Why don’t top schools have business majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Top schools expect to be educating the leaders of tomorrow. To that end, teaching liberal arts topics to help them be better thinkers about all the large questions challenging our world is important.
Critical thinking skills, an understanding of world history, religious beliefs, some math's, some arts, all of these things influence decisions made by leaders of all countries, organizations, industries, etc.
Frankly, this is important in shaping people as productive and thoughtful citizens - which is probably why the US has been devolving as the meaning of educated person has been watered down.

Are liberal arts majors the red headed step child these days? Is that what this is about? In the era of CS Engineering and Business majors taking the front seat for the last decade, are classics, history and gender studies majors feeling undervalued? (they are basically unemployable at graduation so they should feel that way…)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational

You could say that about virtually any major. Biochemistry is vocational and so is a foreign language.

Biochem is a field of science study and research. You know, to gain knowledge and then more knowledge to add to prior knowledge.
Foreign language is similar and expands into literature and history.

Business doesn't have that sort of academic focus in the study and advancement of its own knowledge. It is kind of like accounting.
Unless one is in it to study topics like organizational behavior or it's ilk, it is has a vocational end game.
Top schools don't want to be known as vocational classrooms. They want to be known for their stellar research, to be in the forefront of academia and to produce students who will carry their torch forward.
If you want a business degree, there are plenty of ads for local schools like, Monroe, Berkeley and Touro colleges on the NYC subways that offer those degrees alongside degrees in administrative assistance.

You could argue that business is a field of study and research. It often includes numerous academic departments and requires analytical, statistical, and historical knowledge. It sounds foolish to say biochemistry is any more academic than business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Old timers should stop posting.

+1 no one is interested in the pre-21st century rationales for why undergrad business is inferior.

The question is literally why these long established universities do not have undergrad business majors. The answer has to do with historical views of business as an undergraduate major. If you're not interested in those "pre-21st century rationales," then why even ask the question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Old timers should stop posting.

+1 no one is interested in the pre-21st century rationales for why undergrad business is inferior.

The question is literally why these long established universities do not have undergrad business majors. The answer has to do with historical views of business as an undergraduate major. If you're not interested in those "pre-21st century rationales," then why even ask the question?

I think though it’s probably a more simplistic answer…if Jeff Bezos decided to endow the Bezos School of Management at Princeton with a $10BN gift (or whatever amount is deemed necessary) then Princeton would have a business school tomorrow.

There really isn’t much philosophical resistance to the discipline anymore but they aren’t going to foot the bill from scratch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational

Like Engineer and CS

like seamstress and chimney sweep, electrician and plumber.

understand now?

nurses, doctors, lawyers.. yep, I get it now.

No, doctors and lawyers have academic backgrounds.
Clearly you don't because you can't see the differences. oh boy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational

Like Engineer and CS

like seamstress and chimney sweep, electrician and plumber.

understand now?

It seems that someone from the 19th century aristocracy is now commenting.

My dear boy, you need to have a rigorous classics education lest you toil away as a lowly seamstress or chimney sweep.

There are still seamstresses and chimney sweeps working in the world. It doesn't mean they are lowly. It just means they are not "academic". Try again, try not to be so stupid next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational

Like Engineer and CS

like seamstress and chimney sweep, electrician and plumber.

understand now?

nurses, doctors, lawyers.. yep, I get it now.

No, doctors and lawyers have academic backgrounds.
Clearly you don't because you can't see the differences. oh boy.

Lawyers can have studied various subjects in their undergrad including business.

You think an engineer has no academic background? LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Historically OP, employers desired liberal arts majors who could think and write. I view are hundreds of years old and wanted students to focus on thinking.The WSJ did a good story on this that you can google. Now, of course, with college costs so high a lot of parents + students want immediate job prep...so they want a more trade school type approach to studying. BTW, my kid was an English major at HYP and was a self made millionaire by 30. Did internships in the summer on Wall Street thanks to HYP Alumni connections.

Harvard English - $64,155
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?166027-Harvard-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

Boston College Finance - $135.373
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?164924-Boston-College&fos_code=5208&fos_credential=3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top schools expect to be educating the leaders of tomorrow. To that end, teaching liberal arts topics to help them be better thinkers about all the large questions challenging our world is important.
Critical thinking skills, an understanding of world history, religious beliefs, some math's, some arts, all of these things influence decisions made by leaders of all countries, organizations, industries, etc.
Frankly, this is important in shaping people as productive and thoughtful citizens - which is probably why the US has been devolving as the meaning of educated person has been watered down.

Are liberal arts majors the red headed step child these days? Is that what this is about? In the era of CS Engineering and Business majors taking the front seat for the last decade, are classics, history and gender studies majors feeling undervalued? (they are basically unemployable at graduation so they should feel that way…)

That is why liberal arts colleges are eating up applicants who want to go into classics and the humanities.
I'm not all that certain about gender studies and basket weaving though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational

You could say that about virtually any major. Biochemistry is vocational and so is a foreign language.

Biochem is a field of science study and research. You know, to gain knowledge and then more knowledge to add to prior knowledge.
Foreign language is similar and expands into literature and history.

Business doesn't have that sort of academic focus in the study and advancement of its own knowledge. It is kind of like accounting.
Unless one is in it to study topics like organizational behavior or it's ilk, it is has a vocational end game.
Top schools don't want to be known as vocational classrooms. They want to be known for their stellar research, to be in the forefront of academia and to produce students who will carry their torch forward.
If you want a business degree, there are plenty of ads for local schools like, Monroe, Berkeley and Touro colleges on the NYC subways that offer those degrees alongside degrees in administrative assistance.

You could argue that business is a field of study and research. It often includes numerous academic departments and requires analytical, statistical, and historical knowledge. It sounds foolish to say biochemistry is any more academic than business.

Biochem is very much stem related and unfortunately, unless one has a phd, it is a useless major. Even with a phd one is in a endless cycle of grant writing and trying to justify research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational

Like Engineer and CS

like seamstress and chimney sweep, electrician and plumber.

understand now?

It seems that someone from the 19th century aristocracy is now commenting.

My dear boy, you need to have a rigorous classics education lest you toil away as a lowly seamstress or chimney sweep.

There are still seamstresses and chimney sweeps working in the world. It doesn't mean they are lowly. It just means they are not "academic". Try again, try not to be so stupid next time.

You referenced jobs that have declined by roughly 99% in the last one hundred years and you know it.

So any more stupid things to add dipshit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

[Anonymous]

So is the goal investment banking or accounting? Those are very different.