Interest in business careers among Oles has grown over the past several years. The business and management studies concentration saw 49 seniors graduate from the program in 2025, making it larger than some majors. Additionally, campus events such as the Ole Cup demonstrate students’ drive to be engaged with business and entrepreneurship on a larger scale. With all the interest and engagement with the business concentration, a question arises: why doesn’t St. Olaf have a business major?
One key reason is that a concentration gives students greater flexibility in their studies. Students of any major can add a business and management studies concentration to their primary field of study, which is a significant draw to the program. If it were turned into a major, it would likely result in the loss of the concentration.
“If you have a big enough group of faculty, you might be able to maintain both [a major and a concentration],” Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Tarshia Stanley said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “But oftentimes, you don’t have the capacity to do that.”
Furthermore, the program has expanded successfully as a concentration, adding four new classes to its course catalog in the past year. Department faculty also believe that students are more likely to stand out due to the perspectives and skillsets earned from their unique majors, which they can then apply to their business careers.
“I think you can be a better businessperson if you have a psychology degree and a [business and management studies] concentration, for example,” Director of Business and Management Studies Sian Christie said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I think that the challenge that we’ve had is in terms of giving up the concentration. That would be a no-go for me because I think that would be a disservice for our students.”
However, while the concentration offers flexibility, some students want business to be at the center of their academic career. This was the case for Grace Reichert ’26, who built an independent major called “Business, Entrepreneurship, and Design.”
“It first came about, [when I was] thinking, ‘How can I create something that’s an integration of the design and creativity that I love, plus getting those business skills?’” Reichert said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I wanted to do something that was mine and felt like I was maximizing my time at St. Olaf.”
According to Reichert, she isn’t the only one seeking to make business a central part of their educational experience at St. Olaf.
“What I find really interesting is that most individual majors add a business component or have a chunk of their major be business-related,” Reichert said. “I feel like I made the right choice, doing an individual major, because it allowed me to actually pursue the things that I’m excited about.”
For now, business and management studies will remain a concentration. The department plans on continuing to work closely with the Piper Center to enhance business education at St. Olaf as a whole.
“We have around 50% of our students go into some form of business,” Christie said. “I really do believe that we are providing a solid program. Do I think that we can improve it? Absolutely, and I think we are moving in the right direction in terms of having opportunities to add value for students.”
