Undergraduate Business Minor

The business minor at the Virani Undergraduate School of Business allows you to complement your major field of study and develop a critical understanding of business concepts, decision-making frameworks and practical skills in communication, teamwork and organizational effectiveness.

Who It's For

If you are following your passion in the sciences, engineering, social sciences or humanities, a basic understanding of the fundamentals of business will bring value to whatever your future education or career goals may be. The courses in the program are open to any degree-seeking Rice undergraduate who meets enrollment requirements, not just to students who have declared an intention to complete the minor. 

The Faculty

The business school faculty maintain an important balance between teaching and research. In every course, you have the opportunity to work one-on-one with an accessible, involved and energetic member of the faculty, who teaches in both the MBA program and business minor.

Rice Undergraduate Business Minor Courses

The undergraduate business minor is an integrated set of seven courses designed to provide Rice undergraduates with a foundation in essential business disciplines that are crucial in every field.

Choose six courses from the list below:

• BUSI 396 Business Communication (3) 
  Introduces business communication with a focus on effective strategies and real-world practice. Students assess and develop individual communication skills while building oral and written communication abilities through team-based work.
  Prerequisites: BUSI 305 and BUSI 310
   
• BUSI 305 Financial Accounting (3) 
  Covers the preparation, analysis, and use of corporate financial statements. Topics include asset and liability valuation, income determination, receivables, inventory, present value concepts, tangible and intangible assets, bonds, leases, shareholder equity, intercorporate investments, consolidations, and cash flow accounting.
  No prerequisites
   
• BUSI 310 Leading People in Organizations (3) 
  Explores how psychological and social factors shape behavior in organizations such as companies, schools, and sports clubs. Topics include motivation, decision-making, fairness and justice, cross-cultural differences, teamwork, and influence strategies.
  No prerequisites
   
• BUSI 343 Financial Management (3) 
  Introduces the core concepts of corporate financial management and the tools used to evaluate financial decisions. The course applies time value of money, risk and return, and market efficiency to understand how investors value risky assets. Students develop a framework for analyzing corporate investment and financing decisions.
  Prerequisites: (BUSI 395 or STAT 180 or STAT 280 or SOSC 302 or STAT 305 or STAT 310 or STAT 312 or STAT 315 or DSCI 301 or ECON 307 or POLI 395 or PSYC 339) AND (BUSI 150 or ECON 100 or ECON 200) AND BUSI 305.
  Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for BUSI 343 if student has credit for ECON 343
   
• BUSI 374 Operations Management (3) 
  Introduces the design and coordination of effective operations within organizations and across supply chains. Students learn how to manage and improve processes involving products, customers, and information. Topics include bottlenecks, inventory, queues, quality management, and selected strategic issues in operations.
  Prerequisite(s): BUSI 395 or STAT 180 or STAT 280 or SOSC 302 or STAT 305 or STAT 310 or STAT 312 or STAT 315 or DSCI 301 or ECON 307 or POLI 395 or PSYC 339
  Recommended Prerequisite(s): BUSI 305 and (ECON 100 or ECON 200 or BUSI 150)
   
• BUSI 380 Marketing (3) 
  Introduces the role of marketing in organizations and key marketing decisions faced by managers. Topics include marketing strategy and planning, customer behavior, segmentation and targeting, behavioral economics, product and brand management, distribution channels, sales, digital marketing, advertising, promotion, pricing, and integrated marketing strategy.
  Prerequisites: STAT 280 (See Frequently Asked Questions)
   
• BUSI 390 Strategic Management (3) 
  Focuses on how businesses develop and execute strategy in market and non-market environments. Topics include competitive and industry analysis, strategy formulation and implementation, and strategic planning. The course uses case studies of real companies alongside assigned readings.
  Prerequisites: BUSI 305
  Recommended Prerequisites: ECON 100 or BUSI 150 or ECON 200.
  Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for BUSI 390 if student has credit for BUSI 471

Interested in entrepreneurship?

The Virani Undergraduate School of Business at Rice Business offers an Entrepreneurship Minor, a collaborative program with the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing. This interdisciplinary minor provides students with a rigorous education in innovation and entrepreneurship, and is administered by the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie). 

Explore the Entrepreneurship Minor to discover how you can transform your ideas into real-world impact! 
 

Interested in accounting?

The following advanced accounting courses are open to undergraduate students and provide valuable preparation for the Master of Accounting (MAcc) degree. While they do not count toward the business major or minor, they are a part of the MAcc pathway.

• BUSI 405 Issues in Financial Reporting I (3)
  Building on BUSI 305, this course deepens understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and financial statement preparation for external users. Students examine key accounting issues, including revenue recognition, inventory costing, long-lived tangible and intangible assets, and discontinued operations, while evaluating alternative accounting methods. The course also covers the accounting cycle, financial statement interpretation, and essential written communication skills for accountants.
  Prerequisite: BUSI 305
   
• BUSI 440 Auditing (3)
  This course examines the principles and procedures used by public accountants and internal auditors to assess the accuracy and fairness of financial statements. Topics include compliance and operational audits, professional standards and ethics, sampling methods, audit risk, internal controls, transaction cycles, audit reporting, professional skepticism, and the audit impact of information technology. The course also covers the roles of the PCAOB and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board in setting U.S. and international auditing standards.
  Prerequisite: BUSI 305