Integrated Science/Business BS

The Integrated Science-Business Major (ISBM) combines the disciplines of science and business into an interdisciplinary program. Historically, graduate programs have been the domain for combining science and business and programs are well established at a number of schools but students with the B.S./MBA dual degree generally enter middle management after several years of industry experience. The focus of an integrated science-business undergraduate program is to develop integrated thinking from the initial stages of education and produce skilled graduates that are highly effective in entry-level positions requiring skills in both science and business. The ISBM provides a strong foundation in the sciences (32 credits) as well as a basic background in business (33 credits). At the end of the program, three capstone courses serve to link the science and business knowledge and prepare students for subsequent employment.

ISBM graduates will know more about business and management issues than a typical science or engineering graduate, and have a broader understanding of science and technology than most business majors. In the long term, the ISBM prepares students for careers as managers operating in technology-based industries. As a graduate of Whitewater's ISBM program you might work as a manager in charge of product or service planning in a science-based company, a director of research and development (R&D), a program director at a private research institute or federally funded agency, a science investment consultant to a bank or trust company, or in a law, accountancy, or business consulting firm whose clients are science-based companies.Services to these clients could well go into the areas such as intellectual property, high-tech stocks and mutual funds, venture capital, and economic forecasting. Today, technology impacts almost every aspect of society. In order to join tomorrow's workforce, graduates need to be versatile and adaptable. Managerial positions in technology-oriented industries require the integration and understanding of relevant scientific principles with basic management skills. The ISBM is designed to equip students to compete and prosper in the new technology-intensive, global marketplace.