The business administration program prepares students for success after graduation—whether students choose to begin their careers or enter graduate school. In addition to critical liberal arts skills, business majors learn how to apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods for business analysis and decision making while honing their leadership, marketing management and strategic skills. Students begin work on communication—speaking, writing and presenting— in first-year seminars and refine their abilities over the course of their Muhlenberg career.
Graduates have a deep understanding of business ethics and issues within a global context and demonstrate knowledge of core business principles that create value and profit, and promote organizational goals. Importantly, they can explain how business reflects the economic context of choice, risk and optimization. Simply put, from the classroom to real-world experiences, graduating from Muhlenberg College with a degree in business administration gives you the platform you need to meet your professional goals.
Applying my Experience to my Career
David Salzman
Major(s): Finance and Business Administration
Concentration in International Business
While at Muhlenberg, I benefited in many ways by choosing a course of study within the Accounting, Business, Economics, and Finance department – specifically as a double major in Finance and Business Administration with a concentration in International Business which was completed while studying abroad as a part of the Maastricht University program through Muhlenberg. Not only was I able to obtain a double major in two practical courses of study, I was also afforded the opportunity to take classes across a variety of other disciplines including significant coursework in Film Studies and Media &
Communications. At larger undergraduate business schools, to my knowledge, are not afforded this same opportunity due to a higher number of required courses within the core discipline of study. In addition, I have been able to build meaningful relationships with my professors through spending time together during their office hours, independent studies, or even being able to grab meals together on the weekends and after classes. The conversations and relationships I have made with my professors have great meaning to me as they have helped to teach me to think critically, work smart, and most importantly, differentiate myself from the rest of the pack.
I have taken my Muhlenberg College experience and applied it to my career in the financial services industry. From learning about derivative markets to investment theories to cash flow analysis, my work and time spent at Muhlenberg has helped me to excel in my current role dealing with financial markets on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, as Vice President of the Muhlenberg Investment Society (MIS) – a student-managed portion of the college’s endowment with AUM exceeding $400,000.
– I learned the intricacies of portfolio construction and benchmarking, as well as managing a team of “analysts” and running bi-weekly meetings to discuss asset allocation. This experience, in combination with studying business practices of foreign countries while abroad, has helped prepare me to work with some of my firm’s most complex clients. With the prospect of a finance lab coming to campus and increasing course selection within the department, I am confident Muhlenberg will continue to attract even more talented students with strong interests in Accounting, Business, Economics and Finance.
David Salzman Class of 2015
Gaining Early Success
Jordan Wolkstein
Major(s): Business Administration
Concentration in management and a minor in political science
I believe my liberal arts education at Muhlenberg College has already paid dividends to me in the real world at work.
In my first two years at Muhlenberg College, I focused primarily on completing my General Academic Requirements. While these classes were far out of my comfort zone and I often dreaded attending them; they taught me to think outside the box, to not be afraid to question the status quo and most of all, embrace the fact that in order to truly learn and grow in life, you must be willing to step out of your comfort zone. In my final two years at school, my business professors not only helped me further develop these skills, they cultivated and fostered an environment where I could learn the fundamentals of business and establish core philosophies about business, leadership, management and team work that will remain with me for the rest of my life.
I graduated from Muhlenberg College in May of 2015 and accepted a position working at J.P. Morgan Chase shortly thereafter. While I have only been in the real world for less than a year, I have the business department – and many of the other professors I had the privilege of learning under – to thank for my early success.
Pursuing Diverse Interests
Kimberly Kaufman
Major(s): English and Business Administration
Concentration in Marketing
Muhlenberg College gave me the opportunity to pursue each and every one of my interests. The openness of my liberal arts education enabled me to build a unique, yet well-rounded skill set that led me to where I am today.
Throughout my first two years at Muhlenberg, I repeatedly changed my major as I got to know my own interests and strengths. In order to reconcile my love for literature and my fascination with the business world, I finally settled upon a double major in English and Business Administration at the end of my sophomore year.
In addition to my double major, I also took advantage of the many other opportunities that Muhlenberg offered. Through constant communication with my co-workers during my part-time job at the Life Sports Center Café, I learned the basics of the spoken Arabic language and went on to continue my studies in Elementary Arabic classes during my senior year. After working at the Student Help Desk in the Office of Information Technology, I developed an unexpected fascination with computers and educated myself on troubleshooting and maintaining them during my employment. After developing a surprising interest in Statistics, I learned how to teach the concepts by becoming a Workshop Tutor for Statistical Methods classes.
My passion for business and books led me to enroll in the Columbia Publishing Course, a six week intensive summer course on all aspects of book, magazine, and digital media publishing. Three weeks into the course, I had a wonderful job interview in which my extraordinary experience at Muhlenberg played a key part in the discussion. I was quickly offered the position and now work full time at W. W. Norton & Company.
Starting My Own Small Business
Jonathan Klein
Major(s): Business Administration
Concentration in Management
In 2010 along with one of my Muhlenberg peers, Marty Witkin, I began thinking about starting my own small business. It was a vision that Marty and I thought would be a fun hobby to get us involved on campus and in the Allentown community. Little did I know, our small business venture would be turned into a study guide - a profitable one at that.
Everything I had been learning in my Management, Marketing, Accounting, and other A.B.E.F (Accounting, Business, Economics, & Financial) classes were being applied! It all started to make sense; the balance sheets from Accounting, the resource saving and team building activities from Management, the appeals and senses of others from Marketing - it all worked! I am looking forward to all of the additional knowledge I will gain throughout the rest of my Muhlenberg career, and seeing how it will improve the business's functionality and overall profitability.
Looking Back on 'Berg With Gratitude
Richard Nolan
Major(s): Business Administration
During my time at Muhlenberg, it was very easy to have a constant appreciation for the atmosphere I was surrounded in. Rarely did I fail to notice the constant beauty of the campus, the friendless of the people, and the overall intellect of my peers. With that said, however, the true appreciation for what I gained did not yet come until after I graduated and entered the working world.
As a Business major, I was exposed to teachers throughout my career that not only instilled in me a passion for business, economics, and finance, but also allowed me to excel. Throughout the first months of working as a Financial Analyst for an Investment Consulting firm, I quickly began to see what my education provided me. While I saw others around me constantly trying to adjust to the learning curve, I felt more than prepared for the tasks I was given and was able to make continuous strides forward.
Moreover, the opportunity that Muhlenberg gave me to study abroad has proven extremely beneficial. Aside from being able to understand what international business and economics is all about from an inside perspective, it has instantly been beneficial in the working world I find myself in today. Working for a firm who deals with international clients, it was a great advantage to already have first-hand knowledge of the types of situations we deal with.
Muhlenberg has provided me with both the opportunity and the resources needed to exceed in life after college, and as I look back I feel an immense amount of gratitude and pride.
To Maastricht and Beyond
Michael Feinberg
Major(s): Business Administration
Arriving at Muhlenberg, I had no preference of what to study and I had no idea what my future entailed. I really enjoyed the liberal arts academic curriculum allowing me to gain sufficient knowledge in many different subjects. I was learning something new every day in a different subject.
I recognized the Business major was in my best interest while taking my principles of microeconomics course with Dr. Laposata. I was immediately able to build a strong relationship with Dr. Laposata and he was the individual who persuaded me to do the Maastricht study abroad program for business majors. I was even lucky enough to go with him as the visiting professor. With all the confidence in the world, I can admit that Maastricht was the best growing experience of my entire life. I was able to experience living in a new country and adapt to a new culture, take classes with international students, and travel to fifteen countries in only four months. This was the best four months of my life!
After experiencing four years at Muhlenberg, I believe students are lucky to study in such a wonderful community. Professors' doors are always open for their students and professors want to see their students succeed. However, it the students' responsibility to remain motivated and determined to exploit these opportunities. It was this work ethic and determination that allowed me to have success at Muhlenberg and as a business major. I am currently a 1L student at the University of Seton Hall Law School. I wish the best for all the current Muhlenberg students and I look forward to coming back and assisting in any manner to such a wonderful institution.
