By Colin Barry
The Sawyer Business School and the College of Arts and Sciences will be academically connected for the first time. The creation of a new business economics major produces an opportunity for elements of both Suffolk schools to shape students’ degrees.
“It is the first of its kind,” said Associate Dean of the Sawyer Business School Laurie Levesque. “It is the first major where the faculty is based in the College of Arts and Sciences, but it is a Sawyer Business School core.”
Presently, the CAS has an economics major. For potential economics students attending the SBS, however, it requires them to take this as a double major with one from the business school. Some students may look at the work load of a double major as a frustrating challenge for graduating on time.
Economics is also one of the more difficult majors at the college. Economics Professor Jonathan Haughton said, “It is a tough subject, with real tough grading. More students take economics as a minor rather than a major.”
SBS hopes to focus the business economics major on how businesses work while keeping it open for other applications in a student’s future career.
“The [business] economics major is a very capable major,” said Haughton. “It can be married, so to speak, with other aspects of business, such as data analysis.”
The school also plans to bring in more students interested in economics with the introduction of the new major, according to Haughton.
With the exception of general education classes required for all majors, the three separate schools at Suffolk do not share anything. Levesque described this partnership between SBS and the CAS as something to link the divided schools closer.
“This is going to break down the silos and give students an incredible experience,” she added.
Levesque and Haughton are the two masterminds behind the new business economics major. Two weeks ago, the two met with the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee to discuss what classes will be taught.
“The committee was excited when we presented the major,” Levesque says. “They voted in favor of the major.”
SBS Dean William O’Neill is especially optimistic about it.
“I think we are going to have a significant amount of students,” O’Neill said. “I’ve told parents of students, and there has been a positive response so far.”
Boston College has over 1,100 economics majors. O’Neill said Suffolk is looking to compete with the school in terms of enrollment and support of the major.
“Economics is usually the one, two, or three major at a university,” said O’Neill. “We are looking to change that. ”
The classes offered for the major contain a variety of subjects for prospective students. Undergraduates can learn theories based on how economics play into marketing and how environment and geography can affect the economy of a country.
SBS plans on bringing advertisements to a Nov. 1 open house, with a location to be determined. The success of the business economics major could possibly result in other economics majors made for the business school. O’Neil said he thinks creating more economics majors are still up in the air.
“For the future? We shall see,” O’Neil said. “We have to walk first before we start running.”
