Collegiate Degrees :: Science Business

Few incoming Notre Dame students are aware that they can major in Science-Business in the College of Science. When they do learn about this opportunity, more than a few become intrigued at all the possibilities open to them after commencement.

Call it a “major discovery.”

First year student Tim Treat learned about the Science-Business major while scanning the Bulletin of Information he received from the First Year of Studies office last summer. He now plans on declaring himself as a Science-Business major this spring. 

“During high school, I set my sights on eventually attending a dental school based on a number of different factors.  Both of my parents have business degrees, and my dad owns his own business.  Naturally, seeing the benefits of being one's own boss, I want to own my own dental practice.  The Science-Business major is a perfect fit for me because it will adequately prepare me for admission to a dental school while providing me with a well-grounded business background,” Treat explained.

Nicole Crippen recalls being “a typical freshman” who was unsure about her major, but who knew she had strong passion for helping people. She began to gravitate to a career in medicine. “When I became aware of the Science-Business major, I immediately knew it was for me. Since an increasing number of physicians have their own practice, I couldn't think of a better way to help prepare me for my future- not only gaining the knowledge in science in preparation for medical school but the business knowledge to help me in the business world,” she explained.

 This summer she will intern at a physician’s office who specializes in sports medicine. Eventually, she wants to start her own business as a doctor of osteopathic medicine and specialize in sports medicine.

Baker Jones entertained thoughts of preparing for medical school early in his first year at Notre Dame. But the junior from New Orleans interned with an oil company the past two summers and plans on working with the giant oil firm, BP, at its Chicago office this summer.

Now he is leaning towards a career that will combine business, energy and finance.

As the new president of the Science-Business Club, Jones is aware of the diverse opportunities in this curriculum. Talk to 15 students majoring in Science-Business, and you are apt to get 15 different career scenarios from these students.

Baker said he might have run across the major while scanning a publication from the Department of Chemistry.

“I had taken two years of advanced placement chemistry. I also did well in physics in high school. But I also knew I wanted more awareness in business,” he said. “So I thought Science-Business was perfect for me.”

Sr. Kathleen Cannon, the advisor for Science-Business majors, said the curriculum got its start in 1987 at the urgings of Chemistry Prof. Emeritus Emil Hoffman.

For the first 15 years there was a steady growth in the number of students switching their majors to Science-Business.

“Now we have a large sophomore class choosing this as a major,” she noted. “One of the reasons why they like this major is that it is flexible. There's a whole group of students who are interested in some aspect of health care – be it medical school, dental school, ophthalmology, physical therapy, health-care administration or pharmacy school. Others would like to get into patent law or environmental law, so they want the science background.  And then someone might be interested in the finance end of it, if they want to go to work for an investment firm or an insurance company.”

Graduates in the Science-Business curriculum “have done wonderfully,” she said. “They have gotten very good research positions or accounting positions.”

About fifty percent have taken jobs at such places as Abbott Laboratories, Bristol Meyer Squibb, Cigna Health Care, General Electric, Hewitt Associations, PPG Industries, AIG Insurance, Chicago Underwriters, Cooper’s and Lybrand, Ernst and Young, Morgan Stanley, 3M, Fischer Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer,  Renal Research Institute, Merrill Lynch and Columbia University Health Care System.

Two percent go on to graduate school to get their MBA degree; another five percent pursue a their Master’s in Health Care Administration and another ten percent take a path into law school. Sixteen percent go into medical school and thirteen percent go into the health professions such as pharmacy, dental  and nursing schools.

At the recent Open House for high school seniors admitted to Notre Dame under the Early Action program, a number of parents were highly impressed by the vast possibilities open to their sons and daughters through the Science-Business course.

“This has turned out to be a very dynamic course of study. The minimum number of credits needed to graduate is 124, of which 64 are science credits. Most of our students end up taking about 140 credits,” Sr. Cannon said.

In addition to the Science-Business major, there are two other collegiate degrees offered – Science-Computing and Science-Education. All three are called “collegiate degrees” because they don’t fit into a single department, but rather they require courses from all of the departments in the College of Science.

One hundred and twenty six students are currently majoring in Science-Business (including sophomores, juniors and seniors).  It has become one of the fastest growing majors in the College.