counting is permitted with a home-school distribution requirement, foundational discipline, US or global perspectives, or advanced expression requirement.
- Students completing a major in English, History and Philosophy, may petition the Director to waive the requirement to take ENGLISH 282. However, even these students are strongly encouraged to take ENGLISH 282 because it covers material on communication skills related to the business environment that may not be covered in writing-intensive courses from other disciplines.
- A maximum of one course that is either a non-Northwestern course, study abroad or a course offered by Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies (SPS) may count as one of the four Business Tools courses required for the minor: BUS_INST 301, 302, 303 or 304.
- Any such substitution must be approved in advance by the Director.
- Special accommodations may be made for transfer students.
- Equivalents to BUS_INST 304 include ECON 360-1 and KELLG FE 310.
- Students earning a major in Economics may not use Economics courses to fulfill their Social Science & Humanities Elective requirements. Students earning a minor in Economics may not use 200-level Economics courses to fulfill their Social Science & Humanities Elective requirements.
- Students may substitute up to one of the two required Social Science & Humanities Electives with one Professional Linkage credit (BUS_INST 394) OR one Internship-Related credit (includes CFS) OR one 300 level Entrepreneurship credit (ENTREP 325; ENTREP 380, ENTREP 395) OR IMC 300: Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communications.
- Students may not use two credits from courses in the above list to substitute for both
Social Science & Humanities Electives.
- Students may not use two credits from courses in the above list to substitute for both
- Students may petition the Director to use courses other than those appearing on the list of pre-approved electives to satisfy the Social Sciences & Humanities Electives requirements.
Keep track of your minor progress
Use our Student Planning Form to keep track of your minor progress.