For the third year in a row, the School of Business is offering a 10-credit summer business program for undergraduate, non-business majors who want to gain valuable business knowledge and expand their marketability.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for students who want to pursue a business minor to do so without being ‘overstretched’ during the spring or fall semester,” said Associate Dean Larry Gramling, noting the rising student interest in foundational business courses to augment other majors. “They have the ability to get the majority of a minor done in a seven-week period, and that is attractive to many students.”
The seven-week UConn Business Fundamentals Program includes the following three-credit courses: Legal and Ethical Environment of Business, Managerial and Interpersonal Behavior, and Business Information Systems, plus a one-credit course on Workplace Readiness.
The program runs from May 8 to June 29. The courses meet Monday through Thursday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with an hour for lunch, and are taught by UConn professors and staff.
For those students wishing to complete a minor in business, only two additional courses are required.
The program’s one-credit career readiness class, taught by Program Coordinator Kelly Kennedy, provides personalized, tailored guidance on how to position and highlight individual business knowledge and experience in a job search.
“The workplace of 2020 is going to require people to understand the fundamentals of how business works,” said Kennedy, who is also the associate director of student development and outreach. “Combining the strength of their majors with a sprinkling of business knowledge gives these students a huge advantage entering the workforce.”
Joel Thomas, who became a finance and economics dual-degree student after the taking the program in 2016, used the learned skills in his internship at a start-up in the Middle East.
“They allowed for a very constructive and educative learning environment, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was also a great way to get ahead in my classes and for me to be able to put better use to my time during the summer. The best part was that I was able to take numerous skills that I had learned within the classroom and put them into practice during the internship that I had that summer,” he said.
Students who want more information or wish to register for the program should contact Kennedy at Kelly.Kennedy@uconn.edu or call (860) 486-2315. More information is also available at: Business Fundamentals Summer Program. The program is offered in Storrs; housing and meal plans available for an additional fee.