A study in business is a practical choice for almost anyone. Every organization, regardless of industry, relies on business principles to prosper. Employers in every industry need people who have been trained to organize, plan, and manage within an organization. Individuals who have a solid business education are not only poised to start their own business, they also have the practical skills needed to excel in a variety of positions in the industry of their choice. Here are the common majors students pursue in the study of business and their descriptions.

Actuarial Science

• Prepare students to apply the theory of probability and statistics along with the principles of finance to analyze and solve problems in insurance, pension plans, social security issues, and related fields. Students learn to forecast, analyze data, create risk tables, and to use computers to conduct research.

Economics

• Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services in the market, including the study of the ways people make a living and reach decisions about the use of scarce resources. Students learn to conduct research, collect and analyze data, monitor economic trends, and develop forecasts on a wide variety of issues, including energy costs, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, business cycles, taxes, and employment levels.

Finance

• Finance is the art and science of managing money and the way people, institutions, markets and countries generate and transfer wealth. Students will learn about commercial and investment banking, forecasting and budgeting, asset and liability management, stocks and bonds, and how markets function. In addition, students also learn how to determine what fraction of a firm’s assets goes into different kinds of investment vehicles in order to obtain the highest return for a justifiable level of risk.

International Business

• The study of international business provides students with knowledge and skills required to understand the mechanisms and institutions of international economy. Students learn about international facets of economics, finance, information technology, law, management or marketing.

Management

• The study of management in business provides the understanding of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling an organization efficiently and effectively. Because organizations can be viewed as systems, management can also be defined as human action to facilitate the production of outcomes from a system.

Marketing

• Marketing focuses on the process by which consumers’ and business, needs for products and services are anticipated and satisfied. Students learn to conduct research, to analyze and understand consumer behavior, to identify customer needs, to research and develop new product, to price competitively, to coordinate promotional or sales programs, and to distribute efficiently.