The Business in the Liberal Arts Major

At St. Lawrence University, we believe that business leaders are not trained in the “ways of business,”  rather leadership in business, as in any setting, is rooted in one’s ability to bring multiple ways of thinking to bear on a question, circumstance, or challenge.  We believe that business leaders should be thinkers gifted in the art of seeing through multiple lenses and thinking creatively and critically across a broad array of perspectives.  They must also be sophisticated readers of the culture so as to recognize opportunities to create value for others and understand how to collaborate effectively in a diverse world in doing so. To this end, the business in the liberal arts curriculum at St. Lawrence is rooted in the premise that a liberally educated individual will bring to bear multiple perspectives and deploy multiple strategies in solving a wide variety of problems.

Successful business leaders may come from any disciplinary background and are often people who can see across disciplinary lines.  Preparation for business leadership does not depend on a specific course of study, but is instead the product of the individual’s ability to think critically, present evidence effectively, and have a depth of knowledge in at least one area of the liberal arts.  Therefore, business is not viewed as a stand alone major, but must be paired with another major offered at St. Lawrence that capitalizes on the individual’s strengths and interests. Additionally, business in the liberal arts majors must complete seven core courses, an experiential learning component, and three electives from the four categories listed below.  Ideally, these electives will also satisfy requirements in the student’s paired major and/or general education requirements.