Hard Sciences for business majors - why?

Why do so many colleges require some type of hard/physical science for business majors?

Many schools require biology, chemistry, physical science or physics. What do these classes provide to business majors?

Are there other "science" classes that might be more helpful to business majors like environmental science?

 

I think the idea is to make sure students have a well-rounded education. Most people, for example, will never use algebra in their adult lives, but it's a common academic requirement for most college degrees. I know of someone who occasionally likes to say "today is yet another day that I did not have to use algebra." It's funny and everyone gets a laugh out of it, but at the same time there's a lot of truth to it, too.

Not much, IMO. It's that well-rounded education thing they are going for.

 

I haven't really seen this. A lot of colleges offer non-major versions of biology, chemistry, and physics. Sometimes, environmental science and nutrition fall under the biology category; physical science and astronomy would fall under the physics category. I usually see that students have the option of taking courses like environmental science, nutrition, physical science, and astronomy to fulfill the science requirements.

 

I would say that for some business areas (including engineering, manufacturing, and government) science or technology will complement business courses. I often attended meetings where I had discuss businness with non-technical divisions of companies (often to do with finance, purchasing, or transportation). [ One reason why engineers earn MBAs]

 

I would guess that 99% of any biology or chemistry knowledge business students learn as freshmen is lost by the time they graduate. I'm not sure it "rounds" them in any way.

I think Math is more important for business majors then biology or chemistry.

 

We're specifically talking about hard sciences like biology and chemistry and not technology.

I have been in the business world for over 20 years and have never had to use any biology or chemistry knowledge. This is not to say it's never required, but it's very rare. I doubt these subjects come up when talking with finance, purchasing, or transportation departments.

 

In my case I have to finance, buy, and transport hazardous materials (common to many industries) and I help those departments write POs, reports and complete paperwork.

But you are correct that it does not help most people in their careers.

I mentioned technology since I've seen business degrees with technology electives (quality control being quite common).

 

can you be more specific? Maybe give an example of such program? I'm thinking for undergrad, if it's a highly competitive program or even just at a highly competitive school, I'd say it's either a weed-out class or because the entire campus protocol is taking that track. Here is an example- this is the MIT catalog, and everyone (even music majors, management majors, and other non-science tracks) are being required to take 2 semesters of physics, 2 semesters of calculus, in addition to biology and chemistry. It's just the way that school is; it's their "bar" that graduates must meet. Of course, if you keep looking, I'm sure you'll find tons of business programs that don't have sciences (or at least science-major-sciences) beyond the normal 6-8 credits w/lab.

oops- link: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/undergrad/academics/sb-in-management-science/degree-requirements/

 

At the opposite to MIT I just looked up the CSUDH BSBA; its general education requirements include 9 units of Natural Sciences, so a student could take a variety of options such as geology, meteorology, and oceanography (courses I would personally describe as not being "hard science").

I'm sure there are many other business degrees in the US with similar science requirements.

 

I did not read all of the responses to your question so forgive me if this is redundant.

I once worked as a TA at a university and ran into many students who asked these types of questions. "Why do I need X class if I am Y major?"

Here's the thing. If you're looking for a secondary education program to teach you a vocation and you're bitter (not saying you are, but some students I have met have been) about having to spend the extra time and money it takes to complete classes unrelated to your program of choice, a better option for you would to be a technical school where students learn exactly what they need for the job of their choice.

The university was created to expand the knowledge of mankind and in some ways (like asking us all to complete the same basic general courses) the system still attempts to do this. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, universities began to look more like job corps training than facilities that encourage and produce open-mindedness, innovation, research, etc. I suspect this has something to do with the fact that tuition has risen to unreasonable heights and jobs have practically disappeared in this country. I get that we need jobs when we graduate because we have debt and need to support ourselves, I'm just saying, if you're looking for job training, the university wasn't exactly designed to provide this.

I realize that Joe's Technical School is not going to have a business school to help you reach your dreams of business ownership and untold wealth that these programs usually promise to their future students (followed by disappointment and joblessness) so if you want a business degree, you have to go to a university... I'm just saying, taking generals is the nature of the game.

FYI, I believe one commenter said "99% of hard science information learned in the freshman year is forgotten by graduation." I suppose that could be true for some people. I actually LOVED the hard sciences (I earned higher grades in them than I did in the social sciences). I treated every class as if it were my major of choice. I emerged myself in learning. I figured that if I was paying for it, I might as well get something out of it, even if it wasn't my favorite thing in the world. I recommend trying this - I graduated from undergrad 4 years ago and feel that I have retained a great deal of what I was taught.

I hope this helped. Sorry for the slap of reality. I've just seen many friends and family members who have gone through business school because they were promised huge salaries immediately upon graduation and even larger median salaries, only to spend several years unemployed and ending up working in industries that have nothing to do with business. While this could be said for just about any other major, the difference is that you're paying more (usually) for a business degree.

 

PuppyMama: I think your missing my question and getting way off topic.

Questions:
Which science is best for business majors?
Is there one science that would benefit their career more than the others?
Is environmental science better for business majors then biology?

Background:
Some universities require either one year of biology, physics or chemistry to satisfy general education requirements for non-science majors. They must choose from one of the three areas.

Other universities allow the student to choose which science courses they wish to take for their general education requirements. These universities offer astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, physics and many more.

I realize there are many classes that will not directly be applied towards ones career. Many will indirectly help students' careers by fostering writing skills, math, critical thinking, research, exposure to new concepts, etc.

 

...it's postsecondary....just sayin...since we're slapping and all.