September 4, 2008

Purdue's Krannert School moves from minors to concentrations

Steve Green, the Basil S. Turner Distinguished Professor of Management, said the changes were made during a review by the management undergraduate task force. Green chaired the committee, which meets periodically to review the structure of the school for efficiency and possible improvements.

"We benchmarked other leading management undergraduate programs to see what they were doing," Green said. "We felt that changing our minor system to concentrations would give a better indication of the time students spend on these studies. We also were able to streamline the system to make the academic requirements of concentrations more straightforward while providing students more choices in the classes they can take."

For example, students who once majored in management and minored in information systems will now pursue a degree in management with a concentration in management information systems.

"Parents and employers were often confused by the term minor," Green said. "In reality, students who choose these specific areas of study are completing a significant amount of coursework. Concentration is a more apt description."

Sara Stein Koch, director of undergraduate programs for Krannert, said the change, which went into effect this fall, also allowed the school to expand its offerings. The new system requires successful completion of 12 credit hours for each concentration. At least six of those hours must be in the area of study.

"Students can concentrate in two areas of study if they wish by integrating courses across two concentration areas," Stein Koch said.

Manu Kalwani, the OneAmerica Professor of Management and management department head, said the concentration areas have been strengthened to include both new and revised courses.

"The marketing concentration, for example, includes new courses in brand management, international marketing, and marketing engineering," Kalwani said.

Kalwani said two new concentrations in management - strategic management and analytical consulting - have been added. Management students also can choose to concentrate their coursework in accounting, economics, finance, international business, management information systems, marketing, operations management, and organizational behavior and human resource management.  Students may also continue to pursue minors in non-management related fields, such as a foreign language.

For more information on concentrations within Krannert, go to https://www.krannert.purdue.edu/undergraduate/
academics/minors/home.asp

Writer: Tanya Brown, (765) 494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu

Sources: Steve Green, (765) 494-6852, green@purdue.edu

Sara Stein Koch, (765) 494-4342, saraj@purdue.edu

Manu Kalwani, (765) 494-4400, kalwani@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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