From art auction houses to managing a doctor's office, it is more than likely, even for non-business majors, that Miami University graduates will find themselves in some kind of business setting.
In that spirit, Miami offers a six-week, nine-credit Summer Business Institute (SBI) that aims to prepare non-business majors for a career in a business environment, said Rocky Newman, professor of supply chain and operations management and director of SBI.
"Let's say a student gets really excited about history or really excited about biology," Newman said. "If you want to take what you're interested in and make a career out of it, you're going to have to work for somebody. The point is your going to take and create some synergy between what you really like and maybe give you a boost in your career."
The program is offered during the third summer session of classes and counts as a thematic sequence. During the six weeks, students attend class from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and then 1-4 p.m., four days a week.
"The unique part of it is you're not taking a class here and a class there over a year or two to try and integrate them together-we dunk you in the tank and leave you there for six weeks," Newman said.
Clive Getty, professor of art history, said that while some art students might not find value in the program, it could be beneficial for many others.
"It depends on what a student's ultimate career goals are," Getty said. "If a student is interested specifically in the academic side of art history, then it might not be worthwhile. But if a student is interested in something like running a gallery, then this type of knowledge would be very helpful."
Newman cited the diversity of business education offered within the program as one of its biggest assets to students.
"You're going to learn a little bit about overall economics and the nature of business; you're going to learn something about accounting, finance, operations, supply chain," Newman said. "But probably as valuable as anything, you're going to learn how all those things fit together."
Bill Scanlon, a finance lecturer involved with the program, agreed with Newman.
"I've been with it for all four years and I think the feedback is outstanding," Scanlon said. "The students think that the program gives them the right depth of understanding of the business world. It gives them the skills to work effectively in a business environment."
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Prototyped last summer, the Summer Business Institute now offers a two-week trip to London at the end of the program. The trip covers the final two weeks of courses and works to incorporate everything students have learned up until that point.
Scanlon, who taught in last summer's London segment, said about half of the students in the program opted to go to London-the remaining finished the last two weeks in Oxford.
"A big piece of what we did in London was a project where the students were asked to develop a business plan for a new product," Scanlon said.
Last year's London programmed revolved around a marketing scenario for a brand of tissue paper.
There are no prerequisites required to take the program. Any student in good standing can enroll.
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