Business Management Minor

To declare the Business Management Minor, follow all of these steps:

1. Discuss your interest in the Business Management Minor with your faculty advisor and/or Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) to ensure your plan fulfills minimum graduate education and program requirements
2. Complete the Business Management Minor Declaration Intent Form to register your minor with the MBA Student Affairs Team
3. Declare your minor with Graduate Student Services & Progress by either completing the Graduate Degree Plan (GDP) in consultation with your primary degree program or submitting the Add Graduate Minor online form. For questions on which process you should follow, inquire with your primary program advisor.

Timeline for Declaring a Minor

PhD students

PhD students must declare the minor on their degree plan prior to taking the preliminary oral exam. Policy information may be found here.

Master’s students

Master's students must declare the minor prior to the final examination. In master’s programs that do not include a final examination, students must declare the minor prior to filing for degree conferral. Policy information may be found here.

Credit Policies

Per Graduate School policy, credit for Business Management Minor courses cannot be counted for primary program degree requirements. All decisions regarding credit fulfilling primary degree requirements rest with your home program.

Students that complete the Business Management Minor may apply up to 12 credits of minor coursework taken prior to MBA admission to Part-Time or Online MBA degree requirements. For Master's Level students that completed the Business Management Minor, typically 8 credits will be applied towards the MBA degree. Students must begin the Part-Time or Online MBA degree within 5 years of completing the minor. 

Credit taken for the Business Management Minor is not eligible to be applied towards the Full-Time or Management Science MBA Programs at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.

Course availability

Declared minor students may seek enrollment in Carlson School MBA graduate-level courses. Enrollment in courses depends on space availability, completion of prerequisites, and may require individual approval by the faculty member teaching the course. There is no guarantee that you will get into any specific classes in a given term. You can view a list of available courses open to minor students including descriptions here.

Please note that not all MBA courses are open to Business Management Minor students, as some sections are reserved for cohorted MBA or other Carlson programs.

Structured Tracks

Students may tailor their studies to particular interest areas by following one of the sample minor tracks created by MBA Student Affairs. Minor students are not required to complete a track; however, doing so can provide a focus to their minor.

Registration Process

Registration in MBA courses is initially restricted to only MBA students. After a period of time, we open up enrollment in these courses to minor students and other graduate students. Students officially enrolled in the Business Management Minor will have registration priority over other non-MBA students interested in taking MBA courses.

Minor students will complete the Business Management Minor Course Registration Request Form to indicate their courses of interest. Then, the MBA Student Affairs Team will review requests in line with the timelines below and issue permission numbers to use to register for courses, based on availability and completion of any prerequisites. Students will be notified via UMN email of the status of their requests.

Please note that all classes must be taken for a letter grade (A/F). Courses cannot be taken for pass/fail (S/N) or audit credits. 

Dental Hygiene (MSDH) and MHA students should inquire with their respective department for enrollment into an MBA course.

Registration Timelines 

Registration for declared minor students in MBA courses takes place on the following dates. Students declaring their minor prior to these dates will receive this preferential registration timeline.