
Want to be a business major? Here are some tips
Business majors will always be in demand because there are so many career opportunities. Learn about all that Augustana offers students interested in business and related fields.
An Augustana liberal arts education is good for business, and career-building experiences give you the edge. It’s not unusual for our business majors to graduate in four years with a job offer.
Many business majors add a second major or a minor, and any field has a place in business. Accounting and economics are popular choices. Others include data analytics, entrepreneurship, non-profit leadership, and graphic design, especially with a marketing concentration.
Communication competence
Read and listen carefully. Express ideas (writing or speaking) suited to the audience.
Internships range from a semester in Australia to the John Deere World Headquarters, here in the Quad Cities. About 90% of business students complete internships, compared with 75% nationwide.
Recent placements include AT&T Global Accounts, Caterpillar, WGN-TV, Chicago Bears, John Deere, Edward Jones, Kraft Foods, Merrill Lynch, Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the American Red Cross.
Here's a sampling of what recent business graduates are doing:
Zhiqing (Janice) Wu '18 is a communications manager at Microsoft in Seattle. She was a 2018 Forbes Fellow.
Leo Nguyen '18 is a communications associate at the Coalition on Human Needs in Washington, D.C.
Mitch Johnson '18 is an actuarial analyst II at Horace Mann Educators Corp., Springfield, Ill.
Dylan Sortillo '18 is an assistant men's basketball coach and admissions counselor at Augustana.
Lauren Goggin '17 is security operations manager at A-LIGN cybersecurity in Tampa.
Michael Daniels '17 is a lead financial reporting analyst at Baker Hughes, Milan, Lombardy, Italy.
Trang Jenny Ho '17 is an auditor senior at Deloitte in Los Angeles.
Augustana students shine in the annual CFA Institute Research Challenge global competition, which tests college/university students’ analytic, valuation, report writing and presentation skills. In only our second year, Augie won the silver in the Chicago region, beating the University of Chicago, among others.
Like all Augustana students, business students benefit from devoted advisors and close relationships with professors in small classes. Business administration goes a step further with its own advising coordinator for students.
Augustana invests in business students’ ideas through the annual $10,000 Augustana Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Augustana Creative Enterprise Fund, giving monetary awards to students for their original business plans.
Students take part in the innovative work happening in the EDGE Entrepreneurial Center in CORE. Go to the EDGE Center for expert help in developing your personal business plan, and to learn through projects — including marketing, advertising, web development, graphic design, client communications and more — for real community clients.
Outside of class
Outside class, you’ll have many opportunities for professional experience:
• The Advertising Developers Club develops an integrated marketing campaign for a corporate sponsor as part of the annual National Student Advertising Competition each year.
• Business Club (Beta Upsilon Sigma)
• CFA Institute Research Challenge
• Student Investment Club, managing a portfolio of about $100K in 2020
“My peak experience was participating in the National Student Advertising Competition with the Advertising Developers (ADs) and serving as a co-president.”Read More
“My business advisor, Mamata Marmé, has helped me grow as a student and as a person.”Read More
“My peak experience is by far taking part in the CFA Institute Research Challenge and winning second place in the Chicago local round with my teammates.”Read More
Business majors will always be in demand because there are so many career opportunities. Learn about all that Augustana offers students interested in business and related fields.
Data analytics is the science of identifying trends and patterns in raw data and drawing conclusions. The need for data analysts is rapidly growing, and Augustana is only one of a few liberal arts colleges offering a major and a minor.
If you're concerned about your major, here are some helpful tips to help you find the right fit.
Viking basketball's Daniel Carr '23 has been named an Academic All-American, one of the highest honors for collegiate student-athletes. Augustana ranks No. 1 in the CCIW and seventh in NCAA DIII in number of Academic All-Americans.
Fun Travel, an app that helps people plan vacations by sharing new and exciting events and locations in the cities they are visiting, won Augustana’s seventh annual Business Plan Competition.
In her January term business class, Dr. Amanda Baugous assigned a virtual competitive simulation in which teams of students “run” their own business. One team scored in the top 10% in the world.