Business Minor for Engineers (BME)

People skills and knowledge of business fundamentals can position engineers for the creation and delivery of more effective solutions.

Format: In person
Location: Ithaca, NY
Degree Awarded: BME

Overview

Teamwork, communication, and collaboration are skills that you’ll need as you interface with others — especially when you’re tasked with delivering sophisticated solutions to clients or customers.

Understanding how core business functions “work” and how stakeholders measure success will help you gain support and resources to turn your engineering ideas into reality. With the Business Minor for Engineers (BME), you’ll begin to understand how managers think and how finance, marketing, accounting and operations can affect business decisions.

Who’s eligible for the BME?

All undergraduates in Duffield Engineering and select majors in the colleges of Arts and Sciences and Agriculture and Life Sciences (see full list below).

How many credits are required?

13.5 core credits across areas such as business, finance, accounting and operations plus three credits in microeconomics. Visit the Cornell University Registrar for full course information

Tulips in front of a stone wall with a Cornell University sign.

Eligible majors for Business Minor for Engineers

The BME is open to students majoring in certain subjects within Cornell’s colleges listed below.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Biological Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Information Science

College of Arts and Sciences

Computer Science
Information Science

Duffield Engineering

All undergraduate majors in Duffield Engineering are eligible.

Foundation course

This minor requires 3 credits in microeconomics. We recommend taking this course before taking the minor’s core courses and require it to be completed by your sixth semester. A letter grade of a C or better is required.

Introductory microeconomics (3 credits)

One of the following courses is required:

Course code	Course title
ECON 1110	Introductory Microeconomics – SP 26 \| FA 26
ECON 3030	Intermediate Microeconomic Theory – SP 26 \| FA 26
PUBPOL 2000	Intermediate Microeconomics – SP 26 \| FA 26 n/a

Core requirements

The minor’s core requirements (13.5 credits) must be fulfilled by taking courses in the five areas listed below, which includes 3 credits that are related to your career goals. Please note that 7.5 credits must be SC Johnson College of Business courses, which include any course code of AEM, HADM, NBA or NCC. A letter grade of a C or better is required. Students may not “double count” courses that overlap with the other business minors — the courses you choose may only count toward one minor. ORIE students — your one allowed overlap is ORIE 3150. AEM and HADM courses (for management, marketing, accounting and finance) are equivalent in terms of content and grading.

Introduction to basic business concepts (3 credits)

One of the following courses is required:

Course code	Course title
AEM 1200	Introduction to Business Management – SP 26 \| FA 26 n/a
AEM 2400	Marketing – SP 26 n/a \| FA 26
HADM 1810	Introduction to Management – SP 26 n/a \| FA 26 n/a
HADM 2410	Marketing Principles – SP 26 \| FA 26
ILRID 1700	Introduction to Organizations and Management – SP 26 n/a \| FA 26
NCC 4530/5530	Marketing Management – SP 26 \| FA 26 n/a
NCC 5540	Managing and Leading in Organizations – SP 26 n/a \| FA 26
NCC 5580	Managing Operations – SP 26 n/a \| FA 26 n/a

Accounting principles (3 credits)

One of the following classes is required:

Course code	Course title
AEM 2210	Financial Accounting – SP 26 \| FA 26
HADM 2230	Financial Accounting Principles – SP 26 \| FA 26
NCC 5500	Financial Accounting – SP 26 \| FA 26
ORIE 3150	Financial & Managerial Accounting (ORIE students only) – SP 26 n/a \| FA 26

Finance (3 credits)

One of the following courses is required:

Note: only students who have declared the minor via the minors dashboard will receive enrollment preference during add/drop.

Course code	Course title
AEM 2241	Finance – SP 26 \| FA 26
AEM 5241	Finance – SP 26 \| FA 26 n/a
HADM 2250	Finance – SP 26 \| FA 26
NCC 5560	Managerial Finance – SP 26 n/a \| FA 26

Capstone course (1.5 credits)

The following course is required:

Course code	Course title
AEM 4660	Business Simulation – SP 26 \| FA 26

Career goals (3 credits)

The remaining 3 credits for the BME should align with your career goals. Given the breadth of engineering careers, there is a wide range of courses under the topics of accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, management and marketing that may be relevant to you. You may choose any SC Johnson College (AEM, HADM, NBA, NCC) upper level course (3000+) for letter grade only. Please note that many of these courses may give preference to college of business students and may have specific prerequisite courses outside of the minor.

Note: ORIE majors may not use AEM 3100 or AEM 4120 to fulfill this requirement.

Academic policies

A minimum of 12 unique credits (outside of major’s core discipline) must be taken to complete any/all minors. Some majors may be required to take an additional course to satisfy this requirement. All courses must be taken in person (unless through Cornell’s SCE), and for a letter grade (grade of C or better is required).

More about our business minors

Learn more about our programs, policies and professional resources.

Current business minor students

You can manage your minor and track your progress using the Business Minors Dashboard.

I’m interested. What’s next?

After reviewing the requirements above and our Policies and FAQs page, you can begin the process using the Business Minors Dashboard.

business minors dashboard