The Business Management program prepares students for socially responsible business leadership in careers and volunteer settings. The traditional liberal arts, combined with service-learning, internship and small group and community interactions produce creative, globally aware, articulate and ethical managers.

Students learn the skills they need to succeed in this rapidly changing world: thinking critically, solving problems in creative new ways, communicating clearly and persuasively, and developing sets of values to guide their decisions. Students are exposed to the communication techniques, analytic tools and modes of thinking of other fields of study.

Latest News

Umer Hussain

Talk to be given Wednesday by Umer Hussain can be accessed via Zoom

Assistant Professor of Business and Sports Management Umer Hussain will give a Zoom talk Wednesday at Western University (Canada) Sport and Human Rights Lab. The […]

Umer Hussain

Article by Umer Hussain published on online media outlet

An article by Umer Hussain, assistant professor of business and sports management, was published in January by Breakthrough, an online media outlet. “The Global North […]

Umer Hussain show onscreen at talk in Australia

Umer Hussain’s sporting expertise continues in the spotlight during World Cup competition

As the 2022 FIFA World Cup continues in Qatar, it is becoming a point of global debate in global media and sporting bodies, says Assistant […]

Faculty

Soren Hauge

Hauge, Soren

Patricia Parker Francis Professor of Economics, Chair of Economics and Business Management Department

Umer Hussain

Hussain, Umer

Assistant Professor of Business and Sports Management

Tom Keuler

Keuler, Thomas

Instructor of Business Management, CPA

Peter Sensenbrenner

Sensenbrenner, Peter

Instructor of Business Management

Mirachle-Rose Toppar

Toppar, Miracle-Rose

Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Management

Zhang Fan

Zhang, Fan

Assistant Professor of Business Management

Advising

Ripon College faculty and professional staff are dedicated to helping you reach your goals, whatever they may be and however often they may change along the way. It’s part of our value statement to you.

As a student at Ripon, you will be assigned a faculty adviser based on your area(s) of interest. You will meet with your faculty adviser throughout your time as a student to discuss your current aspirations, plan your course schedule and plot a future trajectory. We also work collaboratively with Ripon College Career and Professional Development to help match your interests and skills to concrete goals and construct a plan for professional success offering personalized career counseling, off-campus learning opportunities and an online job board with potential to connect with local, national and international employers. Our collaboration with Student Support Services provides tutoring and additional academic and skill development, as well as tools to help with note-taking, exam preparation, goal-setting and time management. Likewise, Mentors in the Franzen Center provide in-depth, one-on-one or group mentoring for students about class projects and college-level writing, and can share problem-solving strategies to overcome academic obstacles.

Advising at Ripon

Requirements

Requirements for a major in business management: BSA 110, 231 and 500; ECO/BSA 241 (or courses in calculus and probability approved by the major advisor; students interested in graduate school should take calculus); ECO/BSA 313, ECO 211, 212 and 350; PHL 202, 241, 245 or BSA 223 or 227; and an individual focus. An individual focus is an integrated set of at least four elective courses from at least two departments totaling at least 12 credits and satisfying these conditions:

  • No more than one course may be at the 100 level, and no more than two courses may be at the 200 level or below.
  • No more than four credits may be from courses listed in
    business management, and no more than four credits may be from economics.
  • At least three courses must be taken after declaration of the
    major and approval by the program director or other business management advisor
    of a proposal written by the student. The proposal explains how the courses
    selected serve the student’s business study goals and form a cohesive whole.
  • An appropriate semester of off-campus study may be counted as
    one course (four credits), and foreign language study also is encouraged.
  • Internships in areas of interest may be included, ais approved
    by the supervising faculty members, and they are strongly encouraged.

Subject to these conditions, students may propose individual focus courses from any discipline. Students who want to focus on a specific area of business (marketing, entrepreneurship, human resources, arts management, etc.) may choose courses appropriate for their interests. Students with other majors may also build their interests in those areas into their business management major.

Requirements for a minor in business management: 20 credits. ECO 211 and 212 and three additional business management courses. At least two of the courses must be numbered 300 or above. The following courses may be substituted for one of the 100 or 200-level business management courses: PHL 202 or MTH 220. Up to four credits of internship earned during the ACM Business and Society Program also could be used for this minor.

Requirements for a minor in entrepreneurship: 20 credits.  ECO 211 and 212, BSA 413, and eight credits from any of the following: PHL 202; PSC 110; CMM 215; BSA 110, 208, 227, 309 or 315.  Up to four credits of internship earned during the ACM Business and Society Program could also be used for this minor.

Requirements for a minor in nonprofit management: 20 credits.  ECO 211 and 212, BSA 310, and eight credits from the following: PHL 202; PSC 110; SOC 110 or 201; CMM 215; BSA 110, 208, 223, 309 or 315. Up to four credits of internship earned during the ACM Urban Studies Program also could be used for this minor.

Career Tracks

An undergraduate degree in business management can be a path to careers in management, sales, human resource management, insurance, banking, real estate and risk. Alumni also are pursuing a master of business administration or other related graduate degree after gaining work experience to reach the highest levels of business management.

Recent graduates work as a financial associate, business analyst, executive team leader, marketing manager, investment banking financial analyst, lawyer, financial representative, team coordinator for the Defense Department, associate financial representative, account manager, investment management, special agent criminal investigator, operations financial analyst, research coordinator, tax associate, business banker, real estate agent, recruiter and consulting analyst.

Unique Opportunities

  • Senior seminar provides students with an opportunity to integrate the skills they have developed throughout their course work in the completion of a project that requires research, data analysis, critical thinking, and oral and written presentations of information and ideas.
  • Every student chooses an individual focus within this major, in consultation with their advisor. Examples include sports marketing, finance, arts management, international business and human resource management, but possibilities are unlimited. Some of the courses within this focus are chosen from areas of interest to the student, such as communication, global studies, psychology, art and philosophy.
  • Creative Enterprise Consultants offer services to existing businesses, entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs and not-for-profits.  Services include business planning, feasibility studies, marketing plans, financials and budgets, and market research – anything to assist with the business development process.